Washington Dulles
International Airport 
Washington Dulles International Airport station platform on opening day
General information
Location44920 Saarinen Circle
Dulles, Virginia
Coordinates 38°57′21″N 77°26′52″W / 38.95583°N 77.44778°W / 38.95583; -77.44778
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport Fairfax Connector: 952, 983
Construction
Structure typeElevated
ParkingPaid parking nearby
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeN10
History
OpenedNovember 15, 2022 (2022-11-15)
Passengers
2023609,185[1]
Rank64 out of 98
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Loudoun Gateway
toward Ashburn
 Silver Line Innovation Center
toward Downtown Largo
Location

Washington Dulles International Airport station (commonly Dulles International Airport station or Dulles Airport station) is a Washington Metro station at Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County, Virginia, U.S., on the Silver Line. After years of delays,[2][3][4] the station opened on November 15, 2022. The station was originally planned to be underground[2] but was built as an above-ground station next to daily parking garage 1.[5]

The station is connected to the terminal building using the existing pedestrian tunnel which connects the hourly and daily parking lots and parking garage 1 to the baggage claim level of the airport terminal; the tunnel is equipped with moving sidewalks.

History

A Washington Metro station had been considered for Dulles since at least 1969, but formal plans were not made until 2002, with the first phase of the project commencing in 2004. According to a 1969–1970 engineering study, a full-scale Metro station was planned (but never built) 28 feet (8.6 m) below a parking lot.[6]

The Silver Line was developed in the 21st century to link Washington, D.C., by rail to Washington Dulles International Airport and the edge cities of Tysons, Reston, Herndon, and Ashburn.[7] It was built in two phases; the first phase, linking Washington, D.C., to Wiehle–Reston East, opened in 2014.[8]

Construction

Dulles Metro Station
The Dulles Metro Station under construction in November 2015.

The funding and planning of Phase 2 through Dulles Airport continued while Phase 1 was being constructed. On April 6, 2011, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board voted 9–4 to build an underground station 550 feet (170 m) away from the terminal, rather than an above-ground station 1,150 feet (350 m) away from the terminal, at an additional cost of $330 million. Construction of the underground station would have extended its expected opening to mid-2017.[9] However, on July 20, 2011, the MWAA board reversed its previous vote and approved an above-ground station due to pressure from state and local officials to reduce overall project costs.[10] In 2012, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted 5 to 4 to extend the line to Dulles Airport and into the county.[11]

On April 25, 2013, the Phase 2 contract was issued at a cost of $1.177 billion.[12] The originally planned single-side platform station would not meet current Metro specifications for a center platform, which is necessary since current plans would extend service beyond the airport to western suburbs. Plans for an above-ground facility drew concerns from the Virginia Historic Preservation Office regarding the visual impact on the Eero Saarinen-designed terminal. Consultants estimated that an above-ground station would save $640 million in construction costs.[13] The pedestrian tunnel connecting the terminal and daily and hourly lots to parking garage 1 was closed in January 2016 in order to reconfigure that tunnel section to accommodate the future Metro station entrance.[2] The pedestrian tunnel was reopened in November 2018.[14]

Opening

In April 2015, project officials pushed back the opening date for the station to late 2019, stating that stricter requirements for stormwater management caused much of the delay. Per officials, the line also had to incorporate improvements to the system's automated train controls that were a late addition to the project's first phase.[15] In August 2019, project officials reported that they expected construction on the second phase of the Silver Line to be completed by mid-2020.[16] The opening date was postponed to early 2021,[17] then to late 2021.[18] In February 2021, Metro announced that it would need five months to test the Phase 2 extension.[19][20] The MWAA then announced that the Phase 2 extension should be substantially complete by Labor Day 2021,[21] although MWAA subsequently missed this deadline.[22]

MWAA declared the work on the rail line to be "substantially complete" in November 2021. However, WMATA estimated that it could take five months of testing and other preparations before passenger service could begin.[23] Simulated service testing began operating along the Phase 2 tracks in October 2022.[24][25][26] Phase 2 formally opened on November 15, 2022.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Rail Ridership Data Viewer". Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Dulles Metro: Dulles Station". Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  3. ↑ Aratani, Lori (April 30, 2015). "Silver Line phase 2: now arriving in 2020". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  4. ↑ Smith, Max (August 5, 2019). "Metro's Silver Line extension to Dulles gets tentative opening date". InsideNova. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  5. ↑ Sherfinski, David (July 20, 2011). "Airports board approves above-ground Dulles Metro station". The Washington Times. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Metrorail Track and Structures in Washington, D.C." BelowTheCapital.org. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Silver Line Activation Plan" (PDF). WMATA. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ III, Ashley Halsey; Aratani, Lori; Duggan, Paul (July 26, 2014). "All aboard! Metro's new Silver Line rolls down the tracks for the first time". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  9. ↑ Hosh, Kafia (April 7, 2011). "Dulles to get underground Metro station". The Washington Post. p. B1.
  10. ↑ "Decision Made to Build Dulles Rail Station Above Ground". WRC-TV News. July 20, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  11. ↑ Jacobson Moore, Erika (July 3, 2012). "Loudoun's In: Split Board Backs Silver Line Extension". Leesburg Today Media Services. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Airports Authority Intends to Award Phase 2 Construction Contract to Capital Rail Constructors" (Press release). April 25, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  13. ↑ Kravitz, Derek (November 9, 2010). "Metro stop's location could mar view of Dulles". The Washington Post. p. B5.
  14. ↑ "Dulles Fact Sheet Final". Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. June 19, 2022.
  15. ↑ Goldberg, The Associated Press, Jeff (April 28, 2015). "Final phase of Silver Line to Dulles delayed until 2019". WJLA. Retrieved December 13, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ Roussey/ABC7, Tom (August 6, 2019). "Airports Authority: Silver Line could be completed by April 2020". WJLA. Retrieved December 13, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ Roussey (ABC7), Tom (February 20, 2020). "Second phase of Metro Silver Line delayed again, will open spring 2021 at the earliest". WJLA. Retrieved December 13, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ "Second phase of Metro's Silver Line now expected to be delayed again, to fall 2021". wjla.com. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Silver Line Phase 2 Update" (PDF). WMATA. February 11, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  20. ↑ Cushman & Wakefield Research (February 3, 2014). "Silver Line". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Silver Line extension expected to be ready for Metro takeover by Labor Day". March 5, 2021.
  22. ↑ "MWAA will miss Labor Day deadline for Silver Line Phase 2, likely pushing back opening". July 2, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Silver Line extension to Dulles inches closer to completion after years of delay". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Simulated service for Silver Line Phase Two to begin next month but opening date uncertain". FFXnow. September 8, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Your new Silver Line stations coming soon with a new Metrorail map". www.wmata.com. WMATA. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Next Phase of Silver Line to Open Soon". NBC4 Washington. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Metro launches Silver Line Extension with opening ceremony; welcomes customers to #RideSilver to six new stations" (Press release). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. November 15, 2022.

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