Extend the Orange Line?

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) is talking up extending the Orange Line out 66 to Gainesville, WTOP is reporting.

We used to live out 66 and agree that it is certainly the region's most clogged and heinous thoroughfare, but when the congressman says "We've already got most of the right of way, it would be a surface system," we have to wonder how serious he is. If memory serves, there is not median down the middle of 66 past 123.

We'd be curious to know more about what he has in mind, and we agree that something should be done to improve travel along that corridor.

We also wonder about the timing of such a proposal given the money just shelled out for the Dulles Extension.

Better Three Decades Late Than Never

It would appear the long discussed extension of Metro to Dulles is a certainty, as "U.S. transportation officials will seal their commitment to a long-planned extension of Metro to Dulles International Airport at a ceremony today," according to The Washington Post's article.

Proponents of the extension say it "will be worth it: a public transit system serving the region's primary international airport and Virginia's most prosperous jobs corridor."

Wow. Dulles opened in 1962, and Tysons has long been a shopping and business hub. Nice long-term view of things America! But hey, while this will certainly cause commuting headaches for people near the construction, we're very glad this is happening.

DC Examiner's take

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