The Federal Transit Administration, which holds the keys to $900 million that will make or break a planned Metrorail extension to Dulles airport, has begun to hear requests for a “time-out” to allow for major design and procurement changes without risking the funding.
Newly elected Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust sent a letter to the agency this month urging the delay so officials could not only bid the project out, but also reconsider a tunnel under Tysons Corner, “without the project losing its place in line.”
Numerous sources close to the project said they doubted the call would be heeded, however.
The FTA is expect to announce by the end of the month whether the first 11.6-mile leg of the rail extension will qualify for funding, and is reportedly concerned that the project won’t serve enough riders to justify its estimated $2.5 billion cost, among other qualms.
“I think we could go a long way to address the issues the FTA is concerned about and I’m concerned about,” Foust said.
Sen. Chap Peterson, D-Fairfax, also sent a similar letter, but quickly recanted a week later in a joint letter with other Northern Virginia legislators urging the FTA to move the project forward.
Peterson said he changed course after meeting with Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer.
“Basically, it was said to us that the entire project was in jeopardy,” Peterson said. “And we had a discussion about whether or not we should take some sort of unified stand as a delegation. And we decided to do that.”
Dulles Rail wouldn’t be eligible for any FTA funding without its special exemption from the agency’s newer, tougher standards analyzing the cost vs. the benefits, and officials warn if the project is not funded soon it will lose that exemption and any hope for federal monies.
