MWAA Green-lights Metro Silver Line Phase 2 Work

With the issuance of a Notice to Proceed to the previously chosen contractor, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has set the stage for work to begin on the second phase of the $5.8 billion Metro Silver Line, which run from Reston to Dulles International Airport and into Loudoun County.

Work on the first phase of the Silver Line – from East Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue in Reston – is on track for completion later this year, with the first riders expected to board in early 2014. There’s an outside chance the line will open to the public in December. Current estimates for each phase come to $2.9 billion for a nearly $6 billion total.

With the second phase now authorized to move forward, MWAA anticipates completion of construction sometime in 2018. As with the first phase, once the contractor – Capital Rail Constructors (CRC), a joint venture of Clark Construction Group and Kiewit Infrastructure South – completes its work, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will conduct tests before opening the new station to the public.

“Today’s news means work will actually begin on Phase 2 of rail to Loudoun,” said Loudoun Chamber of Commerce president Tony Howard. “Psychologically, to me, it’s a major step forward.”

After years of decisions about whether to bring transit to Dulles Airport, whether to extend it to Ashburn and who would pay, construction is poised to begin.

“I’m looking forward to seeing to the dirt turn,” said Loudoun Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York (R-At Large), a member of the board majority that committed to the project in a 5-4 vote.

People are unlikely to see any significant work until next year.

“This is an important milestone,” said MWAA president and CEO Jack Potter in a press release. “The Notice to Proceed allows Capital Rail Constructors to get to work making rail to Dulles a reality. This means crews will soon be in the field surveying, performing site preparations and making geological assessments while they finalize permits and other design work. Actual construction work using heavy equipment and cranes will likely begin in spring of 2014.”

The authorized work includes six stations in Fairfax and Loudoun counties 11.4 miles of track and guideways and wayside components, comprising about half of the project. The stations include Dulles International Airport, Route 606 and Route 772 (Moorefield Station/Loudoun Station) in Loudoun; and Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center near Route 28 in Fairfax.

The notice sets a construction completion period of 60 months, targeting completion in July 2018, not counting unforeseen delays, which can include weather. The contract is the largest of several to be issued for Phase 2. CRC’s $1.18 billion bid came in lower than the $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion MWAA estimated for that part of the work.

“Ten years ago rail to Dulles and beyond was still just a hopeful idea,” said MWAA Chairman Michael Curto in the release. “Today it is on its way to becoming a reality as we formally initiate Phase 2 of rail to Dulles. There is still much work to be done on both Phase 1 and Phase 2, but this Notice to Proceed represents an important milestone toward increased transportation connectivity for the region.”

Construction of Phase 2 is expected to have positive impacts on the local economy, according to MWAA, similar to Phase 1, which generated as many as 1,800 construction jobs during peak periods. In addition, 60 percent of all procurements for Phase 1 were with subcontractors based in the Washington, DC, region.

The Silver Line project is being built by MWAA through a partnership of Loudoun and Fairfax counties, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the U.S. Department of Transportation.