The first phase of the Dulles Rail project is expected to go $150 million over budget, officials said Wednesday.
The first part of the Silver Line, which extends from East Falls Church to Reston, is due to open in early 2014.
Dulles Toll Road users, Fairfax County and Loudoun County will be forced to pay for any overruns.
Project manager Pat Nowakowski has been warning for months that the project could go $150 million over because of last-minute safety demands from Metro, but said Wednesday that it may be possible to keep the overruns from going that high.
“I think we can come in under [$150 million over],” he said.
Officials said the overrun did not amount to “mismanagement.”
“There are people who are making that characterization, and it’s an improper one,” said Jack Potter, CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is charge of the Dulles Rail project. “These numbers have been shared with [Fairfax and Loudoun counties]. Their interpretation was that it’s a miracle we have a project that’s less than 5 percent over.”
