McLean Representatives Talk about Future of Metro to Dulles Airport

Two McLean elected officials seemed to agree last week that the new Silver Line subway line could be built to Dulles Airport, even it Loudoun County decides to pull out of the project.

Dranesville Supervisor John Foust speaking at the El Nido Civic Association said the project would be delayed temporarily  if the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted against funding its share of the line.

The remaining partners --- the U.S. government, Virginia, the Metro Washington Airport Authority, Fairfax County will need to redo the finances and the environmental impact statement, he said.

The 23-mile Silver Line is under construction in two phases. The first phase is currently under construction from West Falls Church to Wiehle Road in Reston. The contentious part is phase 2 which would take metrorail from Wiehle to Dulles Airport and into Loudoun County.

Fairfax County is counting on the new rail line to transform Tysons Corner, where four of the 5 stations  in phase 1 are located into a major economic center for the county and the state of Virginia.

Del. Barbara Comstock, R-McLean, Great Falls and Loudoun, told the McLean Citizens Association the following evening, ”If Loudoun jumps out of this, it will be stuck at Wiehle while everyone has to regroup.”

“You will have to redesign it because Dulles was never attended to be the stopping point," she said."They would have to stop and redo" the financing and environment plan" just as Foust said.

"There are a lot of reasons we all want to make this work," she said. "The more partners you have the less" everyone has to pay for the $2.6 billion project.

Comstock has become a major player in the fate of phase 2 because she successfully introduced legislation that became law forbidding Virginia money for the project that includes a "project labor agreement."

A general contractor can  negotiate a “project labor agreement” with local construction unions that can include items ranging from flexible work rules to no-strike clauses.

Comstock and her Republican colleagues, including Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, said they believe that Virginia's non-union workers could not compete equally with a project law agreement in effect.*

“Right now we are waiting for the (Airports Authority) board  to do something with the PLA," Comstock told the MCA. "The (state) money will not be going forward until” they make a decision about the PLA.

The nine-member Loudoun board, which is controlled by Republicans, has to vote by July 4.

Comstock also railed against the Metro Washington Airport Authority which controls both Washington Reagan and Dulles Airports, the Dulles Toll Road, its own police force, and is building the Silver Line.

“The MWAA board really won’t work with us. They won’t answer our letters,” Comstock said.

“I do think we have much discussion going on. . . and will have MWAA answer to us more. . . Just not to have this runaway train,”  she said.

The first phase of Silver line is schedule to open next year.

*The general contractor for phase one voluntarily entered into a PLA with the unions. The PLA was in place when MWAA took over the project. For phase 2, MWAA originally required a PLA. When Virginia changed the law to prohibit mandatory PLA’s, the Board changed that requirement to offering a 10 % bonus to firms including a PLA in the bid, according to MWAA.