From Chap's latest legislative update, here's his take on the Metro to Dulles situation:
...the focus of drama the past few days has been in Washington, D.C. As you are likely aware, the head of FTA issued an opinion on February 24th which graded the Tysons Rail project as "medium-low" in terms of cost-effectiveness and financial capitalization. That opinion is not the absolute death sentence for Tysons Rail. But it's pretty close.It is clear that the project as currently proposed cannot succeed.
There has been a lot of controversy with Tysons Rail. It has had many critics, including me, who believed that the aerial design and sole-source contract were flawed. In fact, one of my first acts as a State Senator was to write a letter asking for those issues to be addressed.
Despite those misgivings, I want to thank Governor Kaine for his strenuous efforts in the last few days to try and keep FTA as a partner in this initiative. As a delegation, we supported him in his personal appeals, even those of us who were "pro-tunnel" advocates. Without FTA support, it is highly unlikely that any rail project will be built in our lifetime. And building rail in the Dulles corridor remains a major priority for all who represent Fairfax County.That's the history. The real question is where do we go from here?
I believe that we need to re-engage the public on this project. We also need to re-open the process for alternative designs. I don't minimize the financial loss and delay that we face from having to review the project. But we are facing those losses regardless.
A new Federal administration may be more friendly to public transit. Hopefully so. But we need to do our part in Virginia to solve the current challenges which have raised both agency concerns and community opposition. It's got to start here.
In closing, there are no "winners" from the FTA rejection. Many people had a vision for this project and worked hard to see it successful.On the other hand, the actual details of that vision badly divided the community and failed to gain FTA approval. That fact cannot be ignored.
Aside from that, Chap is heading in the right direction. I hope the entire issue of how best to address the transportation problems in NOVA are revisited - and not just with a revamp of the Metro project. Let's look outside the box, as well as inside the box, for solutions.