The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on Thursday issued a Notice of Recommended Award to Capital Rail Constructors for the major design-build portion of Phase 2 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, known as the Silver Line. The announcement of the Notice of Recommended Award formally identifies the team consisting of Clark Construction Group and Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. as the low-price proposer for the contract, but does not constitute a final award of the contract.

The announcement follows an Airports Authority review of Capital Rail Constructors’ $1,177,777,000.00 price proposal, which was determined to meet all necessary requirements. Capital Rail Constructors’ price proposal was the lowest of the five read by the Airports Authority at a public opening on Friday, April 19.

“We are very encouraged by the price submitted by Capital Rail Constructors and the potential savings it includes,” said Pat Nowakowski, executive director of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. “This has been a very successful competitive procurement process. The winning proposal is well below our original estimates of $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion for this portion of the project, which hopefully will allow us to pass on additional savings to users of the Dulles Toll Road.”

The Notice of Recommended Award is the next step in a competitive procurement process that began in July 2012. The Airports Authority will now request additional documentation from the team, including insurance certificates, and payment and performance bonds. A final award of the contract is expected in May.

This contract includes the construction of 6 stations, 11.4 miles of track and guideways, and wayside components. The stations are Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Washington Dulles International Airport, Route 606 and Route 772/Ashburn. Additional contracts will be competed in the near future for the rail yard and parking garages.

The Silver Line project is being undertaken in partnership with Loudoun and Fairfax counties and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority was established in 1987 by the governments of Virginia and the District of Columbia to manage and operate Washington’s Ronald Reagan National and Dulles International airports, which together serve more than 40 million passengers a year. The Airports Authority also operates and maintains the Dulles Airport Access Road and the Dulles Toll Road and manages construction of the Silver Line project, a 23-mile extension of the Washington region’s Metrorail system into Loudoun County, Va. No taxpayer money is used to operate the toll road, which is funded by toll revenues, or the airports, which are funded through aircraft landing fees, rents and revenues from concessions. The Silver Line construction is funded by a combination of toll-road revenues, airport contributions and federal, state and local government appropriations. The Airports Authority is led by a 17-member board of directors appointed by the governors of Virginia, Maryland, the mayor of Washington, D.C., and the president of the United States.

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