Gerry Connolly, Jim Moran push rail extension in transportation bill - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Reps. Gerry Connolly and Jim both Democrats, want Congress to earmark funds for a feasibility studuy and preliminary engineering for major extensionsa ofthe Orange, Blue and Yello lines. They estimate the study would costabout $20 million. “Thd point of my bill is to jump-starft the discussion about extendingthese lines,” said a former Fairfax County Board of Supervisorsd chairman. “By the time it’ss completed in 2013, the rail to Dulles will have takenn 51 years from the first discussion to thefirsr passenger. I don’t want anothetr 51 years before there aremore extensions.
” Undee Connolly’s plan, the Orange Line, whichu now ends in Vienna, would continued along Interstate 66 to Centreville. The Blue Line woul d extend from Franconia-Springfield along I-95 to Princer William County. And the Yellow Line, whicuh ends at Huntington, would go to Fort Belvoir and ThePurple Line, still in the planningv stages, would cross Montgomery County and move arounrd the Beltway. Connolly, who introduced his bill in March, is workinhg with Moran to persuade other membersd of Congress to include their earmark in the transportationreauthorization bill, the massived federal transportation law reauthorized every five years. Rep. Jamese Oberstar, D-Minn.
, chairman of the Houser Transportation andInfrastructure Committee, is expectedf to unveil his blueprint for the bill June 9. The current transportation lawexpires Sept. 30. A majord obstacle for Metro extensions isthe drawn-out approval process for transit developments, Connollyg said. “For transit you have to spenx a decade working with the federap government to get approval forenvironmental standards, feasibilityu studies and cost effectiveness.” He also noted a sharpl drop in federal funding. “The federal government paid for 80 percent of the originalMetro system,” Connollg said.
“In Dulles, we’ll be lucky if 16 percenf of the money comes from thefederak government. Rail is never going to get cheapedrand it’s carbon neutral, whereas building another road will only add to so why not encourage more mass Extending Metro would also clear the roadas for people not headed into D.C., said Shiva chief of staff for the Washingtonb Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which runs Metro. “Eve n if you are transit rider in west you still drive or take a bus to the Fairfax station to get to a Pant said.
“With the you could get on a train farther west and remove some drivers from the road so that therw is better capacity for folksx not headed in and outof