Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project Update Current Status. The most recent steps that have been taken regarding the Dulles Corridor Metrorail project are captured in correspondence between Federal Transit Administrator James S. Simpson and Governor Timothy M. Kaine and from James E. Bennett, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), and Administrator Simpson in letters dated January 24, 2008, and February 1, 2008. (View correspondence here.) In his January 24, 2008 letter, Federal Transit Administrator (FTA) Simpson outlined a number of concerns that FTA had with the Dulles Corridor Metrorail project. These include: "(1) the management arrangements under which the Project would be implemented; (2) MWAA's limited experience with transit projects and with exceptionally large design-build contracts; and (3) the uncertainties of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) ability to finance its ongoing capital needs systemwide in order to maintain service levels and a state of good repair." During the summer months of 2007, the Dulles Metrorail project was reviewed by Project Management Oversight Consultants for FTA, a necessary step before receiving approval to enter the Final Design of Phase 1. The project team had hoped to receive t this approval before the end of the year. In late summer, FTA warned that the project was having trouble meeting its cost-benefit criterion. To respond to this concern, the project team submitted a list of proposed cuts of totaling $300 million to FTA in a letter dated September 24, it 2007. Subsequently, $242 million of these proposed cost adjustments were accepted by FTA. As recently as November, Jim Bennett reported at the Annual Meeting of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association, that FTA and the project team staff had been working well together and it seemed that they had reached agreement on the cost of the project. As Governor Kaine noted in his February 1, 2008, letter, the project team had begun to hear external reports that FTA had other concerns but could get no confirmation of these new issues until the Governor met with US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters and Administrator Simpson on January 24. These concerns were put in writing in a letter dated January 24, 2008, from Administrator Simpson to Governor Tim Kai of ne. Senator John Warner asked Secretary Peters for a brief "cooling off" period during which the state and the Airports Authority could respond to the issues raised by FTA. As reported in the Washington Post (January 29, 2008, Amy Gardner) Warner said that Secretary Peters would work with Governor Kaine to try to resolve differences over the cost and management of the proposed 23-mile Metrorail extension. In his February 1, 2008, letter, Governor Kaine said that he hoped his response to the issues raised by FTA would be the basis of a dialogue with federal transportation officials. "We want to fully understand your concerns and then look creatively at how to resolve them to allow the project to continue forward. Your willingness to entertain this dialogue prior to rendering in a final determination on the project is most appreciated." Kaine wrote that the project contractor has agreed to mitigate price and schedule impacts for at least 30 days to allow the opportunity for dialogue. He wrote, "Simply put, the unshakable goal of the combined Virginia congressional delegation, and all state, local and private partners is to make this project work and to do so in partnership with the federal government." Project History 1964 The Federal Aviation Administration's master plan for Dulles international Airport recommends a transit line along the Dulles Airport Access Road. 1990 The Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board adopts a program for the Dulles corridor that includes rail service. 1994 Virginia and Metro officials initiate a Major Investment Study (MIS) to evaluate transit options for the corridor 1996 The MIS says that Metro-like heavy rail would be the best transit option to the Dulles Airport. 1999 FTA approves the 1999 Transportation Planning Board (TPB) Constrained Long-Range Plan, including the ability to construct Dulles extension and operate/maintain the total Metrorail system. 2000 FTA Approves Initiation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 2002 The Fairfax County and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, WMATA, and state officials endorse a mostly above ground route through Tysons as the Locally Preferred Alternative 2002 FTA advises Virginia that funding limitations require a phased approach and a revised EIS 2003 FTA approves a supplemental draft EIS for the two-phase project 2004 FTA approves Preliminary Engineering for Phase 1 of Dulles rail. Fairfax County begins collecting a real estate tax from commercial landowners in the Phase 1 tax district (Tysons Corner area and along the Dulles corridor to Wiehle Avenue in Reston) to pay for the rail line 2004 FTA approves Dulles Transit Partners contract (PPTA) as meeting federal competitive procurement requirements 2005 Virginia imposes toll increases on the Dulles Toll Road to help finance the rail project (May 22, 2005) 2005 FTA rates the project as "recommended" in the FY 06 New Starts Report 2006 FTA approves an amended EIS Record of Decision 2006 FTA approves MWAA as having the "financial, legal and technical capacity to lead the Dulles rail project" On January 26, 2007, Administrator Simpson wrote to the Virginia congressional delegation that "the only significant outstanding issue at this time is whether or not the project's estimated cost would comply with the new starts criteria." Issues Raised by the Federal Transit Administration (Simpson letter to Governor Kaine, January 24, 2008) Responses from Governor Kaine and Airports Authority President Jim Bennett in letters dated February 1, 2008 Cost Effectiveness. Both Kaine and Bennett note the FTA accepted $242 million of proposed reductions, which reduced the overall project cost to $2.55 billion ($2.96 billion including financing). Kaine requests that the FTA acknowledge that this reduction would place the cost effectiveness of the Dulles rail project within the required range. Capital Financial Plan. The January 24, 2008, FTA letter raises concerns about the capital financial plan, which include (1) optimistic assumptions about the number of toll transactions on the Dulles Toll Road and the growth in toll revenues; (2) an aggressive financing structure which includes significant back loading of debt; and (3) significant growth in capital rehabilitation and replacement costs for the WMATA system. All of which would result in a rating for the capital financial plan of "Medium-Low." Bennett notes in his letter of February 1, 2008, that the size of the anticipated TIFIA loan has been decreased and the size of the Dulles Toll Road revenue bonds has been increased by approximately $70 million. This increases the percentage of funds that can be considered committed local funding for the project to over 75 percent, which would meet the threshold for a “Medium High” rating in the subcategory of Commitment of Capital Funds. Bennett also notes that the forecast Dulles Toll Road transactions have been updated to reflect the actual toll revenues and the base case has been modified to reflect an annual growth in toll transactions of 0.4%, a conservative forecast that shows revenues from the toll road are adequate to finance the local share of the project. To address FTA concerns about debt, Bennett notes the team has restructured debt repayment assumptions to reduce the amortization in later years. The operating plan has been updated with new information to address FTA's concerns with WMATA’s operating conditions. Based on WMATA’s strong commitment of operating funds and its financial commitment and reasonable planning assumptions, Bennett states the Operating Financial Plan should be eligible for a “Medium” rating. Capacity of the Airports Authority and Project Management Team to Manage the Project The Airports Authority’s responded to concerns about its capacity by providing the professional qualifications of the consolidated project management team and materials showing the integration of the team with WMATA, Fairfax County and other project partners. It also provided a description of its $7.2 billion capital construction program, which includes a $1.3 billion automated fixed guideway system. Bennett's letter notes that the materials provided to FTA demonstrate that the Airports Authority has the legal, financial, and technical capacity to manage the project. He notes that the Project Management Oversight Consultant technical review reaches the very same conclusion subject to the addition of certain personnel, which is currently being addressed by recruitment efforts. Concerns with the Airports Authority's working Relationship with WMATA. Bennett notes that the January 31, 2008, letter from John Catoe, WMATA General Manager, expresses and reaffirms Metro's strong support for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail project. Catoe notes an FTA reference to correspondence about staff to staff communications was about routine technical issues and did not rise to a significant level. Catoe expressed his commitment to working to resolve issues consistent with the approved intergovernmental agreement and supporting Metro Board resolutions. Project Design-Build Contract Bennett’s February 1 letter states that Dulles Transit Partners (DTP) has assumed the risk of completing the majority of the project for the firm fixed-price of $1.1 billion of the $1.6 million contract, thus addressing FTA concerns about unrestrained cost escalations and costly schedule delays. Approximately $500 million of allowances are not included in the fixed-price contract to provide for a competitive, transparent procurement environment once the design for such items is sufficiently developed to enable subcontractors to bid on the work. Bennett notes that the possibility of additional payments to DTP is limited and would require substantial documentary evidence. Also, DTP has assumed full responsibility for all design and integration efforts between preliminary and final engineering. That eliminates a major risk of using a design and build delivery system. Ability of WMTA to Finance its System-wide Capital and Operating Needs and to Maintain the Project in a State of Good Repair. Bennett notes that the WMATA Board of Directors has determined that the Authority will be financially capable of operating maintain the project. It voted to approve the financial plan for the project on June 24, 2007. It found that the cost of operating and maintaining Phase 1 is within the financial capacity of WMATA and contributing jurisdictions. The project will represent less than 4 percent of the Capital Improvement Program for 2008-2013. WMATA member jurisdictions have made a commitment to long-term rehabilitation and replacement needs through the Constrained Long-Range Plan which demonstrates estimated revenues that can reasonably be expected to be available equal the estimated costs of expanding while adequately maintaining and operating the transit system from 2007 through 2030. Both the Commonwealth and the Airports Authority recognize that a regional strategy is needed to address WMATA's long-term capital needs. Substantial progress has been made The three member jurisdictions-Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland have taken steps to secure stable and dependable long-term funding for the re-capitalization of the Metro system. In 2007, the Virginia General Assembly approved a transportation funding bill that could include up to $500 million for transportation projects in Northern Virginia of which $50 million would be dedicated to WMATA off the top. On April 27, 2006, Mayor Anthony Williams signed a bill to dedicate one half of 1 percent of the DC retail sales tax to provide additional funding for maintaining and improving Metro. In 2007, the Maryland General Assembly provided dedicated funding for WMATA through the State’s transportation trust fund. As Bennett notes in his letter, these funding sources, along with the passage of Federal legislation, would provide a steady stream of funding for WMATA’s long-term capital needs. In concluding his letter, Bennett says that he believes the project qualifies for an overall "Medium" rating. Both he and the Governor call for working through any remaining issues with the hope that a continuing dialogue among all parties will enable this important regional transit project to move forward. In addition to Administrator Simpson's letter of January 24, 2008 and the responding letters of Governor Timothy Kaine and James E. Bennett, President and Chief Executive Officer, MWAA, a number of other letters have been sent in support of the project by: Governors Timothy Kaine (Virginia) and Martin O’Malley (Maryland) and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty to US DOT Secretary Mary Peters and FTA Administrator Simpson; John B. Catoe, Jr., General Manager, WMATA to James E. Bennett, MWAA; the Northern Virginia Congressional Delegation to Administrator Simpson; Members of the General Assembly To Administrator Simpson; Gerald E. Connolly, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to Administrator Simpson; Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott York transmitting a resolution passed by the Loudoun County Board; letter from Robert F. McDonnell, Attorney General, Commonwealth of Virginia to Secretary Peters and Administrator Simpson. These letters can be found by clicking here. (View correspondence) Public Support and Outreach Activities. In late October 2007, The Dulles Corridor Rail Association commissioned a survey that indicated 93 percent of Northern Virginians and 87 percent of residents regionwide support the Dulles Metrorail project. (View survey here.) Building on the survey, DCRA placed two full-page ads in the Washington Post on January 10 and January 29, 2008, and one in the Washington Examiner on January 16. The January 29th ad was in the form of a letter to President George w. Bush asking for his support. The Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Washington Airports Task Force signed onto both ads, which also included a list of businesses and groups supporting Dulles Metrorail Now! The Letter to President Bush ads was also placed in the Washington Times on February 1 the date of a press conference organized by the Dulles Regional Chamber. Other business groups that participated in the press conference included the Loudoun County, Fairfax County, and Greater Reston Chambers of Commerce, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Dulles Area Transportation Association, the Dulles Corridor Rail Association, the Committee for Dulles, and the Washington Airports Task Force. The press conference, highlighted the different positive impacts that rail will have on large and small businesses, hospitals, and nonprofits, employees, and individuals and the problems businesses have now because of a lack of reliable rail transit in the Dulles corridor. The businesses groups are cooperating on an extensive communications campaign the purpose of which is to demonstrate to the Secretary Peters, Administrator Simpson, President George W. Bush and members of the Bush Administration the tremendous support for the Dulles Metrorail project. The campaign has involved writing letters, sending faxes, and making phone calls to key officials. Special thanks go to the Northern Virginia Congressional delegation, which includes Senator John Warner and Congressman Frank Wolf, long-time supporters of rail in the Dulles corridor and Senator Webb and Congressmen Tom Davis and Jim Moran. They are working tireless on our behalf to facilitate reaching agreement on project issues so that this critical regional project can move forward. Please thank them for their efforts. Sign on in support of Dulles Metrorail Now! Supporters of rail have a created the Dulles Metrorail Now! advocacy group. Visit www.DullesMetrorailnow.org to sign up in support of the Dulles Metrorail project and to receive project updates. Project Receives Major Approvals. The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project gained significant momentum during the month of June 2007. The Fairfax and Loudoun County Boards of Supervisors approved intergovernmental and local funding agreements on June 18 and 19 respectively. On June 28, 2007, the Board of Directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) and a Financial Plan for a Full Funding Grant Agreement including Metro’s Financial Capacity. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors received a presentation on the project at a public meeting on June 4. Two weeks later, on June 18, the board voted to:
On June 19, 2007, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors authorized its County Administrator to sign A Memorandum of Understanding entering the County into a three-party Funding Agreement with Loudoun, Fairfax and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority for the purpose of constructing Metrorail to Loudoun County. On June 28, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority approved a resolution authorizing the General Manager to execute the Intergovernmental Agreement with MWAA, increase the on-call consultant work program by $250,000 and increase the FY 2008 through 2012 WMATA budget by $272,850,000. The resolution also indicated that the Board of Directors acceptance and approval of the Intergovernmental Agreement was contingent on the scope of the project as defined and any future changes to this project scope would require reconsideration and further approval by the WMATA Board The WMATA Board also adopted a Financial Plan for Full Funding Grant Agreement Including Metro's Financial Capacity. This resolution affirmed that the cost of operating and maintaining WMATA's current bus and rail systems, in addition to Dulles Phase 1, is within the financial capacity of WMATA and the contributing jurisdictions and approved the final operating financial plan. The state has requested FTA approval to enter Final Design for Phase 1 and to obtain a Full Funding Grant Agreement. Property acquisition has begun and utility relocations are expected to begin in September 2007. If the FTA approves the FFGA by the end of February 2008 as anticipated, construction could begin in the first quarter of 2008. Rail passenger service is expected to begin in 2013, with the Phase 2 extension coming online in 2015/2016. The Local Funding Agreement between MWAA and each funding partner includes:
Project Schedule – Phase 2
Road work will start on widening Route 7 in the spring of 2008 as one of the first items of construction. The three-lane in each direction configuration will be widened to four-lanes with the addition of a right turn lane in each direction. The widened street will include a landscape strip for tree plantings and sidewalks ranging from eight to 11 feet in width, which will be widened to 25-30 feet when adjacent properties are redeveloped. The service roads will be eliminated and there will be dual left- turn lanes at the existing intersections. Mid -block left-turn lanes will be eliminated. Pedestrian crossings will be added. Pedestrians will also be able to cross the street at the Metrorail stations using elevated access walkways. Transportation Management Planning, The Department of Rail and Public Transportation, MWAA, and the Virginia Department of Transportation are developing a Congestion Mitigation Plan which consists of two elements: Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) plan and a Transportation Management Program (TMP). The goals of the MOT plan are to help travelers move through the construction area, sustain economic activity, and ensure safety for commuters, shoppers, and construction workers. The TMP plan will try to reduce the number of single occupant vehicles in Tysons Corner. It will focus on strategies in a number of areas including: public/business outreach, communication tools to enable people to make informed decisions before and during their travel, improving incident response and management, enhancing ridesharing (transit, vanpool, carpool and carsharing) and telecommuting options, encouraging employer sponsored activities (Alternate work schedules, commuter assistance programs, preferential parking) and making minor roadway improvements to facilitate traffic movement within the affected area. A comprehensive transportation management plan is also being developed for Northern Virginia to coordinate the congestion management efforts of several major projects anticipated to be under construction in northern Virginia during the same time including besides Dulles Metrorail, HOT lanes on the Capital Beltway and HOT lanes on I-395/I-95. MWAA Management of Dulles Toll Road The Commonwealth and MWAA have agreed to a 50-year Transfer Agreement which requires that MWAA:
The transfer agreement requires local funding agreements for the Metrorail extension and intergovernmental agreements with the project partners. These approvals were provided by Fairfax and Loudoun counties and the WMATA board in June. The agreement also requires the issuance of final design approval by the FTA. Distribution of Phase 1 Project Cost
Dulles Rail Total Funding Requirements (from MWAA presentation)
Dulles Toll Road Rates (from MWAA presentation)
MWAA will engineer the Dulles Toll Road to improve flow, increase usage of E-ZPass, implement new generation toll collection systems, improve ingress and egress ramps to increase usage of the road and enforce violations. The funding partners will work together to find other project funding sources including: private funding of parking garages, Federal Highway Grants, and Transportation Security Administration Grants. FTA Actions. On May 23, 2007, Scott A. Biehl, Deputy Chief Counsel, FTA, wrote to Peter M. Rosen, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP to deny the Tysons Tunnel Incorporated petition requesting among other things that FTA reopen the environmental review process for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. Notice of this action appeared in the Federal Register of May 30, 2007, pp. 30049 and 30050 “Notice of Limitation on Claims against a Proposed Public Transportation Project”. At the same time, FTA made public a report it had prepared by Hill International, Inc. titled “Review of DRPT Evaluation of Tysons Tunnel, Inc. Proposal for Large Bore Tunnel, Spot Report - Final May 15, 2007”. This report evaluated the conclusion of the Carter & Burgess report prepared for DRPT on the Tysons tunnel proposal. It states, “The construction of a Large Bore Tunnel using and EPB boring machine, while it may be technically feasible in concept, has not been sufficien6ly investigated to be able to proceed with an acceptable level of confidence in project completion. There has been no detailed subsurface investigation suitable to support the TTI conclusions with respect to tunnel advance rate or construction cost. The degree of difficulty of successfully completing the project as proposed by TTI is vastly understated.” Design-Build Agreement for Phase 1. On March 30, 2007, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) announced the successful negotiation of a $1.6 billion design-build agreement with Dulles Transit Partners, LLC for final design and construction of Phase 1 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. The agreement shares project risk with Dulles Transit Partners.
Process. The current agreement builds on more than a decade of planning, environmental review and engineering for the extension of Metrorail to the Dulles corridor. The Federal Transit Administration has been a part of the process and prepared the final Record of Decision, which was amended in November 2006. FTA has said that the state were to consider another alternative it would have to start the federal process all over again. There significant competition for a very limited amount of federal funds for New Starts only $1.5 billion is appropriated annually to the new starts program. More than 300 projects are authorized for New Starts funding. In the summer 2006, at the request of Fairfax County, Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer asked the American Society of Civil Engineers to analyze the use of a large-bore tunnel under Tysons Corner. After meeting with federal officials, on September 6, 2006, Governor Tim Kaine decided to move forward with the aerial/partial tunnel alternative rather than risk the loss of federal funding. Virginia's Public-Private Partnership Act of 1995. As a result of a major investment study performed in the mid-19 90s, the Commonwealth Transportation Board approved Metro like rail for the Dulles corridor. In 1995, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority made the decision to no longer do rail extensions as a regional projects paid for by the entire region. Future extensions would be paid for by the jurisdictions in which it was running. During Governor Gilmore's administration, the PPTA was approved. It was thought to be an appropriate vehicle to share the risks of the Dulles Metrorail project. The state reached agreement with Dulles Transit Partners to undertake the preliminary engineering of Dulles Metrorail project. The PPTA process takes advantage of risk sharing mechanisms and provides schedule and cost savings. This is the first transit project to be advanced under the PPTA. |