Virginia Elections 2013: McAuliffe, Herring Campaign at Future Silver Line Station

By William Callahan

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffetoured the McLean Station on Phase I of the Silver Line Metrorail to Reston during a campaign stop Tuesday with State Sen. Mark Herring (D-Loudoun), Democratic candidate for attorney general.

The two candidates donned hardhats for their walk around the unfinished metro station, one of five new stations being built during the project’s first phase. Construction of the first half to Wiehle Avenue in Reston is about 94 percent done.

Riders were supposed to be able to use the line by the end of December 2013, but complications could delay the opening until January 2014. In addition, concerns recently were raised about the contractor installing the signaling system.

The handoff from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, tasked with construction, to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which operates Metro, was scheduled for August, but officials have adjusted that date to late-August or mid-September, with the possibility that delays could push that date back to October. After the exchange, WMATA must run further tests before opening the line to the public. While WMATA representatives previously expressed optimism that the public could ride the train before the end of 2013, any delays increase the likelihood of a 2014 opening date.

McAuliffe and Herring called the McLean station and the entire project critical to Virginia’s continued economic success.

McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic Party, called the Silver Line “an example of what happens when people work together to get things done.”

“This is the kind of project that is going to help keep Virginia’s economy strong and competitive in the 21st Century,” he said.

The two candidates also took their Republican opponents, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and State Sen. Mark Obenshain, to task for not supporting the project in the past.

“These are the kinds of projects that Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain were trying to stop with their opposition to Governor McDonnell’s transportation bill,” Herring said.

McAuliffe didn’t directly address his views on the controversial project labor agreement (PLA) for Phase II of the project out to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County.

Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell threatened to withhold $150 million for the project if the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) didn’t drop the union-friendly provision, and the MWAA board scrapped the provision in June 2012.

“I’ll let Gov. McDonnell speak for himself,” McAuliffe said when asked if he supported the governor’s actions.

Instead, McAuliffe stressed that his focus was on growing and diversifying the Commonwealth’s economy with more projects like the Silver Line.

Members of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors threatened to withdraw from the project for various reasons, including the PLA, but ultimately voted 5-4 to stay in.

McAuliffe, who lives in McLean with his wife, Dorothy, has five children who he wants to be able to stay in Virginia if they choose to.

“In order for our five children to stay here, we’ve got to have the jobs of the 21st century and a … modern, efficient transportation system,” he said. “What you see here today does exactly that.