VPR Gubernatorial Election Special Issue

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Virginia Policy Review

! Conclusions Despite the $3 billion estimated initial cost of the Phase 2 of the Silver Line metro rail, the economic benefits to Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, the Dulles Airport, and the Washington Metro region could potentially cover the costs within five years of Phase 2 completion, strengthening Northern Virginia for years to come. Other benefits, including fewer deaths from traffic accidents and greater environmental benefits from fewer cars traveling the Dulles corridor, supplement the economic benefits that the Silver Line will provide to the region. Ken Cuccinelli’s concerns that the project’s Phase 2 will be an economic boondoggle do not have widespread support in Northern Virginia; many organizations, including multiple Chambers of Commerce, adamantly support the completion of the project to connect the Dulles Airport to the heart of our nation’s capital.2112

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"Silver Line Metro Rail." Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce., accessed 10/19, 2013, http://www.restonchamber.org/silver_line_metrorail.aspx and Munley, Erin. "Fairfax Chamber Joins Statement of Support for Virginia Senate Budget Plan that Provides $450 Million for Phase II Dulles Rail." Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce., last modified 4/3/2012, accessed 10/19, 2013, http://www.fairfaxchamber.org/index.php?src=news&refno=398&category =Chamber+Press+Release&prid=398.


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