WashPo: LaHood meeting a ‘reality check’ for Dulles Rail

LaHood said he would met again with mediators from both sides again next month, and that the federal government was still committed to the project. The airport board should use that time to reconsider its stance on the finances of the project, which has already begun being built.

“[LaHood’s] comment about the feds’ limited resources should have come as a bracing bit of truth for the airports authority board, which runs Dulles and Reagan National airports as well as the Dulles Toll Road,” the editorial said. “Two months ago, the board voted 9 to 4 in favor of building an underground Metro station at Dulles rather than a surface one, which would add $330 million to the cost of the Silver Line yet save passengers scarcely three minutes of travel time.

“It’s time for the airports authority to get serious about getting the Silver Line built responsibly and affordably,” the editorial concluded. “Cost-cutting — starting with the underground boondoggle at Dulles — is the key to making the project work.”