A little over a year ago, the region celebrated the opening of Phase 1 of Metro's Silver Line. With the completion of Phase 1, Metro Rail is now connected to Reston, with a Phase 2 underway which would extend the connection to Loudoun County, including Dulles Airport. 

This has been a major improvement for our region, unlocking economic growth and easing congestion. However, it has not come without  trade-offs, and for Alexandria those trade-offs are significant. 

From the early days of the Metro Rail system, the tunnel under the Potomac River, connecting the Rosslyn Metro Station in Arlington with the Foggy Bottom Metro Station in Washington, has been the most significant chokepoint in the system. Today, the tunnel can carry 26 trains per hour in each direction. 

As the areas of Fairfax County at the end of the Orange Line have grown, so have the demands on this sole tunnel connection to our nation's capital. With the opening of the Silver Line, the situation reached a breaking point. 

In preparation for the opening of the Silver Line, Metro implemented a series of changes to the Blue Line to free up capacity in the Rosslyn tunnel to allow the Silver Line service to operate. 

As a result, the Blue Line which previously provided rush-hour service every 6 minutes to Alexandria residents boarding at Van Dorn, Braddock Road, and King Street Metro, now runs every 12 minutes. In the event of a service disruption, this frequency can be much less. Particularly for Alexandrians taking the Blue Line to Rosslyn, Foggy Bottom, Farragut West, or McPherson Square, this change has become unbearable. 

To provide alternatives for these riders, Metro has expanded Yellow Line service. It utilizes the other, above ground, Potomac River crossing between the Pentagon and L'Enfant Plaza. As a Yellow Line commuter myself, this additional service has been a nice improvement. They have also deployed longer eight-car trains during rush hour on the Blue Line, as well as expanded some regional bus service to ease the crunch. 

While these alternatives certainly help, they do not address the underlying issue, which is a lack of a capacity in the system, most acutely in the tunnel under the Potomac River.

Overall, Metro's answer to the long-term challenges that ail the system is the Momentum Plan. This ten year Strategic Plan laysout a significant list of improvements to allow continued growth in the region's flagship transit system. 

Most significant for Alexandria is the Momentum Plan's vision for new Blue Line connections. These additional connections, coupled with a future plan to add a new crossing, represent the only concrete ways to relieve the pressure on the Rosslyn tunnel.

However, as with anything of this magnitude,  the cost for implementing most of the Momentum Plan is immense. Metro is unique among transit systems around the country in that there is no dedicated funding source. Metro must rely on contributions from the federal, state, and local governments that it serves. 

In the current fiscal year, the City will provide $34.5 million to Metro to fund our portion of its overall operations. Additionally, we provide another $8.3 million in support of their capital budget.  

Many jurisdictions, including the Alexandria City Council last year, have endorsed the Momentum Plan. However, obtaining funding to implement it will be challenging during this difficult financial time. 

In response to the many concerns that have been voiced, Metro has proposed increases in Silver, Orange, Green, and Yellow line head-ways in order to allow for reductions to the existing Blue Line head-ways. 

While this proposal is step in a positive direction, ultimately, it will require new investment to ensure that the Blue Line remains a viable part of the region's transit solutions. 

Yet, this is not entirely a money issue for WMATA. In April, I wrote in this space about the challenges WMATA's financial constraints had placed on the City's Transportation Improvement Program. WMATA has significant management concerns as well. 

With management instability, safety concerns, and a lack of adequate financial management, WMATA is in significant peril. Given the importance of WMATA to the region's success, this is a peril shared by every jurisdiction in this area. 

It is my view that correcting this must be the highest priority for the region, and must involve systemic change including the potential of reopening the WMATA Compact.