DALLAS — The first segment of a new $5.7 billion rail line extension of the Washington Metrorail system to Dulles International Airport needs more work before it can handle passengers, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said Monday.
Contractor woes are behind the delay for the initial 11.7 miles of Silver Line extension project in northern Virginia, which is expected to receive a $1.9 billion federal loan for work on its next phase later this year.
The 23-mile Silver Line project eventually will extend from the current terminus of the Washington Metrorail's Orange Line in Vienna, Va., to DIA and on to eastern Loudon County, Va.
Pat Nowakowski, executive director of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, said contractor Dulles Transit Partners "failed to achieve substantial completion" of the initial 11.7 mile Phase 1 of the Silver Line extension.
The deficiencies were determined during 15 days of inspections after the contractor said earlier this month that the project was completed, Nowakowski said.
The contractor failed meet seven of 12 criteria outlined in the contract, Nowakowski said, including incomplete documentation for safety and security systems, no certificates of occupancy for 20 buildings, and performance issues with the automatic train control system.
Project officials will meet this week with Dulles Transit Partners, which includes construction giants Bechtel Corp. and URS Corp., to determine how to fix the problems and how long that will take, he said. Once the segment is accepted, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will have 90 days to conduct further testing and set the date for revenue service.
The Silver Line is to be operated by WMATA as part of the Metrorail system.
MWAA took over control of the toll road from Washington to Dulles in 2008 under a 50-year agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation. In exchange, the authority agreed to finance and build the Silver Line project.
In addition to a $900 million federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan for the first segment, the Silver Line project funding sources include $500 million from Virginia, $915 million from Fairfax County, $278 million from Loudoun County, and $3 billion from the airports authority.
The airports authority board has authorized up to $1.3 billion of bonds for the Silver Line project, supported by revenues from the Dulles Toll Road.
Fairfax County used almost $30 million of proceeds from $317 million of general obligation bonds it sold in January to pay its annual allocation to transit projects in the area, including the Silver Line project.
The county is considering issuing up to $235 million of revenue bonds to fund two parking garages and a rail station as part of its contribution to the Silver Line project.
The Department of Transportation's TIFIA Credit Council gave preliminary approval Feb. 21 for a $1.9 billion loan for Phase 2 of the Silver Line project.
The low-interest loan, coupled with $300 million from the state of Virginia, will keep tolls on the Dulles toll road stable through 2018, MWAA said.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said the Silver Line extension is a key to future economic growth in northern Virginia.
"I am pleased that this federal support will allow us to continue moving forward with the project and buy-down tolls for commuters," he said.
