Subway Update: What's Ahead for Drivers

Anywhere you drive along the route of the Silver Line Metrorail Project from East Falls Church through Tysons Corner to Wiehle Avenue in Reston this summer you will see construction.

Here is a look at what’s ahead and what all that construction means to drivers, courtesy of the Dulles Metrorail Corridor project, the folks building the new elevated subway line.

The Beltway, Route 495
Drivers using I-495 near Route 123 in the Tysons Corner area will continue to experience overnight lane closings on both the northbound and southbound lanes. Some nights, only a single
lane in a single direction will be closed, on other nights as many as three lanes will be closed.

Sometimes the ramps to and from Route 123 will be affected. These closings occur from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. but set-ups begin several hours earlier. The Beltway closings are necessary because crews are building the tracks that will lift the Metrorail trains up and over the Beltway.

Dulles Toll Road
Drivers using the eastbound Dulles Toll Road between Hunter Mill Road and the Main Toll Plaza will continue to face overnight lane closings and detours near Route 7 with construction of the overhead bridges to carry rail from the Dulles Airport Access Highway median to Route 7. The exit ramp to Route 7 will remain open.

Construction traffic also will be using the Dulles Toll Road and entering and leaving sites where support facilities, such as ponds and traction power substations, for the rail line are being built along the outer lanes.

Dulles Airport Access Highway
Drivers using the Dulles Airport Access Highway eastbound and westbound in these same areas will also experience lane closings and detours. Also, along the Airport Access Highway, the exit ramp to Route 7 will remain open.

Lanes along the Airport Access Highway will continue to be narrowed because of rail construction taking place in the median. Some lane closures will take place. Drivers should watch for construction traffic leaving and entering construction zones from open lanes.

I-66/Dulles Connector Road
The Dulles extension will tie-in with Metro’s existing Orange Line between the existing East and West Falls Church Metrorail stations. Today, work continues on that tie-in with bridges and
other complex work taking place extremely close to the existing tracks. Transit users can expect rail service disruptions over two-day weekends in July and both the Labor Day and Columbus Day three-day weekends because of Dulles Rail construction.

All along the Dulles Connector Road, drivers can expect some lane closings as work on the rail line in the median and the expansion of the existing West Falls Church Rail Yard continues.

Construction of the Wiehle Avenue Metrorail Station.
The last stop in Phase 1 continues in the median west of Wiehle Avenue. The Wiehle Avenue Metrorail Station is now 28 percent complete.

On Route 7 from Route 123 West to the Dulles Toll Road.

Construction is well under way on piers and bridges for the aerial rail line and two Metrorail stations in the median of Route 7 in this area. Construction of both the Tysons Central 7 and
Tysons West stations is progressing.

Before this intense work could begin in the median, many things had to be accomplished, including:
• Relocation and undergrounding of 21 different utilities – everything from gas and water lines to fiber for the high-tech defense and technology industries that abound in Tysons
• Elimination of the two-way service roads that used to parallel the east and westbound lanes of Route 7
• Elimination of mid-block left turns and creation of U-turn opportunities at signaled intersections
• Widening of the road bed by shifting lanes as much as 60 feet.

These changes forced drivers to alter their daily driving habits. Now that these modifications have been made, drivers face fewer daily surprises because the lanes changes are minimal.

Still, drivers must be on alert for construction traffic entering and exiting work zones in the median and to avoid distractions from the work taking place in the median. Later this summer or in early fall, the work atop the piers in Route 7 will increase as a large (370-ton) yellow and blue horizontal crane will be used to build bridges for the rail in the median. This work will require nighttime closings of the intersection of Route 7 and Gosnell/WestPark that started this week.

Route 123 aka Dolley Madison Boulevard
Construction of bridges along the northwest side of Route 123 from the Dulles Connector Road toward International Drive is continuing with work winding down at Scotts Crossing Road,
near the Gates of McLean community, and Tysons Boulevard. Drivers will continue to see construction here, specifically night closings of the roads into and out of the Capital One complex.

Work continues near I-495 and at Tysons Boulevard.

Construction continues on the two Metro stations located between McLean and Tysons Corner – Tysons East and Tysons Central 123. Both are located on the northwest side of Route 123. Tysons East at Scotts Crossing Road, is 24 percent complete. Tysons Central 123, near Tysons Corner Center, is 22 percent complete. This station is in front of the mall.

Below Route 7 and Route 123
Work continues on both the inbound and outbound tunnels that will carry the trains below the busy intersection of Routes 7 and 123, connecting the Tysons Central 123 Station and the Tysons Central 7 Station.

Remaining question: Can McLean residents actually get to one of the four Metrorail stations in Tysons Corner by public transportation? There is no parking at the four Tysons Corner stations. Stay tuned.