Below is a statement from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority regarding Wednesday’s closing on a low-interest U.S. Department of Transportation ‘Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act’ (TIFIA) loan for the portion of Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project funded by revenue from the Dulles Toll Road.

The Airports Authority applied for the TIFIA loan in conjunction with its local partners on the Metrorail Project, Fairfax County and Loudoun County, which are finalizing their segments of the loan.

“The finalization of this portion of the federal low-interest TIFIA loan for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project is the culmination of a months long team effort and represents $1.28 billion of support for users of the Dulles Toll Road, whose toll payments help fund construction of the Silver Line extension of the Washington region’s Metrorail public transit system.

“The Airports Authority and our project partners made securing a low-interest TIFIA loan a top priority, because of the financial benefits it offered to the Dulles Toll Road users and taxpayers. Thanks to the favorable interest rates the loan provides, as well as the financial commitment from the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Airports Authority will be able to hold tolls at current levels through 2018 and limit future toll increases.

“We appreciate the support and dedication of Northern Virginia’s congressional delegation, legislators and officials in Richmond and the numerous local elected, business and community leaders, all of whom have helped make this day possible. We are also grateful for the hard work and support of the TIFIA team at the U.S. Department of Transportation, especially Secretary Anthony Foxx, his predecessor Ray LaHood, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs Sylvia Garcia and her team, without whom this closing would not have happened.

“The Airports Authority will continue to work closely with all our partners to find additional opportunities to minimize future tolls.”

In May the U.S. Department of Transportation approved a combined $1.875 billion TIFIA loan for the Airports Authority, Fairfax County and Loudoun County for the Silver Line project. While the closing on the Airports Authority’s $1.28 billion portion of the TIFIA loan has been finalized, Fairfax County and Loudoun County will have additional individual closings on their previously approved portions of the loan later this fall. The Airports Authority will be able to begin drawing on its portion of the loan once all closings are final.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, established in 1987 by the governments of Virginia and the District of Columbia, manages and operates Ronald Reagan Washington National and Washington Dulles International airports, which together serve more than 40 million passengers a year. The Airports Authority also operates and maintains the Dulles Airport Access Road and the Dulles Toll Road and manages construction of the Silver Line project, a 23-mile extension of the Washington region’s Metrorail system into Loudoun County, Va. No tax dollars are used to operate the toll road, which is funded by toll revenues, or the airports, which are funded through aircraft landing fees, rents and revenues from concessions. The Silver Line construction is funded by a combination of toll-road revenues, airport contributions and federal, state and local government appropriations. The Airports Authority is led by a 17-member board of directors, appointed by the governors of Virginia, Maryland, the mayor of Washington, D.C., and the president of the United States, and generates more than 387,000 jobs and 4.5 percent of GDP in the National Capital Region.