Governors Weigh in on Dulles Metro Funding

The governors of Virginia and Maryland are turning up the pressure to bring down the cost of a planned Metro station at Dulles Airport.

The project is mired in a fight over the location of the station and how much it will cost to build.

In April, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority approved an underground station close to the terminal, but an above-ground option would be $330 million cheaper.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell supports the cheaper option. Monday, he said the state would not contribute an extra $150 million to the construction project despite pleas for more money. 

"We need to reduce the cost back to the $2.5 billion estimate," said McDonnell. "We haven't put a dime of new money on the table, and at this point, we don't have any plans to."

According to the Washington Post, those comments have rankled supervisors weighing a proposal from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Under LaHood's plan, Fairfax County would take responsibility for parts of the $3.5 billion rail project. In exchange, federal loans would be made available to the county.

Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is asking the members of the airports authority to reverse their votes.

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