Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) withdrew his disapproval to a $50 million contract needed for final work on the H Street NE late last week, but not before sending out a lengthy statement in which he criticized the project, saying that it is too expensive a project, will only serve “newcomers” to the neighborhood and is poorly planned.

“I’ve been briefed on this project several times and each time I have expressed my unhappiness with spending this tremendous amount of money on a street car line that won’t go anywhere,” he said in a statement. “I am attempting to protect the tax-payer and am opposed to any further money being spent on streetcars while there are other extensive capital needs in this city, specifically in Wards 5, 7, and 8—including school modernization, sidewalk restoration, or the construction of new health centers, recreation and aquatic centers.”

Last week, Barry filed a disapproval resolution for a contract that would allow a D.C. company to built the last components needed for the streetcar, including a car barn along Benning Road and a connection to Union Station via the Hop Scotch Bridge. Had his disapproval stood, the contract approval process would have been pushed back, threatening delays to the hoped-for July 2013 inauguration.

According to the statement and council sources, he lifted his disapproval when he was promised that temporary construction jobs would be given to D.C. residents and that the project would set a goal of using 50 percent of small, local and minority-owned businesses. (Even had he not lifted his disapproval, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells and Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh had a resolution prepped for tomorrow that would overrule Barry; council sources said they had the votes to pass it.) With his disapproval off the table, the contract will be finalized today.

And though Barry lifted his disapproval, his statement still drew upon the impressions of some that the streetcar will only benefit a small segment of D.C. residents. “The street car line will serve as an alternative mode of transportation servicing the newcomers to this neighborhood,” he said in the statement. Barry also mentioned his frustration that a proposed streetcar line from Boiling Air Force Base to Anacostia and over the 11th Street Bridge was pushed back; D.C. and the federal government have not been able to come to an agreement over federal funding for that streetcar line.

Possible delays are still possible for H Street, though, primarily over a proposed car barn next to Spingarn High School on Benning Road. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) called an emergency meeting tonight to hear community input on the car barn, where the streetcars would be stored and could turn around. Some community members and activists have complained of the impact the 15,000 square-foot car barn could have on the high school and nearby Langston Golf Course; D.C. officials have said that it’s the best and cheapest option for the facility.