Virginia Governor Tim Kaine headed up a bipartisan group to announce $300 million in cuts to Phase I of the proposed Metro expansion to Dulles Airport and beyond in order to meet Federal Transit Administration cost-effectiveness guidelines, as reported by Leah M. Kosin (for the Reston Observer) and Amy Gardner (for the Washington Post).
- $45 million in management savings by completing more work in-house instead of using outside contractors.
- $86 million in design savings by eliminating a planned maintenance yard at the West Falls Church Station and using half-canopies instead of full canopies and pressed concrete platforms instead of tile pavers, which are expensive to install and maintain.
- $7 million in upgrades to technology such as electric power systems. Going digital is less expensive than using existing Metro technology.
- $122 million in alternative financing, including the removal of $77 million designated for improvements to Route 7 at Spring Hill Road. This would be paid through the state’s six-year transportation plan instead. And $40 million would be saved by building a planned parking garage at the Wiehle Avenue Station in Reston with a private partner.
- $46 million in contingency reductions.
Avoiding the tile pavers will make Leta happy. The cut that I see as perhaps worrisome is the item for the maintenance yard at West Falls Church (there is already such a facility, so perhaps what is being cut is an expansion). Dulles is a long way from the rest of the network: where are the cars going to be serviced?