Dulles Rail's Completion Date Delayed
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Finish of the Second Phase Expected in December 2016
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The second portion of the Silver Line, Metrorail's much-anticipated 23-mile extension to Dulles, will not be completed until at least December 2016, a year after the original end date, transit officials said today.
James E. Bennett, president of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, told the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors that the second phase of the $5.2 billion project would take an extra year to complete. It would extend Metro nearly 12 miles from a to-be-built stop at Reston Parkway to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County.
"Because we were a little late in starting, Phase Two will have to take some extra time," Bennett said.
Members of the airports authority's governing board came up with the revised date earlier this month after consulting with engineers. A formal ruling on the new schedule is set for May 6.
The delay in the Silver Line's completion date stems from a protracted political fight on Capitol Hill over $900 million in federal funding for the first phase of the project. Congress signed off on the rail extension to Reston in December.
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"It's unfortunate that it had to be delayed but that's past history," said Patricia Nicoson, president of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association, a nonprofit group that supports the rail expansion. "I think the airport [authority] will do their utmost to get this going as quickly as they can."
Nicoson said officials could insert incentives and penalties to get contractors to meet earlier deadlines, thereby getting the project finished before 2016, as the airports authority has done with other rail contracts.
The second part of the Silver Line will be funded through proceeds from the Dulles Toll Road and tax revenue from Fairfax and Loudoun counties. No matching federal funding is expected.
The next step is preliminary engineering, which will take about 18 months and end in early to mid-2011, Bennett said.
He also said that a final decision on the location of the Route 606 rail stop, which is being discussed by Loudoun officials, needs to be made by the end of summer 2010.
H. Chris Antigone, a Northern Virginia developer, has urged officials to move that station — currently proposed for the median of the Dulles Greenway — less than a mile northwest, next to a planned hotel and convention center. Antigone has argued that building the station in the median would not be pedestrian-friendly.
But county planners are worried about the proposed hotel site's proximity to the Broad Run floodplain, as well the noise and height restrictions the hotel project might face because of the nearby airport.
Supervisors had asked the airports authority for guidance on the proposed move. Bennett instead told board members today that he wanted to get a clearer idea from Loudoun officials about their "vision for the 606 station."
"They are looking for our opinion," noted Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large). Board members promised to examine the issue more thoroughly in the coming months.
Tagged: Board of Supervisors, Broad Run, Dulles, Dulles Airport, metro extension, Northern Virginia
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Not a shovel turned and now delays and next will be cost overruns......what a wonderful system we have. Can you please raise my taxes to cover this?
Posted by Funnyguyva (anonymous) on April 22, 2009 at 8:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Will Mr. Antigone provide the land free of charge for his proposed new location (for both his proposed alternate site of the station and the necessary rail extension to it)? Then maybe yes, his proposal could be considered.
Where ever the site, more roads need to be built to it. The current park-and-ride bus terminal has very limited access – one measly road, Broderick Drive, provides Ashburn’s access to the site. And that feeds into the perennial traffic nightmare of Waxpool Road/Pacific Blvd./Route 28.
Multiple roads need to be built across Broad Run, and soon, and not just for the bus/rail terminal. Currently only Route 7, Waxpool Road, Route 625, and Evergreen Mill Road cross the creek. Do county planners think Broad Run is a moat to keep out the barbarians?
Posted by PTFogarty (anonymous) on April 22, 2009 at 10:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
interesting question to ask on "Earth" Day, ptfogarty, re a moat to keep out the barbarians.
Actually, that moat is Goose Creek, but Broad Run is one of many redoubts.
Some folks would like to see geopolitical divides based on watersheds rather than other "false" boundaries, and solicit policy accordingly.
It's why you see "entering/leaving Chesapeake Bay Watershed" signs all the way up in western New York state now.
Periodically resolutions and bills are proposed to declare drainage ditches "intermittent waterways", and bring them under control of the Army Corps of Engineers.
That's one way to extend a watershed, and thus its regulatory maze.
The "barbarian" philosophy is part of why he have such a nightmare lack of transportation infrastructure--if we just don't build roads, everyone will stop driving!
Not.
But it takes some people a while to figure that one out.
Meanwhile, the pollutants from the idling gridlocked cars and trucks spew, but don't worry! Carbon dioxide has been declared a human health hazard in EMISSIONS ONLY (as in, non-human, at the moment), so maybe some cap and trade can try to force more vehicles to disappear.
Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on April 22, 2009 at 10:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tolls will be going up next year, too.
Posted by kreid (anonymous) on April 22, 2009 at 4:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ok, so we need a contest: Predict the date that the ribbon is cut on the final station in Loudoun County. My guess: Mid-2018. Say, July 1.
Posted by Craig_Colgan (anonymous) on April 22, 2009 at 6:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This project will resemble the "big dig" in Boston - billions over budget, years late, and poorly constructed when finished. It seems that all big projects like this become mired in cost overruns and time delays, as everyone wants to help themselves to the pile of cash.
Why is it so hard to build a rail line west of DC? The W&OD rail trail is already there - they just need to lay the rails back down! (I can hear the NIMBYs screaming at this suggestion already - LOL)
Posted by blueridgepro (anonymous) on April 22, 2009 at 8:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Craig - you're an optimist. July 1, 2025 at the earliest.
Posted by gieriscm1 (anonymous) on April 23, 2009 at 9:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Blueridgepro is right about the W&OD. The growth patterns were becoming clear in the 60's. Why did folks think it was such a bright idea to replace the rail with a bike path in the first place? Thanks a lot, Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority!!!
Posted by richgear (anonymous) on April 29, 2009 at 7:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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