Dulles Agreement Praised, Questioned

State and airports authority officials rejected such criticisms. Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer said the agreement requires public hearings before toll increases and insists upon consultation with local officials.

"This agreement obviously gives the airports authority a much stronger voice in the process," he said. "However, the local governments, Fairfax and Loudoun, the Metro board and . . . the Federal Transit Administration have a very, very strong say in that process as well."

James E. Bennett, president and chief executive of the airports authority, said his goal is to "construct the rail line as the commonwealth and the entire Northern Virginia community has planned, and that includes going through Tysons. To the extent it's necessary to make changes, those changes will ultimately be made in consultation with all affected parties."

Bennett added: "Anytime anyone has any concerns about the actions of the authority, they can certainly make those concerns known to the board of directors."

The authority has a 13-member board, with five appointed by Virginia's governor, three by the District's mayor, two by the governor of Maryland and three by the U.S. president.

The rail project would extend Metro's Orange Line 23 miles from West Falls Church to Loudoun County. Leaders have said the $3.84 billion project, expected to be finished in 2015, will provide another transportation option for commuters while also taking many drivers off highways.

Under terms of the agreement with Virginia, the authority will also operate and maintain a highway that is used by nearly 400,000 commuters on a typical weekday, and it will have the power to negotiate a deal to bring high occupancy toll lanes to the corridor, a prospect the state was pursuing.

Dulles Transit Partners LLC remains under contract to build the rail line. Jennifer D. Aument, a spokesman for the consortium, said it is still waiting to learn about the new arrangement. "We don't know a whole lot more about how this will work than you do," she said.

The financing plan for the rail line calls for 50 percent to be paid by the federal government, 25 percent by the state and 25 percent by landowners along its corridor who've agreed to a special tax.

The state planned to use revenue from the Dulles Toll Road to pay its share. The authority will use that same revenue to take out bonds to pay for the state share and the federal share of the second phase. Virginia's limit on state borrowing leaves the state unable to do that kind of financing, officials said.

Staff writer Michael D. Shear contributed to this report.