We can't let Governor O'Malley sabotage Metro Greater Greater Washington
To almost everyone's surprise, the 5-year capital program discussed yesterday suddenly had $460 million less for the next five years than previously planned. Board members and jurisdictional staff alike have confirmed what we pretty much knew: this is all coming from Maryland.DC and Virginia are prepared to contribute their share of capital improvements necessary to replace aging and potentially unsafe railcars, fix elevators and escalators, upgrade power systems to accommodate 8-car trains, replace buses, and more.
However, because the O'Malley Administration decided they don't want to contribute, WMATA has scaled back the expectations from all three jurisdictions. DC's Jim Graham said, "DC is going to get a windfall that we don't want."
WMATA has identified over $11 billion in capital needs for repairs and upgrades to maintain the current system over the next 10 years. The new plan only funds about $4 billion for the first 5 years, leaving $7 billion for the second half of the
