USDOT taps state funding to support WMATA safety oversight
Written by Kyra Senese, Managing Editor
WMATA
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is reallocating funds for three jurisdictions to back Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) safety oversight work.
USDOT’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced that it will redistribute up to $900,000 in funding previously designated to the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia departments of transportation and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) to fund the safety oversight work.
FTA will begin using the funds immediately to hire contractors to conduct FTA’s oversight operations and later transfer the knowledge gained to the new Metrorail Safety Commission (MSC), as the three jurisdictions launch the agency and it becomes certified as a State Safety Oversight Agency (SSOA).
“As D.C., Maryland and Virginia work to stand up the Metrorail Safety Commission, they will need the right people in place with the knowledge, skill and expertise to effectively oversee Metrorail safety on day one,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This action will give them immediate access to competent personnel who have already been on the ground inspecting safety at WMATA.”
The $900,000 FTA plans to use is part of $1.6 million in federal funding intended to form the MSC. FTA contractors will inspect and oversee activities and share insight with members of the new SSOA after it is established. Any unused funds will be accessible to the jurisdictions for future SSOA purposes, officials say.
“The jurisdictions’ daily involvement in FTA’s oversight of Metrorail will provide valuable knowledge that will expedite the transition of oversight responsibilities from FTA to the new SSOA,” said Carolyn Flowers, FTA acting administrator. “By taking this action now, it will further invest D.C., Maryland and Virginia in developing and strengthening the new WMATA State Safety Oversight Agency.”
FTA’s oversight of the WMATA system is temporary and will continue until the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia replace the TOC with a new SSOA that obeys federal law and can perform its WMATA Metrorail safety oversight responsibilities.
