FTA Approves Commitment For Northern Virginia Rail Line
Plans for an envisioned 23-mile rail transit extension to northern Virginia’s Dulles International Airport have taken a step forward, with the Federal Transit Administration’s Dec. 3 approval of a $900-million, multiyear commitment for the project’s $2.6-billion first phase. The deal isn’t done yet, however. The proposed funding commitment needs approval by U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters as well as the Office of Management and Budget and would be subject to a 60-day congressional review. In addition, it would be up to congressional appropriations committees to provide annual installments of the $900 million.
FTA Acting Administrator Sherry E. Little’s sign-off on the $900-million “full-funding grant agreement” is a turnabout for the agency. In January, then-Administrator James Simpson said the project’s rating “would render it ineligible to advance to final design.”