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Rail
in the Dulles Corridor
Some 51% of the new households and 55% of the new jobs forecast
for Fairfax and Loudoun Counties - 33% of the Washington region's
growth - are projected to relate to the Dulles Corridor. Based on
current highway plans, major arteries in the Dulles Corridor will
be gridlocked within a few years. Providing alternatives in the
form of a Metro-like rail link is a priority, together with the
need to apply new highway and transit concepts within the Dulles
Corridor.
A 1993 Task Force study of the Dulles Corridor (which is still valid)
preceded Virginia's Major Investment Study (MIS) on the Corridor
published in 1997. The MIS, like the Task Force study, concluded
that Metro-like rail was the preferred solution. The MIS projected
$1.4 billion cost stalled the project.
In January 1998 the Task Force, at the request of Senator John Warner,
proposed a phased multi-modal solution which was adopted by effected
jurisdictions and funded through the efforts of the Congressional
delegation. The rail project now is moving aggressively forward.
The MIS has been modified to permit express bus as a precursor to
rail; a funding plan has been developed, the project has been included
in the region's Constrained Long Range Plan (CLRP). A funding plan
and inclusion in the CLRP are prerequisites for access to the federal
funding already appropriated. The Environmental Impact Study commenced
in June 2000, a locally preferred alternative - rail to Dulles was
selected and supported by 80% of the public comment.
Virginia created the Dulles Corridor Task Force to move the project
forward. The Dulles Corridor Task Force is comprised of the senior
professional executive of stakeholding jurisdictions, plus three
co-opted people from the private sector. The Task Force's Leo Schefer
is one of the three. The group is chaired by J. Kenneth Klinge,
Northern Virginia's representative on the CTB. This Task Force has
now been replaced by a smaller "stakeholder group of local
agencies that will fund the project".
As the project has moved forward, problems left unresolved for years
are being faced, including the working arrangement between WMATA
(Metro) and the Commonwealth of Virginia. To date, there are plenty
of problems, but no showstoppers.
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