The fraught decision to build an underground (and $330 million more expensive) Metro station at Dulles Airport became a little bit less certain on Tuesday, one day in advance of a key meeting between the decision makers, local officials, and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Chairman Charles Snelling, chief of the board that decided in favor of the underground station, told The Washington Examiner that the decision is not final. His tone represents a shift away from more adament past statements in favor of the underground station.
“There are problems that need to be addressed,” Snelling said. “We don’t want high tolls any more than anyone else,” alluding to the much-publicized fact that the higher the cost to construct a rail line to Dulles and into Loudoun County, the more local taxpayers and Dulles Toll Road users will pay.
While the airports authority is charged with making planning decisions about Dulles Rail, those decisions are funded by tax and toll dollars largely out of Fairfax and Loudoun.
Snelling is meeting Wednesday with LaHood and local officials including the chairmen of Loudoun and Fairfax counties, and Reps. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and Gerry Connolly, D-Va. LaHood called the meeting to resolve the battle between the airports authority and the local stakeholders over the placement of the Dulles station, and funding for the construction overall.
Snelling stressed that in 2006, the same local governments now fighting the underground station had approved it as the best way forward. His board took that into account when making their decision, though he allowed room for compromise.
“When partners sit down and talk, they talk about problems and look for solutions,” he said. “That implies that nothing is set in stone.”
