The Chamber’s Economic Development Committee recently had a presentation from Rail to Dulles Director Patty Nicoson. Discussion then followed on the current perils facing the Rail to Dulles project. Items to note included the following.
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors is threatening to renege on the Rail to Dulles Project if costs don’t go down.
Congressman Wolf and several chambers, including ours, have sent letters to MWAA’s Chairman expressing disappointment with MWAA’s decision to elect the costlier below-ground station option at the Airport.
Congressman Wolf has proposed legislation to add five Virginia members to the MWAA Board and give local governments a say in the selection of those members.
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood recently cited the Rail to Dulles Project as the #1 transportation project in the nation.
There is $1.7 Billion of Federal monies involving a TIFEA bond that might be applied to this project. This would significantly reduce the burden on toll road commuters.
The price of labor for Phase 2 will be the same as Phase 1. MWAA’s decision to use the PLA (union labor) process will not raise costs and will allow the quality work done on Phase 1.
Parking at the Loudoun stations could be private.
MWAA should seek other funding sources.
The funding of other roads not directly related to the toll road should not be funded with toll road money.
New mechanisms such as peak pricing and distance tolling are being considered.
Note: if you enter in the words, it'll automatically generate results, or if you press enter key on the keyboard, you'll go to an overview search result page!
