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Despite remaining disagreements over whether union labor will be used to build the second phase of Metro’s Silver Line out to Dulles Airport, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gathered with stakeholders yesterday and said that he had “every confidence” that the project would proceed as planned.

The Post reports that LaHood met with Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton, chairmen of Loudoun and Fairfax counties’ boards of supervisors, and officials from Metro and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to discuss Virginia’s opposition to the use of union labor for the construction of the project’s second phase, which will reach Dulles and continue out to Loudoun County.

“Everybody believes this project is of regional and national significance,” said LaHood, according to the Post. “There’s determination for it to move forward.”

Disagreements have to be ironed out before July 4; if nothing is decided by then, there could be delays in the construction of the second phase. The Silver Line’s first phase out to Reston is set to open in 2013.

This isn’t the first time that LaHood has been brought in to negotiate between the warring parties on how to pay for and build the Silver Line—last fall he helped reach an agreement on how the $3 billion tab would be split up.