U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is confident a meeting with major players in the Dulles Rail Project on Wednesday will diminish recent resistance against extending what he calls “America’s system” to Dulles International Airport. On Wednesday, LaHood will bring together the most prominent figures in the Metro project, including The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the government of Virginia, and the Loudoun and Fairfax counties to discuss the plan for the Dulles Rail Project. “This is a project that will go forward,” LaHood said to WTOP. “This is a project that is absolutely essential to delivering people around the region. I have every confidence we will be able to find a path forward to make the Silver Line a complete line to Dulles airport and into Loudoun County.”
LaHood referred to the Metro network as “America’s system,” due to the 2 million people who rode it to get to the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January 2009. For that reason, the federal government is expected to contribute $1 billion to the extension. LaHood said, “We have an agreement with all parties that we hammered out over time by listening to one another. We’re going to do that again today.” He continued and said, “What I expect to hear are questions and issues that need to be resolved. I have no doubt we can resolve them.”
