Washington Metro May Finally Fix its 40-Year-Old Funding Problem

Since it was founded in 1976, the Washington Metro in the D.C. area has had trouble finding a dedicated funding stream that it could rely on for long-term planning. The organization said that it needs another $500 million of reliable funding per year to fix its aging and failing infrastructure. It appears that lawmakers from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia have come closer to earmarking dedicated funds for the transit agency, with each setting their own funding goals and deciding how their jurisdiction would meet it. Within the last few weeks, Virginia lawmakers approved $154 million per year for Metro, Maryland lawmakers set the goal of $167 million per year, and D.C. lawmakers proposed $178.5 million per year.