Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf on Wednesday urged the state to dispatch a team of national transportation experts to rework the proposal for the embattled Metrorail extension to Dulles airport to address major federal concerns that threaten to torpedo the project.

Hiring high-profile outside help would signal the state is serious about improving its proposal to win an essential $900 million in federal funding, and help buy the state more time to keep the project alive, Wolf's spokesman told The Examiner Tuesday.

“This project has come too far — and is far too important — to allow it to collapse at the 11th hour,” he said in a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters Wednesday.

The Federal Transit Administration released a devastating evaluation of the project last week that labeled it unfit for federal funding and raised numerous questions about its viability and estimated costs.

This story continues below
Advertisement

Peters, in a conversation with Wolf Monday, expressed her willingness to work with Virginia as long as the state showed it was committed to fixing the problems, Wolf’s spokesman Dan Scandling said Wednesday

Gov. Tim Kaine's office thanked Wolf for his recommendation. “We’re following up on them,” spokesman Gordon Hickey said.

However, it is not clear there is consensus among the region’s advocates that the multibillion-dollar project needs better expert advice.

“The governor's position is that we have a very good team in place,” Hickey said, “There's nothing wrong with our team.”

Peters received the letter Wednesday, “and we're currently reviewing it,” U.S. Department of Transportation spokeswoman Sarah Echols said.

The FTA announcement last week sent state and regional officials scrambling to keep the project alive. Metro General Manager John Catoe on Wednesday rebutted the federal government’s contention that the rail system was not able to adequately handle the extension.

“I will state again that Metro has the ability and capacity to operate these services,” he said.

Examiner Staff Writer Taryn Luntz contributed to this story.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com