Loudoun County is threatening to pull out of the project that would extend Metro to Washington Dulles International Airport even though it could mean more than $300 million in economic development for the county. Virginia also is balking at supporting the project even though the Silver Line is generally seen as critical to the health of Northern Virginia’s economy.
State and local officials have two beefs with the project. Its cost, which now stands at more than $2 billion for the second phase alone, and the use of union labor to build it, which they said not only violates the spirit of the state’s right-to-work law, but would drive up costs even further.
Both the state and county are threatening to withhold funding unless the board in charge of the project, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, addresses their concerns.
But the authority had a fairly terse response to all of that Wednesday: Tough.
“This is a $6 billion project,” said MWAA member Bob Brown. “We can’t respond to every political problem every elected official in Northern Virginia has.”
The airports authority is aware that it could lose at least $150 million in state funding if it continues to encourage the use of union labor by the project’s contractor and that the entire project would have to be restructured — delaying it — if Loudoun pulls out. But the authority is refusing to back down. If the state won’t pay, authority members said, more of the project’s cost would be shifted to drivers on the Dulles Toll Road in the form of higher tolls.
“The issue right now is ‘What is the cost of this project and how much of that cost is going to fall on the toll payers?’ ” Brown said. “And the only way to lighten the burden that’s going to fall on toll payers is for Virginia to pony up more money. It’s that simple.”
Northern Virginia lawmakers in the General Assembly are pushing not only for the $150 million in state funding but as much as $300 million more. Officials said the extra money could be used to coax the airports authority to do more to address state and local concerns. So far, Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, refuses to support the additional funding, saying the state can’t afford it.
“It’s pretty clear at this point that if we stay with the [union labor preference] we’ll lose the $150 million,” said airports authority member Tom Davis, a Virginia appointee. “The question is ‘Can the state sweeten [the deal], and how does that affect board members?’ ”
The political bickering continues as the airports authority considers doubling tolls on the Dulles Toll Road, to $4.50 one way, as soon as next year.
“We’re going [to $4.50] eventually, but when we get there is the question,” Brown said.
