Construction is well under way on a 23-mile extension of the Metrorail line that will permit seamless rail travel between Washington, D.C., and Dulles International Airport.
The Dulles Corridor Metrorail project will extend service from the existing Orange Line at the East Falls Church station in Fairfax County, Virginia, to Route 772 in Loudoun County. The corridor encompasses Tysons Corner, Reston, Herndon, and Dulles airport. The new line also will offer direct access to the existing Metro system, enabling passengers to ride into downtown Washington without changing trains.
The project will include construction of 11 new stations—five in the first phase of construction, and six in the second. All stations will have pedestrian bridges, escalators, and elevators.
Construction began in March 2009, following the signing of a $900 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. In October, the project reached a major milestone as excavation began for a 2,400-foot tunnel under the busy Tysons Corner area of the Washington, D.C. suburbs. This section represents the most complex engineering and construction challenge of the project.
Dulles Transit Partners, LLC, a joint venture of Bechtel Infrastructure, Inc., and the Washington Division of URS Corporation, is designing and building the new line for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
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