Dulles Toll Road Operator Faces Federal Government Action to Purge Board

The Toll Road News reports that U.S. transportation secretary Ray LaHood says he is moving against the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) -- which runs the Dulles Toll Road and a new train line as well as airports -- saying he has been discussing action to change its membership.

MWAA's board is made up of appointees of the governments of Virginia, Maryland and D.C. as well as the U.S. Government.

The secretary made his comments in an interview with Washington Post reporters, as they wrote in a piece in this past Sunday's newspaper. LaHood is also calling on MWAA to immediately terminate contracts he says have been given to former board members, senior employees and families.

A report produced by USDOT Inspector General on MWAA for Northern Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf in May cites: conflicts of interest, no-bid contracts, secrecy, and extravagance. On extravagance the IG report lists board members buying  bottles of wine for $238, dinners at $1,600, a $9,200 airline ticket to a conference in Prague, and a $4,800 first-class ticket to Florida.

The Inspector General counted $220m in uncompeted contracts for the Dulles corridor rail project -- which is being majority funded in its second phase with toll revenue bonds on the Dulles Toll Road. 

Read the Toll Road News article

Read The Washington Post article

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Wolf Joins Loudoun County Officials in Support of Distance Tolling

According to the Washington Post, "After the first meeting of the Dulles Greenway User Interface Task Force — an advisory committee focused on finding ways to make the Dulles Greenway more commuter-friendly — Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) joined Loudoun County officials Friday in an appeal to the Virginia Department of Transportation to allow the group to address the issue of distance pricing on one of the most expensive toll roads in the country."

In a letter to Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton, Wolf said he was disappointed to learn that despite his repeated requests to study the toll structure on the Dulles Greenway, “the committee was told that discussion of these issues was categorically forbidden by VDOT.”

Wolf’s letter followed a similar appeal by the Loudoun Board of Supervisors, which voted at its July 6 meeting to send a letter to Garrett Moore, Northern Virginia district administrator for the VDOT, advocating a distance-based toll structure to help lessen traffic on congested local roads, including Route 7 and Waxpool Road. The traffic backup in the Waxpool corridor has resulted in unnecessary safety hazards, the board stated.

Read the complete Post article.

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Wolf Wants Independent Auditing Group for Dulles Metrorail Construction

Yesterday, U.S. Congressman Frank R. Wolf, 10th District of Virginia, urged the creation of an independent auditing group to monitor the construction of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project as a way to avoid cost overruns and protect the public's investment in the project.

In a letter to Charles Snelling, chairman of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Board of Directors, Wolf asked MWAA to appoint a group of independent auditors -- serving a similar function as an "inspector general" -- that would report to the board and others on a quarterly basis.

"I believe an outside auditing group would identify and prevent waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement and give area residents who have a financial stake in Dulles rail the confidence that MWAA is making wise decisions to protect the interests of commuters.

" Because the success of Dulles rail is important to the success of the Dulles corridor and northern Virginia, I believe an independent auditing group is necessary to provide both MWAA and the public important information on the most significant and largest mass transit project being undertaken by the region’s economic engine."

In an e-mail to constituents, Wolf added that as chairman of the House transportation spending panel, he had seen projects such as Boston's "Big Dig" accumulate significant cost overruns. "I do not want the Dulles rail project to become Virginia's version of the 'Big Dig.'"

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