The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has taken action on several fronts in its continued opposition to the decision of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Board of Directors in favor of an underground alignment for the proposed Metrorail station at Dulles International Airport.
At today?s meeting, the Board of Supervisors directed the County Administrator to seek additional information from MWAA and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority regarding the potential impacts on Dulles Metrorail, the operations at Dulles Airport, and any possible extension further into Loudoun County should the Board vote to opt out of the funding agreement for Phase 2 of the project.
The Board also voted to send a letter to MWAA Board Chairman Charles Snelling reiterating the Board?s position that MWAA should reconsider its decision to select the underground station alternative, and if it does not, that the additional costs associated with the underground station must be fully borne by MWAA without using additional Dulles Toll Road revenue. The letter will also include a strong objection to the use of a mandatory ?Project Labor Agreement? for Phase 2 of the Metrorail extension.
?MWAA is causing this project to derail,? said Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York. ?The numbers aren?t adding up and when the numbers don?t add up, you can?t continue making decisions that are costing the project more and more.?
The Loudoun Board supports the above-ground alignment of the proposed Metrorail station at Dulles Airport because it is more cost-effective. The selection of the underground station will add approximately $300 million to the project cost and bring the total cost for Phase 2 to $3.5 billion. This will raise Loudoun County?s total contribution to the project to $300 million.
The Board also voted to support Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf?s proposed legislation expanding Virginia?s membership on the MWAA Board to nine members and giving greater authority to the Governors of Virginia and Maryland, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and the President to remove and replace members of the MWAA Board. The Supervisors also voted to send a letter to Loudoun County?s federal and state delegations and the Governor of Virginia, indicating the county?s support of the legislation. The Supervisors also asked that four new Virginia appointees be chosen by Loudoun, Fairfax and Arlington Counties.
More information about the Dulles Corridor Rail Project in Loudoun County is online at www.loudoun.gov/dullesrail.
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