|
Washington, DC - Congressman Gene Green met yesterday with Federal Transit Administrator Jennifer Dorn and other FTA officials regarding the progress of Houston METRORail and released an April 20, 2005 FTA letter detailing METRO’s progress and requirements for the future.
Overall, the meeting between Congressman Green and Administrator Dorn focused on the need for close federal and local cooperation during the FTA New Starts process.
“We had a good discussion where FTA reaffirmed they will work closely with METRO to move our light rail plan forward. Administrator Dorn confirmed METRO has acted openly, honestly, and productively with FTA,” said Green.
Congressman Green and Administrator Dorn also discussed METRO’s fiscal year 2006 funding options.
“Administrator Dorn stated Congress decided how to divide the $122 million in Preliminary Engineering (PE) funding among the 22 recommended projects like METRORail’s North and Southeast Corridors. Our delegation needs to work together for our region’s fair share of PE funding,” said Green.
The meeting then touched on METRO’s recent proposal for design build financing.
“FTA promised to work with METRO on design-build financing methods METRO can pursue under local and federal procurement law,” continued Green. “FTA staff cited Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration’s Dulles airport extension as an example of such cooperation.”
Congressman Green also raised concerns with Administrator Dorn over FTA’s proposed changes to FTA’s cost-effectiveness rating system mentioned in her April 20th letter.
“FTA confirmed that METRO is close to the necessary ‘Medium’ rating and has plenty of time to find new benefits and cost savings. I understand the need to adjust for inflation and other factors, but FTA needs to be flexible when changing the rules during the process. The North and Southeast Corridor’s ratings should reflect the overall system benefits they provide, rather than judging them in isolation,” concluded Green.
###
|
Print this page
