Dulles rail

Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says he's urging state legislators not to appropriate another $150m for Phase 2 of the Dulles Rail project sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).

An agreement on financing the second half of a $6 billion+ Dulles rail line still relies heavily on huge projected profits at the Dulles Toll Road in northern Virginia.

Under heavy criticism from all quarters for a $325m rail station undergrounding cost to be put on Dulles Toll Road motorists, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is now being challenged in the courts over the legality of its use of tolls for the $6+ billion rail line.  Prominent Virginia attorneys Patrick McSweeney, Robert Cynkar, Christopher Kachouroff have sued MWAA on behalf of John Corr of Great Falls NA and John Grigsby, of Hillsboro

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) management of the Dulles Toll Road is coming into serious question following a board decision last Wednesday to pay a $325m premium to underground a rail station rather than build it elevated. Nearly 60% or $3.7b of the cost of the $6 billion+ rail project is supposed to be supported with toll revenue bonds on the Dulles Toll Road.

Bond Buyer news gave their "Deal of the Year Award" to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) for using the revenues of the Dulles Toll Road to bond a metrorail transit line out to the airport and beyond into sparsely settled Loudoun County.

The proposed transfer of the Dulles Toll Road (DTR) from the control of Virginia DOT to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is in doubt following a court victory by opponents. The state supreme court in Richmond today in a 19 page opinion overturned a lower court ruling that the transfer was protected from challenge by a doctrine of sovereign immunity.

Paul Weyrich gets space in the Washington Post this morning (Mar 2 B08) with erroneous objections to road based transit in the Dulles Toll Road/Greenway corridor.

Weyrich's claims are quoted in full followed by answers (A)

The Virginia Supreme Court has blocked regional transportation funding powers legislated last year saying the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) cannot be granted revenue raising powers reserved by the state constitution to the General Assembly or to directly elected bodies. This immediately invalidates another funding source previously relied on for the Dulles metrorail project planned in the median of the Dulles Toll Road.

by Kenneth Orski: Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is upset that the Federal Transit Administration turned down funding for Tysons-Dulles heavy rail. But the project had more red flags than a bull-fighting ring.

The Feds have turned down the request from Virginia politicians for financial support for the controversial $5 billion Dulles Rail project proposed for the median of the Dulles Toll Road and Dulles Greenway. US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters told the Virginia governor Timothy Kaine and other northern Virginia politicians today in a meeting on Capitol Hill today.