WASHINGTON -- Transportation officials, the Dulles Corridor Rail Association and the Greater Washington Board of Trade spoke out against the Federal Transit Administration’s concerns with the Dulles Metrorail project Friday afternoon.

Federal officials said Thursday that they have serious doubts that the long-awaited extension of Metro to Dulles International Airport will qualify for federal funding. Without the hoped-for $900 million in federal funding, the entire $2.5 billion project to extend the rail system would collapse.

Related: Watch The Report | FTA Dulles Letter To Gov. Kaine | Inspector General Report, July 2007

"Without federal financial participation, this becomes a very steep uphill climb," said Gerry Connelly, of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

The head of the FTA, James S. Simpson, outlined his concerns in a letter sent to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. He said the project doesn't appear to be a "prudent investment."

Simpson discussed his concerns in a meeting with Kaine and Virginia's congressional delegation on Thursday.

"If we had to make a decision today, today the project does not meet the requirements necessary to advance it," Simpson said. "This is something we do with other grantees, as well. We give them the opportunity to go back, to take a look at our findings and then to meet with us once again."

Simpson said his office is worried about the project's cost-effectiveness and how the airports authority will come up with the rest of the money for it. He also cited uncertainties about Metro's ability to pay for the upkeep of the entire rail system, citing their current problems prior to the proposed 23-mile extension.

"Essentially what we've seen in the past few months is a desperate attempt by FTA to go from one rationale to another -- almost like Whack-a-Mole -- to try to find some rationale to justify a no," Connelly said.

Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer, Maryland Secretary of Transportation John Porcari, D.C. Department of Transportation Director Emeka Moneme, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority President Jim Bennett, Greater Washington Board of Trade President Jim Dinegar and Dulles Corridor Rail Association President Patty Nicoson participated in Friday's press conference. Homer said they will work on a response to Simpson's letter until close of business on Monday.

In response to the press conference, Simpson released a statement saying, "No one associated with the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project should be surprised by its escalating costs and risks. FTA and MWAA have been in communication regarding these challenges. Additionally, the report issued by the Department of Transportation's independent Inspector General in July 2007, which received extensive local media coverage, identified similar concerns and urged the FTA to ensure they were addressed with extra vigilance."

Virginia State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli praised the FTA opinion, saying Simpson's letter to Kaine shared many of Cuccinelli's past criticisms of the project.

The FTA evaluated the project under the New Starts criteria and considered the risks associated with the project.

According to Simpson's letter, "The sheer number and magnitude of the current project's technical, financial and institutional risks and uncertainties are unprecedented for a candidate New Starts project."

"That is a dramatic understatement," Cuccinelli said.

According to New Starts criteria, a project must receive a rating of medium or higher for project justification and local financial commitment. The FTA rated the Dulles Metro project medium-low for both.

"We all believe and we're all standing over this reason that this is a critical project," Kaine said. "The first meeting I had with this delegation and the transportation officials, it was stated by the FTA administrator we're the capital of the free world, we should be able to build a rail system to the airport that serves the world from the capital."

"Metro has always supported the proposed Metrorail extension in the Dulles corridor, and the Metro Board has adopted resolutions expressing this support," Metro General Manager John Catoe said in a statement released Thursday. "We believe that this corridor needs this rail extension to meet the growing travel demand in the corridor and the region. We will continue to work with the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to advance this important project."

Utility workers are already burying cable along Leesburg Pike in preparation for the expansion from the East Falls Church station through Tysons Corner to Dulles. News4's John Friess reported that $140 million has already been spent on the project.

The project needs $900 million from the FTA to supplement $400 million from Fairfax County and $1.3 billion from the Dulles toll road. Simpson said the FTA is not convinced $300 million in promised cuts can be met.

The deadline for funding is next week.

Cuccinelli suggested redirecting the $900 million in federal funds to road projects in the area.

For years, the battle over the Metro expansion centered on whether to build a tunnel through Tysons. Now a number of scenarios are being considered.

"If this project is not approved, it's dead. There are contracts that expire on Feb. 1. You can't just snap your fingers and start it back up," Dinegar said. "There would be adjustments then in the prices of steel and concrete and labor and more."