Below is a statement from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority regarding the status of construction on Phase 1 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.

"The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority have concluded a review of the Silver Line Phase 1 Substantial Completion Submission from Dulles Transit Partners, and determined the contractor has not yet met the contract requirements for substantial completion.

The contract requires the submission to meet criteria in 12 different areas. Seven of the 12 areas were determined to be deficient. Examples of problem areas include:

  • Failure to deliver certificates of occupancy for almost 20 wayside buildings, including stations, power substations and the tunnel;
  • Performance issues with the Automatic Train Control System that prevent WMATA from beginning Operational Readiness Testing;
  • Failure to fully correct defects that impact operations, including track gage problems;
  • Elevator and escalator problems, and water leaks in buildings;
  • Incomplete documentation for testing requirements and safety/security verifications.

The Airports Authority has instructed DTP to provide a plan and date of conclusion for addressing the outstanding items as quickly as possible. We will work closely with DTP, WMATA and our other partners to monitor progress and assure that all contractual obligations are satisfied.

Substantial completion is a major milestone in the process of advancing the project to WMATA’s Operational Readiness Testing, safety certification and finally revenue service. After determining operational readiness, WMATA has up to 90 days to conduct further testing and setting the date for revenue service.

During the 90-day period, the Tri-State Oversight Committee and the Federal Transit Administration will conduct reviews.

Phase 1 of the Silver Line runs from East Falls Church to the eastern edge of Reston with four stops in Tysons Corner.”

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, established in 1987 by the governments of Virginia and the District of Columbia, manages and operates Ronald Reagan Washington National and Washington 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 tax dollars are 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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