Va. Officials Struggle To Save $5-Billion Dulles Rail Project
Virginia officials are mounting a last-minute effort to rescue the troubled Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project from the brink of cancellation following a largely negative assessment of the project's viability by federal transportation officials.
In a Jan. 24 letter to Gov. Timothy Kaine (D), Federal Transit Administration (FTA) head James S. Simpson detailed multiple reasons why the agency believes the first phase of the proposed 23-mile, $5.1 billion extension "does not appear to be a prudent investment" for $900 million in New Starts funding requested by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), the lead agency for the project.