Silver Line 2 Contract Awarded, Construction Remains a Year Away

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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MWAA Finalizes Award of Metro Silver Line Contract

A group that includes Clarke Construction, Kiewit Infrastructure, Parsons and Dewberry will build Phase 2.

After previous announcing plans intent to pick Capital Rail Constructors as the contractor for the second phase of Metro’s Silver Line project, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority made it official Wednesday. The CRC group – which includes Clarke Construction Group, Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., Parsons Transportation and Dewberry – will extend the line from the first phase’s last station at Wiehle Avenue in Reston to Dulles International Airport and Ashburn. “This is the first of many milestones to come for the second phase of the Silver Line,” said Jack Potter, President and CEO. “The Phase 2 contract, awarded through a competitive bid process, and with the coordination and collaboration of our project partners, is moving …

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Bob Bruhns

8:09 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Great! Maybe MWAA, Fairfax County and Loudoun County can make good financing arrangements for this phase of the rail construction now. We won't know, until MONTHS after the ground is broken. Amazingly, this project was allowed to proceed while the financing was uncertain. What are we teaching our children here? "Yes kids, this is the right and proper way to build public infrastructure. First, …   more ›

Silver Line Phase 1 Pushed to 2014?

After previously expressing optimism for 2013 start, that might not be an option.

At the end of February, representatives from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said they thought passengers would be riding on the brand new Silver Line by the end of 2013, but that already appears to have changed. Officials previously told Patch there are really two important dates coming up for the project's first phase: completion of construction and the day passengers begin riding. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), the agency tasked with building Metro’s 23-mile Silver Line from East Falls Church to Ashburn, expects to complete construction around the end of the summer and turn the line over to WMATA. Safety inspections are likely to be done by the end of the year, according to a WMATA rep…

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Metro Expects Silver Line Riders by End of 2013

MWAA expects to complete construction in late summer and turn the rail line over to Metro.

Among a series of interesting tidbits to come from Thursday’s Committee for Dulles meeting in Ashburn was a clue about when the first passengers will be able to ride Metro’s Silver Line, a 23-mile extension of the rail system from East Falls Church to Ashburn. The project was broken into two phases. Phase one, from East Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue in Reston, is nearing completion as the second phase, from Wiehle to Ashburn, begins moving forward. There are really two important dates coming up for the project's first phase: completion of construction and the day passengers begin riding. “We will be completing the work in late summer,” said Marcia McAllister, a spokeswoman for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. DCMR was contracted by …

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Bob Bruhns

3:55 am on Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Go! Go! Oops. It's going. Going broke. The Silver Line Metro needed another $300 million... before it even OPENED. Oh wait - WE'RE the ones who are going broke. Why? Because WE'RE the ones who are already bailing out the Dulles Rail / Silver Line with another $300 million to try to hold the toll increases a little less than planned... for a few years.... and then we'll have to bail it out with a …   more ›

Fairfax Officials Talk Silver Line, Connector in Online Chat

Herndon, Reston residents express concern at possibility of longer commutes.

Fairfax County officials answered residents’ questions Tuesday regarding the first half of the Silver Line and the new Connector bus routes that will launch when the Metro line opens at the end of the year. Nick Perfili, Dulles Rail Project Planner, and Christy Wegener, Connector’s manager of operations, led the discussion, part of a weeklong effort to gather input on the many changes coming to Connector service in the area. The Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s (FCDOT) plan includes the addition of 12 new routes and restructuring of 20 existing routes, as well the elimination of six others. One Fairfax resident expressed concern that those commuting west to areas like Reston and Herndon on the new routes will end up with a …

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Final Silver Line Timetable Has Rail on Track

Phase 1 of new rail line expected to be turned over for testing and training in August.

Metro's Silver Line Phase 1 is 86 percent complete and on schedule for delivery by the end of August, says Pat Nowakowski, Executive Director of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. Nowakowski gave an analysis at last week's Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority meeting. MWAA is not giving an exact date that Phase 1 of the Silver Line — which will run from Tysons Corner to Reston's Wiehle Avenue — will open, but is sticking with a general date of December 2013 for now, MWAA spokesman Rob Yingling said. Some of the highlights of Nowakowski's presentation: • Final Design – All design is complete. One permit needs to be secured. • Metro has paid out $2.255 billion so far. The final cost is expected to be $2,905,695,000. There is $81 …

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IG Report Questions MWAA Policies

In statement, regional panel welcomes report, while letter to LaHood criticizes interference.

A long-awaited report about the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation’s Inspector General calls for actions beyond what the regional panel has already undertaken. MWAA, responsible for constructing Metro’ Silver Line project from Falls Church to Ashburn, came under fire for lax oversight of its members. The IG report also raises questions about whether the organization’s policies permit favoritism in awarding contracts and nepotism in awarding jobs. For the full report, see the PDF attached to this article. After an interim report from the IG, MWAA approved a new travel policy and code of ethics, revised bylaws for board members and its Freedom of Information Policy and terminated contracts with…

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Bob Bruhns

12:30 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012

It's just a bunch of crooks fighting over stolen money. Reports that expose their lies are not going to help them grab the money and run, so they don't demand them. The Dulles Rail project, also known as the Silver Line, costs two times what it should - we're talking about an unnecessary extra $2.5 to $3 Billion dollars of economic drain that is causing a major financial crisis for this entire …   more ›

Letters to the Editor

LTE: MWAA Provides Political Cover for Silver Line

One reader makes the case that MWAA simply insulates elected officials from angry constituents.

To the Editor: Most people have heard of the endless problems with MWAA (the guys in charge of Metro’s Silver Line construction) and their reckless spending. Still, our state and local governments keep ignoring their bad reputation when it comes to their management of the Silver Line construction. Loudoun and Virginia are handing over our taxes and tolls knowing MWAA has no incentive for efficiency. They answer to no one, at any level of government.    If you want to know where the wasted billions go look at the names of companies on the campaign contributions of those who push this crony-driven spendfest. I expect you'll see the lobbyists, the contractors and the developers making hefty investments in the campaign accounts of these …

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LTE: MWAA’s Cost-cutting Excuse Don’t Add Up

NoTollIncrease.org members question Airports Authority’s ability to manage Metro Silver Line project.

The evidence of poor management by the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority (MWAA) grows by the day. Elected officials continue to scold them, even for misdeeds that those same officials were alerted to but chose to ignore. But take heart. There is a simple standard of performance this seemingly unaccountable bunch should conform to. According to the 2006 Dulles Toll Road Permit and Operating Agreement, MWAA is required to make “best efforts” to complete the project by Dec. 31, 2015. How do you measure best efforts? Schedule would be a good place to start; and in that area, MWAA’s report card is looking pretty bad, and their excuse for long delays might as well be to blame the family dog for eating the schedule. Recently, in a letter…

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Bob Bruhns

2:23 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012

Actually, it was MWAA that wasted all that time. Knowing that there would be no federal funds, and knowing that Virginia would put in no more than $150 million, MWAA's Board nevertheless proceeded to approve the unbelievably expensive underground station plan at Dulles Airport, that was badly designed to require a loop of miles of underground tunnel, instead of a short dead-end spur that should …   more ›

Ties to MWAA Woes Cut Both Ways

Examiner: GOP was aware of an insider deal with outgoing board member before politicizing it.

As the legal wrangling continues over one Democrat's seat on the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Board of Directors, the contract given to another outgoing board member recently opened a new political battle over the group that is tasked with constructing Metro’s Silver Line project. Gov. Bob McDonnell recently failed to persuade a Fairfax Circuit Court judge to seat his new appointee to the panel, while Dennis Martire disputes his removal by McDonnell. Earlier this year, after Republicans criticized MWAA for pushing a project labor agreement requirement on the second phase of the Silver Line, information surfaced that members of McDonnell’s administration were aware of PLA negotiation. This week, the Washington Examiner found…

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Bob Bruhns

9:28 am on Sunday, September 9, 2012

Excuse me if I'm a bit politically incorrect here, but weren't BOTH political parties happy to cover up this case of big-shot favoritism? How many of the taxpayers and toll payers, who have to pay the nearly double price of this rail project that was so carelessly overseen by this clown circus of a Board and executives, would get this kind of health care compensation? I've read about trips to …   more ›