Dulles Rail set to move ahead with aboveground station

And while that may seem like a small detail to most Washingtonians, it means that Metrorail to Dulles airport and into Loudoun County is still on track — some would say miraculously — despite months of angry debate over how best to build and to fund it.

The aboveground station costs about $330 million less than the underground station, and is slightly less convenient to travelers. In April, opting for the lower-cost, aboveground option was anathema to the airports authority, charged with overseeing the project. But it was essential to officials in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, whose constituents will bear the brunt of the costs of the project.

It took U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to step in and bring at least a semblance of cooperation among the angry stakeholders.

Earlier this month, he put forward a proposal that would bring the cost of the project down by about $1 billion, to about $2.7 billion overall. The proposal required that Fairfax and Loudoun take on millions of dollars in additional costs, and it required that the airports authority go with an aboveground station.

Fairfax was the first to sign on -—but not without some grumbling, and with the condition that everyone else signed on, too. Loudoun was second to step up, voting Tuesday — also with some grumbling, and some conditions — to move forward with LaHood’s proposal. And on Wednesday morning, the airports authority — the real wildcard — made it official.

On Wednesday afternoon, the boards’ representatives will meet again with LaHood having agreed to a framework moving foward. Far be it from anyone to make things easy, however, despite lips flapping on all sides about “the spirit of cooperation.”

Airports authority Chairman Charles Snelling put it best: “There are some fine points that still need to be worked out.”