Metrorail Construction Costs Soar $54 Million as Project Pushed Back

The cost of the proposed Metrorail line through Tysons Corner jumped by $54 million yesterday, reflecting rising construction costs as state and federal officials continue to haggle over the project.

The contractor, Dulles Transit Partners, will now be paid $1.63 billion. The company and officials overseeing the project also pushed back the start and completion dates. Construction would begin March 2 and finish in July 2013. The work was originally to be done by August 2012.

Steel, concrete, energy and other costs have continued to rise, pending a final agreement on $900 million in federal funds for the rail project, which backers say would be the backbone of economic development and transportation policies in Northern Virginia for decades.

The line, which is slated to reach Dulles International Airport, is crucial to ambitious plans being drawn up to remake Tysons Corner into a bustling city.

Federal officials publicly cast doubt on funding for the project earlier this year but issued a key preliminary approval in April after furious lobbying by federal, state and local officials. U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said in a letter at the time that "much work remains to be done . . . and there is no guarantee" the project will get full funding.

Officials from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority would not discuss details about the talks with federal officials but said they are confident they will get the federal money and construction will begin according to the new plan.

"We still have a ways to go," said James E. Bennett, president and chief executive of the airports authority. Coming up with a new price and dates for the contract was "a very important piece," he said.

The $1.63 billion construction contract approved yesterday does not include hundreds of millions in additional authority costs. It is unclear whether trims will be found in other parts of the total budget to offset the higher contractor costs.

Enough questions remain on federal funding that local officials have not let up on their lobbying.

At a kickoff for a Capital Beltway expansion project Tuesday, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) thanked U.S. Transportation Department Deputy Secretary Thomas J. Barrett for supporting new Beltway carpool and toll lanes.

"We also need you as a partner in rail to Dulles," Connolly told Barrett. "Nothing is more important."

Phase I of the Dulles rail project calls for the construction of a Silver Line from the East Falls Church Metro station to Wiehle Avenue in Reston. Phase II, with a scheduled completion of 2015, will extend from Reston to the airport and Loudoun County. The total cost is expected to exceed $5 billion.