Subway Update: 40 Percent Complete, All Stations Under Construction

Construction of the new Silver Line subway, which runs from East Falls Church to the edge of Reston, is now 40 percent complete, according to project officials. This portion of the subway is expected in to open in 2013.

This phase of the project includes four stations in Tysons Corner – two are on the north side of Dolley Madison Boulevard. McLean residents should be able to take a bus to these stations. Two are along Route 7 and  is a fifth station is at Wiehle Avenue in Reston. Construction is well under way on all five stations:

• The Tysons East Station is along Route 123 at Scotts Crossing near the Capital One complex. Construction is 24 percent complete.
• Tysons Central 123, on the northwest side of Route 123 at Tysons Boulevard  near Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria, is 22 percent complete.
• Tysons Central 7, in the median of Route 7 west of Route 123 near SAIC and Marshalls, is 10 percent complete.
• Tysons West, in the median of Route 7 between Spring Hill and Tyco roads, is 16 percent complete.
• Wiehle Avenue, in the median of the Dulles International Airport Access Highway and Dulles Toll Road just west of the Wiehle Avenue overpass, is 28 percent complete.

Other progress updates of the two-year-old Silver Line project:

• Significant progress at I-66 and the Dulles Connector Road where the extension will merge with Metro's existing Orange line. Construction of the aerial guideway in that area is more than 93 percent complete.
• Construction of the east and westbound tunnels to carry trains from the Tysons Central 123 Station below the Route 7/Route 123 intersection to the Tysons Central 7 Station are more than 70 percent complete.
• The popular ramp for southbound traffic from McLean to the Route 267 Dulles Connector Road toward I-66 and downtown Washington has re-opened after being closed for a year for construction of the aerial guideway to carry tracks from the Connector Road to the northwest side of Route 123.
• Significant work is taking place on the piers and guideway to carry rail from Route 7 to the median of the Toll Road and Airport Access Highway.
• The final shift of lanes along Route 7 between Route 123 and the Dulles Toll Road to create the wide  median/construction zone for the rail line and two stations has been accomplished.
• Construction of the aerial bridges for rail across I-495 is continuing to cause lane closings on the northbound lanes along with some related ramp closings and detours. In a few weeks, lane closings will also take place in the southbound lanes.

This is the first phase of the Silver Line. The second phase would take the line from Wiehle to Dulles Airport and Loudoun Airport. Federal, state and subway construction officials are now fighting over the cost of the Dulles Airport station.

Some of us hope that in our lifetime, we will be able to simply take the subway to Dulles Airport, get off and take a flight to Paris.

Background:

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is constructing a 23-mile extension of the existing Metrorail system, which will be operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority from East Falls Church to Washington Dulles International Airport west to Ashburn.
The extension will serve Tysons Corner, Virginia's largest employment center, and the Reston Herndon area, the state's second largest employment concentration. And, it will provide a one-seat ride from Dulles International Airport to downtown Washington.

Phase 1 and 2

The project will include 11 new stations. It will be built in two phases. Phase 1 will run from East Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue on the eastern edge of Reston. It will include four stations in Tysons Corner-Tysons east, Tysons Central 123, Tysons Central 7 and Tysons West. Construction will begin in March of 2009 and it will be completed in 2013.
Phase 2 will run from Wiehle Avenue to Ashburn in eastern Loudoun County. A construction date has not been set for the extension that will serve Reston Town Center, Herndon, Dulles Airport, Route 606 and Ashburn.
The purpose of Dulles Metrorail is to provide high-quality, high-capacity transit service in the Dulles Corridor. New Metrorail service in the corridor will result in travel time savings between the corridor and downtown D.C., expand the reach of the existing regional rail system, offer a viable alternative to automobile travel and support future transit-oriented development along the corridor.

Cost: Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and Dulles Transit Partners in March 2008 signed an updated $1.6 billion fixed-price contract to build the project, keeping the costs of the project to $2.6 billion.