June 2018 Metrorail On Track Newsletter of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project

Phase 2 Rail Construction Hits 78 Percent

While the heavy rains of late spring have slowed some con- struction, Phase 2 of the Silver Line is about 78 percent com- plete as of late May. Phase 2 includes 6 stations: Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Dulles Airport, Loudoun Gateway and Ashburn.

Herndon Station Parking : Construction of the Silver Line Phase 2 is more than three-quarters Garage Almost Complete of the way complete. Pictured here is Herndon Station, in the media of the Dulles Toll Road/Dulles International Airport Access Highway near the Herndon-Monroe Park and Fairfax County is building new parking garages to serve the fu- Ride. (Photo courtesy of Richard D. Adams, DCMP) ture Herndon and Innovation Metrorail stations. According to Fairfax transportation official Mark Bus Stop Repairs Nearly Finished at Tysons Stations Canale, the Herndon garage is 82 percent complete. Most of the ex- Road repairs at the bus stops serving the McLean and Spring Hill Metrorail terior is complete but electrical stations are almost done. This work requires riders of WMATA and Fairfax work and building interior spaces County buses to use different bus stops for several weeks. remain to be done. The pace of construction at the garage is Loudoun Gateway Work Hits Hard Rock ahead of schedule, but Canale said he did not expect the garage Construction of the has slowed a bit because to open prior to the opening of all the contractor has hit some very hard rock which has required using a rock of Phase 2. Construction at the crusher, according to Loudoun County’s Alan Winn. Loudoun is building Innovation Center garage is 50 this facility along with two garages that will serve Ashburn Station. One of percent complete. the Ashburn garages is being built through public-private partnership be- tween the county and developer Comstock LLC, which is self-financing Old Meadow/Route 123 that garage. Loudoun has appropriated $84 million for the design and con- Improvements Planned struction of the other two garages. Construction previously hit other snags when workers encountered extremely hard rock elsewhere along the The Dulles Rail Project plan to Phase 2 rail alignment. improve the busy intersection of Old Meadow Road and Route 123 Innovation Ave. Closure Continues through September in Tysons Corner is being re- viewed, pending the outcome of a A temporary closure of the old Innovation Avenue alignment southeast of traffic analysis of possible impacts the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) building has been extended during construction. As details until the end of September 2018 because of construction of the Innovation emerge, additional public meetings Center Station’s north pavilion, pedestrian bridge and associated utility with those who live and work in work. The closure is located between Greene Drive and the currently this area will be held. closed section of old Innovation Avenue.

PRECAST CONCRETE UPDATE

Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project offi- fied in its contract. (WMATA) which will eventually operate cials are awaiting results of microscopic That aggregate must be tested for Phase 2, will be doing its own investiga- testing of samples from precast concrete compliance with project requirements. tion. panels used in construction of five of the The unsealing of court documents Meanwhile, significant progress has six new Metrorail stations in Phase 2 of was the first time the Metropolitan been made on resolving previously iden- the Silver Line. Washington Airports Authority learned tified water penetration problems with The testing is being done following of the potential problems with the ag- precast concrete panels that threatened the mid-May release of allegations, un- gregate. the required 100-year durability of the sealed in federal district court in Alexan- The authority has hired Dulles Rail project. dria, saying there are problems with the Consultants, an independent entity, to A rail-mounted extraction machine, a stone aggregate used to fabricate the oversee a microscopic examination of large device custom-made to remove panels by Universal Concrete Corp. of four core samples from each of the five and replace panels that weigh as much Stowe, Pa. stations involved: Reston Town Center, as 24 tons, has been used by CRC crews The allegations came in a whistle- Herndon, Innovation Center, Loudoun to remove some panels at the Herndon blower lawsuit filed by a former employ- Gateway and Ashburn. and Innovation Center stations. ee at Universal saying that the concrete Results of those tests are expected in CRC has also committed to spraying company, a subcontractor for Capital late summer. That’s when MWAA offi- all station panels with a special sealant Rail Constructors (CRC), the main con- cials will make decisions on the next this summer and paying for future treat- tractor building Phase 2, used aggregate steps. In addition, the Washington Met- ments by WMATA as needed every 10 from a quarry other than the one speci- ropolitan Area Transit Authority years.

Did you know?

 The north pedestrian bridge at Loudoun Gateway is the longest on Phase 2 at 377 feet

 The shortest is the Reston Metrorail Station’s south pe- destrian bridge at 179 feet

Secretary of Trans- Here’s a view looking east from the Innovation Center Station portation Shannon Valentine platform in the median of the Dulles Toll Road. (Courtesy of toured the project in May Amanda Scarangella, Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project)

Contact the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project’s Communications and Follow us on Outreach Office at 703-572-0506 or [email protected]. To Twitter report construction concerns, call the Project Hotline at @DullesMetrorail 1-844-385-7245.