THE WASHINGTON
The airport is short on public transportation, and
A year ago, the Metro extension to Dulles appeared to have everything going for it. Local funding was available from the state, the counties and Dulles Toll Road revenues. The Federal Transit Administration had approved the environmental impact statement.
The only thing missing was the federal share of construction funding, which was less than 25 percent
In January of this year, the Federal Transit Administration pulled the rug out by announcing that the project did not qualify for federal assistance after all. The toll road revenues might be overestimated, said the feds; the bonds for the project created too much debt; the Airports Authority might not be able to manage the project; the Washington Metro wasn't doing a good enough job maintaining its existing system and fleet of trains; and, from the Washington side of the Potomac, the whole thing didn't look like such a hot idea after all.
The Federal Transit Administration's moving goalposts are not unique to the Dulles rail project.
Winning FTA approval for Norfolk's light rail line required many changes from the original concept of the project, according to Randy Wright of Hampton Roads Transit.
The FTA considers cost per rider, cost per mile, and other measures, but the standards keep changing, he said. But Norfolk did not give up, and two years from now Norfolk residents, commuters and visitors should be riding light rail: The project received a full funding grant agreement from the FTA in February 2007, and groundbreaking took place in December.
Like Norfolk, Northern Virginia was not giving up. The governor said he would work to resolve all the FTA's concerns and make the project happen. Standing with him were Metro, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Dulles Area Transportation Association, the Dulles Corridor Rail Association, the Committee for Dulles, the Washington Airports Task Force, and the Loudoun County, Fairfax County, Greater Reston and Dulles Regional chambers of commerce. More than 1,300 businesses, organizations and individuals signed an online petition--"Dulles Rail Now"--to have the FTA re-evaluate the project and calling for rail construction this year.
And in a decision that all the politicians swear is not political, the FTA in April changed its mind: the Dulles rail project does meet federal standards after all. It committed $159 million for final design, though warning that construction money would not be released until its concerns about management at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the Washington Airports Authority were resolved.
With so much political and grassroots power pushing for rail to Dulles, those authorities are likely to implement any changes demanded of them.
Even if construction begins in the next year, however, a ride on the Metro to Dulles is still years away. Phase I would take several years and would build the line from Falls Church through Tysons Corner to Riehle Avenue in Fairfax County; Phase II--rail all the way to Dulles International Airport--would take years longer.
A possible extension farther into Loudoun County is at this point mostly a dream. Yet higher gas prices creating a tidal wave of demand for more public transportation could put the Dulles Metro extension and other rail transit projects into full throttle.
Steve Dunham of Spotsylvania County commutes on Virginia Railway Express to Arlington. He chairs the board of directors of the Virginia Association of Railway Patrons. Write him c/o Commuter Crossroads, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401, or
Email: literalman@aol.com.