In a strongly worded letter, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority set an April 5 deadline for negotiating the cost of the Rail to Dulles Project. After that date, the Airports Authority will have to make a decision about how to proceed.
The Airports Authority has taken the lead in managing the project which is being designed and potentially built by Dulles Transit Partners — a consortium of contractors led by Washington Group International and Bechtel.
The Airports Authority and Dulles Transit Partners need to agree on a final project cost on the first phase of the Rail to Dulles project. That portion of the proposed rail line is to extend about 11 miles from the existing West Falls Church Station to Reston via Tysons Corner. It could be operating by 2012.
Until a final cost has been established, the rail project cannot move forward in seeking federal funds. The letter, dated March 9, states that the Airports Authority and Dulles Transit Partners have not been able to agree on the potential cost impacts of using subcontractors.
The federal government is expected to pay $900 million toward the cost of the rail line.
But in order to qualify for federal funding, the project must meet cost efficiency standards. Although officials have resisted releasing an official maximum allowable cost, it has been estimated to be approximately $2.5 billion.
When the funding mechanisms were developed several years ago, the cost was to be $1.6 billion, and the federal government originally would pay for half. Since then, the cost of the project has crept up every few months with the most recent estimate being $2.4 billion.