Loudoun County may back out of Dulles Rail Project

Re: Silver Line at Risk

I doubt that the Board of Supervisors really care about the Silver Line because I believe that they don't want to be blamed later if something went wrong after they vote for it. In other words, they don't want to be blamed if they find out that they have to pay for it in the form of higher taxes if they don't have the money ready to pay for it. Secondly, if the businesses don't come to Loudoun, will they have the funds to pay for it? I think that is why they are SCARED to vote for it. In short, they don't have the guts to vote for it. They want to focus on other political matters like, for example, OpenBand......thats more immediate to them. That's just my .02 cents.

 

It would be expensive to not complete it all the way to Loudoun, I lived in A city that waited 10 years to complete an extension of a major hwy due to tough economic times and when the decision to finish it was made, it ended up costing almost 5 times as the original estimate. This is a project that needs to be done, not committing wont lower taxes for us or ease congestion.

 

I think most people don't know that even if Loudoun opts out of the Metro (beyond IAD), the county is still on the hook for $9M in operational cost at the Dulles stop.

Maybe I read the Capital News report wrong, but I thought the state did set aside and approved $150M for Phase II the but the General Assembly didn't have the votes for the full $300M. Agreed though, increasing tolls is the wrong approach. But the BoS needs to find a compromise - opting out of this project is the wrong decision.

As a frequent traveler to Richmond, the tolls (Pohick Pwky & 287) are dramatically lower than that of DTR or Dulles Greenway. And when I say dramatically lower - $.75 for 15+ miles versus $1.75-$5.20 in NoVa.

My biggest gripe is the Loudoun & Fairfax delegations never seem to get "our fair share' in transportation funds back to our counties. Yet the Commonwealth will fully fund other programs for far less populated areas.

 

"We're rich" - that's what the MWAAs consultant basically said - so tolls are going to rise - I'm sure some people will ride the Metro and if the fare is more expensive than people feel is fair they will complain.

I agree with lilpea - all the money that NOVA sends to Richmond and we get a fraction of it back - I really wish someone could explain that formula to me. I believe in a recent article I read said that they are building some huge roadway south of Richmond (in po-dunk) and the state is contributing something like $500million. Wonder what kind of Return on Investment that road will get. After all if you believe all the hype the SIlver line is going to bring a gold mine to the counties and therefore to the state by default you would think they would want to invest.

Like I have said before, the line could go all the way to West Virginia if you want it to, just don't force the toll road users to pay for it - it has NEVER happened anywhere else on the lines and it should'nt be happening here..

TIM KANE gave away the road and any fairness in setting the tolls while Governor - remember that this fall when you vote.

 

One of my biggest concerns is that even if Loudoun backs out, toll road users (many of whom are Loudoun residents) will still likely face steep increases at the booths. So, in essence, we'll be partially helping to pay for it up to the airport, and then not reaping the full benefits of having it in Loudoun.

I realize we're already helping to pay for Phase I through tolls, but the increases are potentially going to increase at a greater magnitude for Phase II.

That's unsettling to me. I don't mind paying my fair share if we get the rewards of 2 stations in Loudoun, but I do mind if we don't.

 

Does anyone know if the BoS member that represents Broadlands is for or against the toll road? I voted for Cliff last year and don't keep up as much as I should.

Thanks

Mike

 

BoS is Shawn Williams. I believe Shawn would be in favor IF the Union language were removed. That's the issue for most of the Supervisors, that and the cost overruns. It seems to me that none of these guys are PM's, therefore, they don't know how to look at the contracts and make the necessary assumptions for cost. I also believe right now that the language pushes cost overruns onto the Loudoun taxpayer, that too should be removed. Keep in mind also that WMAA does a mediocre job (I'm being kind) with the system they have. It's a shame it cannot be managed privately. Maybe Flynn is right, TIME SENSITIVE tolls at the WV lines, like the flyovers that just pick up your SmartTag, so you don't even need to slow down. Give all the WV drivers a FREE smart tag, and let the games begin. I too like the idea of the rail here and the idea of eliminating the 606 stop. But that may increase the traffic over here at Moorefield. Not to mention the WV rail rider that will take your seat all the way into the city....but I LOVE the idea of being the first/last station on the line. It's sooooo complicated and there is a lot we don't know.

How much of a pain would it be to jump on the train at the airport?

 

Hmmm. I'm thinking Polar Express Style, up on top so you don't have to pay!

 

There is no Union language. Period. It is being presented that way for certain political reasons.
PLA's do tend to have a lot of union workers because they tend to have skilled, trained, safer workers. I can almost guarantee you Phase 2 will have a PLA in place just like Phase 1 does.

To use the train from the airport, you would have to park in the Dulles parking lots and pay the airport parking cost, which is probably 2-3 times what it would cost to park at a normal Metro Stop. You would then have to take the airport bus to get to the stop.

 

PLA = Union Language to which I refer. Disagree that unions produce MORE skilled, trained, safer workers, and we'll have to agree to disagree on that.

I was thinking ppl could be dropped off or maybe there'd be bus service to IAD to jump the metro.

 

Bechtel, who is managing Phase 1 used a Project Labor Agreement. My expectation is they will use on for Phase 2, assuming they get the bid.
Do you have any idea what percentage of the construction of Phase 1 is union versus non union labor?

My guess is that the Metro stop at Rte 28 would be used as the primary drop off stop rather than Dulles Airport if the Metro ends at the airport. It will actually be quicker to access. The stop will be near the Center for Innovatice Technology building.

 

PLAs usually have the effect of increasing overall project costs by 10-15%.

They deny equally qualified contractors and their skilled employees the opportunity to do the same, or better job, at a better price.

 

Didn't increase cost of Phase 1 by a penny.
PLA's don't deny anyone the opportunity to bid on a project.
Also agree they don't need to be mandatory.

 

Article talks about Maryland versus Virginia, not union versus non-union.
Is it at all surprising that the DC Metro region's population has a large number of workers from Maryland that would be much closer to the work sites than most of Virginia?
The article by the right of center paper tries to make several inferences, but doesn't supply any data to support them.

 

Fair article in yesterday's paper (May 5th)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...ite-progress/2012/05/05/gIQAbs7v3T_story.html

 

This was a well written story, but the story written by Pearlstein was a grand slam. I hope every single Board of Supervisor & their constituents read this article.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...-silver-line/2012/05/04/gIQAP4Rw3T_story.html

Here is the first line of the story
"If you want a perfect example of why government has become dysfunctional, look no further than the Board of Supervisors of Loudoun County, Va."