Silver Line May Not Open Until January

Metro's Silver Line may be slightly delayed, and officials say they are now looking at a January 2014 opening.

Phase 1 of the Metrorail extension, from Tysons Corner to Reston's Wiehle Avenue, was scheduled to open in December. WTOP is reporting that a top official at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority says construction delays have caused the delay.  

"The project from the contractor is expected to be completed by the end of September or in early October, so we're now projecting January 2014," Sam Carnaggio, director of the Dulles Corridor Project at MWAA, said at a presentation at the Action Committee for Transit on Tuesday.

The construction is about 94 percent complete, MWAA officials say.

Once the Bechtel Corporation completes the work and the airport authority certifies it, Metro will take at least 90 days to independently test the trains and tracks and hire and schedule staff to operate the Silver Line.

The handoff was scheduled for August, but Carnaggio said Oct. 1 would be a likely date for the handover to Metro, making Jan. 1 the earliest launch date.

MWAA just released photos of Silver Line Stations almost complete last week.

Patch had reported some officials saying this spring that Silver Line Phase 1 could be pushed to 2014.

MWAA ran tests above ground in April following some unsettling in recent months near the intersection of Rt. 7 and Rt. 123.

The settling into the soil was ruled routine and no further work will be needed, officials say. Metro deemed the Silver Line tunnel in Tysons safe.

Among other recent issues riders worried could push back the line's opening date: delays on the rail yard project at West Falls Church.

MWAA officials said in April that construction was still on schedule and again reiterated line was expected to open at the end of 2013.

MWAA had not given Metro a specific date in December in order for the timeline to be flexible, WTOP reported.

Carnaggio cited weather as one of the reasons "the date is where it is now and we are confident the contractor will meet it," he tolD WTOP.

Construction for Phase 2, which will run from Wiehle to Ashburn, should begin this summer, MWAA says. Service is projected to begin in 2018 or 2019.