Posted on 04/30/2008 1:27:27 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Federal transportation officials today told Congress and Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) that they have approved the proposed 23-mile extension of Metrorail to Dulles International Airport, reversing their announcement in January that the project was unfit for federal funding.
In a letter to Kaine and in a 10 a.m. conference call with the governor and Virginia congressional leaders, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said the $5 billion project had finally met the Federal Transit Administration's standards for cost efficiency, construction and expected ridership. The project will now move into the final design phase, a major step toward receiving $900 million in federal funding.
"As a result of the collaboration between federal and state officials, the project sponsor and other project stakeholders, the financial stability and oversight of the project has improved," Peters wrote to Kaine in a letter obtained by The Washington Post. "Cost reductions have been verified and mechanisms have been established to enhance inter-organizational cooperation, technical capacity and project management."
The news was met with widespread relief from Virginia politicians and business leaders, although there was also some upset from opponents of the aerial alignment of the rail line through busy Tysons Corner, where a debate over whether to dig a tunnel nearly derailed the entire project.
"Rail to Dulles is the single most important transportation investment that we can make in Northern Virginia," said Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. "It's going to transform the 23-mile corridor into a transit-oriented corridor that will help change commuting patterns, and that's a good thing. It links Fairfax and Loudoun integrally into the Metro system, which is also a good thing. People are going to appreciate the payoff."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
By the way, Rockville is the third largest city in Maryland after Baltimore and Germantown. Sure there are many places bigger than Rockville like Bethesda and Silver Spring but they are not zoned cities.
You’re right. Personally, I prefer to call it the National Airport. If we have to name it after a person, I would much rather call it George Washington Airport, which the city is named after, of course.
Bttt
Bttt
So what’s the excuse for the 80s and 90s?
Northern Virginia was not politically powerful until just now. Finally demographics are in their favor.
Fairfax county wasn’t politically powerful??????
Loudoun, that I could see. But Fairfax? Come on.
If I’m not mistaken, Maryland invested some of their funds into metro in the dc suburbs while Virginia refused to do the same.
Yep. Virginia chose to build more highways instead. Now they have all turned into parking lots.
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