The folks over at Dulles Metro extension are breaking out the construction tools … and the credit cards.

$900 million of the $2.83 billion price tag of the initial 11.6-mile leg is in that Transportation Department spending bill tied up in Congress and under threat of veto by President Bush.

But with or without the money, officials plan to start work, reports The Examiner.

Is it just us, or does this violate everything you ever learned about wise money management?

The bill also contains money to improve the 14th Street Bridge (you know, the one with all the potholes?), but there’s no word on whether DDOT plans to start spending before the president does his thing and signs the legislation, reports WTOP.

If (OK, it's more like "when") the president vetoes the legislation, it will go back to the House and Senate for an override vote. If those chambers fail to override (which Virginia Rep. Jim Moran says is likely) it will go back to committee for renegotiation. In this case that is likely to include a downsizing of funds. The House and Senate will then vote on it again and send it back to the president. At this point, one would hope, he will sign it into law. If he does not, the song and dance will begin yet again.

Photo by elf26

Circulator to circulate more
DDOT’s Circulator bus system will expand routes in 2008 to include a loop between the convention center and Adams Morgan, and Union Station and the Washington Nationals' new ballpark over in Southeast.

The Adams Morgan route will replace what is known as The Link – Metro’s 25 cent 98 bus which goes between Shaw-Howard and Woodley Park Metro stations between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m. Ridership on the Circulator has more than doubled since its inception in 2005. We are, of course, big fans of cheap, reliable public transportation, and at $1 a ride every ten minutes, this certainly fits the bill. But we'll miss those rare times when we've caught The Link and only had to fork over a quarter to get from U Street to Adams Morgan.

Weekend Metro details
RFK will this weekend host the MLS Championship between New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo. To handle the expected crowds, Metro will:

-- Run six-car trains on the Blue and Orange lines every 15 minutes from the end of each line leading up to the game.

-- Run extra trains, including ones with eight-cars, if necessary, to clear the Stadium-Armory Metrorail station platform after the game.

Metro also plans to open at 6 a.m. Saturday in preparation for the annual Help the Homeless Walkathon scheduled on the Mall.