Metrorail Phase Two deserves more funding, Herring says, LoudounTimes.com, February 21, 2012

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012 by Trevor Baratko

State Sen. Mark Herring (D-33), along with his Fairfax colleague, Sen. Janet Howell (D-32), is remaining vocal in his support of increased funding for metrorail into Loudoun County, calling for the commonwealth to pump as much as $500 million into the transportation venture.

Herring and Howell, in a joint statement Feb. 20, said completing Phase Two of the Dulles Rail Project will “accelerate the rate of private investment in the station areas and substantially increase the value of the real estate tax base in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties for the next several decades.”

Calling the project one of local, state and national significance, the Democratic senators believe Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal to provide $150 million of state funding toward metrorail into Loudoun “falls woefully short of an acceptable contribution for this public-private partnership.”

Herring and Howell say increasing state funding to $500 million is more commensurate with the funding commitments the commonwealth made previously to buy down tolls on major transportation projects in Hampton Roads and other public-private partnership projects. . . .

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