Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project progress update e-mail 10 03 2014
Columns for Guideways Going Up at Dulles as Crews Prepare to Widen Saarinen Circle for Airport Station
Crews prepare to pour concrete into an aerial guideway column.
Photo by Capital Rail Constructors
Phase 2 rail construction crews are making significant progress, primarily at Dulles Airport.
Trees have been removed along Autopilot Drive (near the car rental agencies) to clear the way for the aerial guideway that will carry the overhead tracks. Trees along Saarinen Circle have been relocated in preparation for construction of the Dulles Airport Station in front of Parking Garage 1. And, utilities relocations are well underway.
Aerial Guideway Work: Construction of the piers to support the guideway is clearly visible with more than 36 drilled shaft foundations in place, to date. Crews have installed 15 columns and five caps, creating structures that resemble large mushrooms. The work has now moved out onto Autopilot Drive.
A roadway is being built through the undeveloped north end of the Airport to accommodate the heavy construction equipment necessary to construct the guideway out onto the Dulles Greenway.
Trees removed from the Dulles Station site will be replanted in other locations at the airport.
Photo by Capital Rail Constructors
Dulles Airport Station: Crews are preparing to realign Saarinen Circle, near Parking Garage 1, to make room for the start of mass excavation for the Dulles Airport Station. In addition, work on water and sewer lines for the station require the temporary relocation of Shuttle Bus stops in front of the garage. The underground walkway that connects Parking Garage 1 to the terminal will remain open for business while this work is underway.
Other Stations: Preliminary work to prepare the Innovation Center and Herndon station sites for construction are scheduled to begin in October and November, respectively.
Horsepen Bridge Area: Shoulder and temporary lane closures are scheduled to begin on the Dulles International Airport Access Highway (DIAAH) in October to facilitate construction of an in-line bridge that will cross Horsepen Run in the median of the highway (just west of Route 28). Details will be released as the dates of the work are set.
According to Capital Rail Constructors, the design-build contractor for the stations, tracks and systems of Phase 2, there have been more than 650,000 man hours recorded thus far with no recordable safety or environmental incidents.
Airports Authority Names Charles Stark New Chief of Dulles Metrorail Project
Charles W. Stark has been selected as the new executive director of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, overseeing construction of the 11.4-mile Phase 2 extension of the Metro Silver Line from Reston, Virginia, through Washington Dulles International Airport to Ashburn in Loudoun County, Virginia.
Stark succeeds Pat Nowakowski, who resigned earlier this year to become president of the Long Island Railroad in New York.
"The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is fortunate to have someone of Charles Stark's broad experience in transit construction and engineering in this position as we complete the Silver Line project," said Airports Authority President and CEO Jack Potter. "He will be instrumental in achieving our goal of providing top-quality transportation infrastructure for the National Capital region."
Phase 1 of the Silver Line began passenger service on July 26, extending the Washington area's Metrorail public transit system into Tysons and Reston.
Silver Line Ridership Ahead of Projections
Less than two months after opening, the Silver Line is already performing at 60 percent of the ridership that was projected for the end of the first full year of service. An average of 15,000 riders are entering the system at the five new Silver Line stations on weekdays for a combined 30,000 trips to or from the new stations, Metro says.
Silver Line ridership had been projected to reach 25,000 boardings at the five new stations after one full year of service.
Metro estimates that the Silver Line is currently adding approximately 6,000 new riders -- making roughly 12,000 trips -- to the Metrorail system each weekday. The balance, approximately 9,000 riders, are primarily former Orange Line riders who have switched to the Silver Line.
Wiehle-Reston East remains the Silver Line's commuting powerhouse, having already surpassed first-year ridership projections with 8,400 boardings, or 16,800 weekday entries and exits. With convenient bus transfers, a secure bike room and a large parking garage, Wiehle-Reston East's commuters make up around half the line's ridership.
Tysons Corner Station is one of the few stations on the Metrorail system where ridership is higher on Saturday than regular weekdays. The station is the second busiest new station on weekdays with about 5,300 entries and exits, but Saturday ridership has been even higher. On Sept. 20, Metro reported 7,449 entries and exits at the station.
The Greensboro Station is located in the median of Route 7 in Tysons Corner.
Photo by Larry Levine, WMATA
Rail Yard Contract Goes to Hensel Phelps
Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Chantilly has been awarded the contract to design and build the rail yard and maintenance facility for Phase 2 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, known as the Silver Line.
Hensel Phelps' $252,989,000 price proposal was determined to meet all necessary requirements and was the lowest of the four received by the Airports Authority.
Package B, the design-build contract for the rail yard and maintenance facility, is the second and final major contract for Phase 2 of the Silver Line Project. Package A, which includes the construction of six stations, 11.4 miles of track and guideways and wayside components, was awarded in May 2013 to Capital Rail Constructors, a team consisting of Clark Construction Group and Kiewit Infrastructure South Co.
$1.28 Billion TIFIA Loan to Help Hold Tolls at Current Levels for Now
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has closed on a $1.28 billion low-interest U.S. Department of Transportation 'Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act' (TIFIA) loan for the portion of Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project funded by revenue from the Dulles Toll Road.
The Airports Authority applied for the TIFIA loan in conjunction with its local partners on the Metrorail Project, Fairfax County and Loudoun County, which are finalizing their segments of the loan.
The closing was the culmination of a months-long team effort and represents $1.28 billion of support for users of the Dulles Toll Road, whose toll payments help fund construction of the Silver Line extension of the Washington region's Metrorail public transit system.
"The Airports Authority and our project partners made securing a low-interest TIFIA loan a top priority, because of the financial benefits it offered to the Dulles Toll Road users and taxpayers. Thanks to the favorable interest rates the loan provides, as well as the financial commitment from the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Airports Authority will be able to hold tolls at current levels through 2018 and limit future toll increases," the Authority said.
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Link to PDF version not yet posted at
Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project web site.
Couple comments:
I think MWAA got a pretty good deal on the Dulles Yard contract. The Branch Avenue Yard Cost WMATA roughly two third less back in 1999, Dulles Yard will be four time larger in storage capacity, 6 times time larger servicing capacity, have a heavy repair shop and paint shop to name just a few facilities there.
Larry Levine, the photographer that took the picture of the Greenboro station has been employed by WMATA sense the 1980s.
John in the sand box of Maryland's eastern shore.
