With the contractor selected, the first of several “milestones” begins for the Metro line creeping toward Ashburn.
The notion of riding Metro from a station in Ashburn to Reston Town Center, Tysons Corner or Washington, DC, moved another small step toward reality Wednesday when the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors cemented its selection of Capital Rail Constructors to build Phase 2 of the Silver Line. “This is the first of many milestones to come for the second phase of the Silver Line,” said Jack Potter, President and CEO. Phase 1 of the 23-mile extension runs from East Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue and could begin carrying passengers by the end of the year. Passengers will be able to stay on Silver Line trains East of Falls Church because they will share the Orange Line track. While the contract award for Phase 2 marks …
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Metro says system-wide capability not possible until 2015, but the Congressional deadline is Sept. 30 of this year.
Metro got a break this week on its Congressional deadline to install cellphone service system-wide; a continuing resolution pushed the due date from March 30 to Sept. 30, The Washington Examiner reports. But don't get your hopes up, Metro has said system-wide service will not happen until December 2015. Among other requirements to continue receiving $150 million in federal funding each year, Metro is supposed to offer cell phone service throughout the transit system. Metro's 20 busiest stations were wired for internet service in 2009, but many tunnels between stations and many stations still do not have cell phone or internet service capabilities. Currently AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless have mixed levels of service throughout…
Traffic information for Northern Virginia commuters, including traffic jams, delays, Metro, ART, DASH, Fairfax Connector and more. Click on the grey tabs below for more information.
Problems on your commute today? Tell other readers about it in the comment section below. Updated traffic information: Delayed Metro trains, buses and cars sitting in endless traffic on I-66 and the Beltway—even a 10-minute commute in the DC metro area can be extreme some days. In fact, a March 2013 report from the Census Bureau shows people in the DC metro area have the second-worst commute in the country. That report came on the heels of a Texas Transportation Institute report in February that DC area commuters face the worst traffic in the country. Patch is here to help! Click on any of the grey tabs above to expand it and get more information about congestion, delays or other traffic alerts. On the Metro rail map, click on any …
Though Phase 2 construction has yet to begin, process is underway for art in the six future stations.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) is seeking artists to contribute public art works at Phase 2 Silver Line Metro stations. Metro's Art in Transit Program, funded by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), will place works at six future Silver Line stations. The art will promote transit use, enhance travel by Metro, and highlight the cultural vitality of the National Capital region, according to materials from Metro. MWAA is managing the design and construction of the Silver Line Project, the Metro extension that is set to begin operating at the end of 2013. Phase 1 of Silver Line will run from Tysons Corner to Reston's Wiehle Avenue. Phase 2, which does not yet have a construction start date, will …
Resident says since state "all but abandoned us to find our own source of funds," tax in Tysons is necessary — but with it should come with more input from the people who live there.
Controversy has shrouded the planning process of Tysons once again, this time in protest to the long debated (over two years in fact) tax for infrastructure on all land owners in the district. At its heart opponents believe the tax is just another nuisance being imposed on them, and many say it should be the developers who pay for these costs, as they reap all the benefits. Some feel that Fairfax County's Board of Supervisors envisioned plans that were grand, but avoided figuring out a way to pay for it. They believe the unforeseen costs are now being passed onto the residents. Those are interesting points, but sadly most who are arguing this case simply have not been in touch with the discussions and reality of the past three years. This …
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10:49 am on Sunday, December 23, 2012
Navid--SInce you have fallen to the level of personal insults in your remarks, I am no longer going to engage in this dialogue. Merry Christmas! more ›
Advisory group to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority will discuss proposed rate increases, financing
As questions over Dulles toll increases and Silver Line funding continue, the Dulles Corridor Advisory Committee (DCAC) — which advises the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on the Dulles Corridor — is preparing to give its own opinion on the issues. The group will meet at 11 a.m. Oct. 5 in Herndon to hear updates about finance and construction of the Silver Line metrorail project, and also make recommendations on proposed toll rate hikes. The committee, formed in 2007, has eight members: two each from Loudoun and Fairfax Counties, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the airports authority. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova is serving as chair of the committee; County Executive Ed Long also serves on the …
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12:07 pm on Monday, September 24, 2012
Who will the elected officials (Bulova and York) represent at this meeting? If they are going to represent their constituents, they must insist that the toll increases are not acceptable. MWAA's waste and corruption has: doubled the cost, delayed three years (33%), and destroyed public confidence in their ability to manage this project. It's time for Virginia to take the toll road back. Find out … more ›
After contentious four months, a divided board stays with the project.
With more eyes on Loudoun County than likely have ever been on it, the Loudoun Board of Supervisors voted 5-4 on Tuesday to continue participating with the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, which will extend the now-under-construction Silver Line from Wiehle Avenue in Reston to Route 772 in Ashburn. “Well the day has finally come for this board to make the decision about the future of Loudoun County,” County Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large) said as the vote approached. “This will help our employers reach our employees regionally.” York and Supervisors Ken Reid (R-Leesburg), Ralph Buona (R-Ashburn), Matt Letourneau (R-Dulles) and Shawn Williams (R-Broad Run) voted in supported, while Supervisors Suzanne Volpe (R-Algonkian), Geary …
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3:20 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012
Thats the best idea, will sell when house prices spike just as the Innovation Center stop is built. Will be nice to get an extra $100 K for just a few years wait. more ›
One homeowner believes rail means incremental higher RE values, even away from the stations.
To the editor: I have been reading all the back and forth about rail to Loudoun and cannot understand why people think it is only cost and no benefit. I have done ROI (cost/benefit) evaluations for the private sector and understand they are based on information at hand. Doubters say the benefits are unrealistic but the fact is they are just as likely to be too low as too high. In any event, there is one benefit that is not factored in any study and that is the benefit to the Loudoun homeowner. I live in Leesburg and I estimate the value of my house will be $50,000 higher in 2018 with Metro than without. If I have to pay $200 a year in higher taxes, I am all for it. Why do I think my house will be worth so much more? Supply and demand. …
8:57 am on Thursday, July 5, 2012
Bob just a reminder - i was waiting to hear back from you and better understand your response to my new offer. you may not have seen that in the other article/section thanks t_joseph more ›
Plan for area around Metro goes forward - with a few changes.
MWAA lacks authority to build Dulles rail.
Last month, most members of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board thumbed their noses at Congress, President Obama and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. They did so concerning a recently passed law authorizing expansion of the MWAA board from 13 to 17 members. They claimed that this change in MWAA's bistate compact cannot be implemented without ratification by the Virginia General Assembly and the D.C. Council. This raises a basic question: Why did MWAA not seek similar ratification when former Gov. Tim Kaine unilaterally decided to transfer control of the Dulles Toll Road and responsibility for building Dulles Rail to MWAA in December 2005, an action that significantly amended provisions of the 1986 congressional act, which …
1:14 pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
It's not like they've done such a great job building Phase I either. When I moved to Reston in 2008, the Wiehle Avenue station was supposed to open in 2010. I remember that because we had a 2-year lease and joked that the Metro station would open just in time for our lease to expire. Now it's scheduled to open some time in 2013, has cost vastly more than the original projections, and yet the MWAA… more ›
David A. LaRock
10:40 pm on Monday, January 28, 2013
David to Navid, please quote the source of this nonsensical accusation.. or is this what you toss out when you feel threatened and your debate points don't add up? FYI, I have spent thousands of hours laboring to unskew the seemingly endless flow of pro-train propaganda. All of it trying to invent benefit and disguise that Dulles Rail is an economic stimulus/ spendfest that redistributes precious… more ›