(Updated at 3:50 p.m. on 1/31/2023) Just three years after going a full season without Metro, Fairfax County’s Orange Line stations will again be subjected to an extended summer shutdown, as the transit agency works to upgrade some of its equipment.
As part of a larger maintenance work plan, the Vienna and Dunn Loring stations will be closed from June 3 to July 27 so Metro can replace a steel rail that has degraded, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Agency announced yesterday (Tuesday).
The replacement will unfold in two phases “to reduce the customer impact,” according to Metro. During the first phase from June 3-26, the closure will also include the West and East Falls Church stations. Those stations will reopen on June 27.
(Correction: This article previously reported that the Ballston and McLean stations will also be closed during the first phase. Metro has clarified that they will remain open, but a shuttle will be needed to get around the East Falls Church station closure.)
“The Infrastructure team will focus on replacing 40-year-old steel rail that has become significantly more susceptible to rail breaks than rail in any other part of the system,” WMATA said. “Metro has been tracking rail breaks in the system to identify priority locations for replacement and has determined the rail in this stretch of track to be a top priority.”
The work will also include a replacement of the copper cables at the stations with fiber-optic cables, giving them “advanced radio, signal, and train communication technology.”
Metro typically schedules its major maintenance projects during the summer when there’s lower ridership, according to the news release.
This year’s plan is focused on modernizing the rail system. It will also involve single-tracking on the Maryland end of the Orange Line from May 12 to 22 and a 44-day shutdown of the Maryland end of the Green Line from July 22 to Sept. 4.
“Continued maintenance work is essential to safe and reliable rail service,” WMATA Executive Vice President of Infrastructure Andy Off said in a statement. “We are working strategically to target maintenance locations and minimize the impacts on customers as we conduct this critical work to upgrade systems, improve reliability, and modernize station facilities.”
A Metro spokesperson said the agency is “working on a shuttle bus plan to connect the closed stations and will announce the travel alternatives well ahead of the stations closures.”
This summer’s partial Orange Line shutdown won’t be as extensive as the three-month-long closure of 2020, when Metro overhauled the station platforms.
When ridership plummeted that spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency expanded the closure to include the Silver Line between Ballston and Wiehle-Reston East so that it could connect those stations to the upcoming extension into Loudoun County.
The Silver Line stations ultimately reopened that August, followed by the Orange Line stations just after Labor Day. Even with the unexpected leeway for construction in 2020, the Silver Line extension still encountered several delays before finally launching service last November.
According to its online rail data, the Vienna Metro station is averaging the most daily rail entries out of the four Fairfax County stations that will be affected this summer, as of November:
- Vienna — 8,794 entries
- West Falls Church — 4,674 entries
- Dunn Loring — 3,543 entries
- McLean — 928 entries
In a quarterly report last fall, WMATA reported its highest ridership levels since the pandemic took hold in March 2020, though the 45.6 million riders across rail and bus was still just 60% of 2019 levels.
The atmosphere of the recently opened Reston Town Center Metro station will get a boost with artwork planned for this year.
Artist George Bates is working on artwork inspired by Reston’s founder Bob Simon and the statement “You can’t have a Utopia of one.”
The artwork, titled “Ethos,” is made of ceramic grit printed on safety-glass art panels.
Areas near the entrances of the stations at Ashburn and RTC will be replaced with glass art panels with images inspired by the communities around the station and poetry by local poets, according to Sherri Ly, a spokesperson for Metro.
Here’s more from Metro on the artwork:
The artwork is multifaceted and thought of as a dialogue in which everyone can participate. Bates’ design for the station can be seen as referencing artistic movements and philosophies such as Brutalism, Modernism, Wabi-Sabi, and Universal Constructivism, or as an echo of the biophilic character of Reston’s history of natural and environmental integration, growth, and togetherness. It may also be experienced as a representation of emotional delight, as the “Play” from the “Live, Work, Play” maxim of Reston’s founding vision. Ultimately, it’s about the past, present, future, enduring ideas, and histories that transcend time.
Bates has created 10 large-scale public artworks in the U.S. and several more are in progress. His work focuses on exploring the plastic nature of systems, communities, complexities, and the reality of society in relation to art.
“Both Reston Town Center and Ashburn have similar concepts,” Ly wrote in a statement to FFXnow.
Metro expects to install the artwork in the summer, she said.
The art was commissioned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority through its Art in Transit initiative.
Four of the six new stations in phase two of the Silver Line — Herndon, Innovation Center, Washington-Dulles International Airport, and Loudoun Gateway — all have new artwork.
Several other stations also have artwork. A temporary installation called “Community in Motion” at the Tenleytown station brings a mix of color to construction barricades. It’s designed by artist Tamao Nakayama.
Nearly a dozen proposals to possibly open up Fairfax County’s comprehensive plan for land use changes to allow development in specific areas of Reston and Herndon are moving forward.
The requested changes largely circle around a common theme: aging office buildings are no longer competitive and more housing stock is needed, according to the applications.
Of the 15 nominations in the Hunter Mill District submitted through the county’s Site-specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process, a handful did not make it to the next screening phase.
Specifically, plans to replace Reston’s two golf courses — Reston National and Hidden Creek Country Club — with residential development and open space did not get a favorable vote from the board.
In a Dec. 6 statement, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn emphasized that he does not support any proposal to change the comprehensive plan’s golf course designations for those sites unless there is support from surrounding communities.
“Even after considerable community engagement and outreach by the owners of the golf courses, nearby residents — by a large majority — and their cluster association leaders contacted my office and clearly stated that they did not support changing the zoning comprehensive plan designation of the two golf courses. My commitment to community-based comprehensive planning is unchanged,” Alcorn wrote in the statement.
Nine Reston nominations advance
In the Town Center North area (1760 Reston Parkway), RTC Partnership LLC wants to build a 419,000–square-foot residential building instead of the 23-story office building that was approved for the site in 2016.
The developer says the project provides “needed multifamily residential housing,” while boosting “Reston’s economic vitality by helping drive the demand for retail and locally-serving office uses.”
“The proposed nomination would also provide a catalyst redevelopment project in the Town Center North area which would, hopefully, encourage adjacent owners to move forward with similar projects,” according to the application.
Near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station, developers are reimagine the future of aging offices surrounded by surface parking.
On Preston White Drive, the developer says in its application that office buildings built in the 1980s “are struggling to survive’ in their current state.
Instead, the developer is seeking the county’s approval for a project with 60-85% residential uses, 5-10% of office space, 5-10% of retail and up to 5% hotel uses.
Highbrook Investors, the owner of property at 12120 Sunrise Valley Drive, wants to demolish the vacant office building on the property and replace it with a higher density residential building than originally planned.
Although the Property has good pedestrian access to the Reston Town Center Metro Station, it is a real challenge for the existing office building to compete with newer, three larger office buildings at the Metro station that provide more amenities, more usable office space configurations, and easier access to Metro for office employees (who tend to not be willing to walk as far as residents to transit).
In a deviation from the push for more housing, at Commerce Metro Center, the developer wants to up the development intensity and allow more space for offices. CP Management Center would demolish an office building in the development to create a new mid-block road and an urban plaza area with street-level areas. Read More
The Metro stations at the Dulles International Airport and Ashburn have been the busiest stations since phase two of the Silver Line opened in the middle of November.
So far, more than 60% of entries at the new stations happen during peak periods, according to Martha Coello, who works with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s special projects division.
At a Board of Supervisors transportation committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday), Coello noted that customers of the six new stations appear to generally be coming from or going to downtown D.C. The most frequented points of origin or destinations are Farragut West, McPherson Square, Foggy Bottom and Metro Center.
“A lot of the common starting and ending points…are actually in downtown D.C.,” she said.
Coello said that Fairfax Connector bus service changes in the Herndon and Reston area are going smoothly, with new routes providing more than 500 passenger trips per day.
The 11.4-mile extension into Loudoun County sees about 3,500 daily boardings. Around Thanksgiving travel time, that number hovered closer to 5,000 boardings, Coello said.
As of yesterday afternoon, the county was still waiting to finalize the execution of its maintenance and operations agreement with Metro for facilities in the county. That step is simply contingent on the receipt of documents, Coello said.
The installation of a sidewalk on Sunrise Valley Drive near Reston Parkway is still ongoing. The project is currently in the land acquisition phase, with construction anticipated in the spring of next year.
The county is also working on the removal of bus bays near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. That project will wrap up in the next few months.
After bus services were realigned, there is no longer a need for the bus bays.
The bays were primarily used by Loudoun County buses and are a “surplus at this point,” Coello said.
The Huntington Metro area is one step closer to redevelopment with last week’s approval of a comprehensive plan, albeit with a few “modifications.”
The Fairfax County Planning Commission quickly and unanimously approved the comprehensive plan amendment for the Huntington Transit Station Area (TSA) on Nov. 16, following a lengthy public hearing in October and a site visit by the commissioners on Nov. 10.
The plan calls for a mixed-use development on the site including 382,00 square feet of office, retail, and community-use space, a civic plaza, more urban park space, a network of bike and pedestrian paths, a possible hotel, and 15,000 residential units with a minimum of 15% of those being affordable.
It was put together by county staff with input from commissioners, the Mount Vernon Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) Task Force, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), and the public.
However, “minor differences” did crop up, particularly at the public hearing, which focused on building heights and preserving wooded areas.
“At the public hearing, there were several substantive concerns raised about the proposed building heights, environmental issues, and placemaking, as well as a few clarification questions,” the approved motion said.
After nearby residents worried about a loss of privacy for their smaller homes, the plan is lowering the maximum building height from 200 feet to 85 feet in the area between the middle parking garage and the homes on Biscayne Drive. This provides a more “appropriate transition,” the motion says.
Another tweak addressed concerns that a southern path connecting to the Metro might negatively affect wooded areas. While the plan now notes that “the design of this connection would minimize disturbance,” the actual design will be more specifically determined when the development goes through the rezoning process.
The stormwater measures were also revised to be “substantially more extensive” than the minimum requirements, per the motion.
The other modifications address flexibility around who might be responsible for maintenance at the proposed civic plaza, the importance of public places, and the potential for increased light pollution. They also clarify that 15% of the residential units built should be affordable, in line with countywide rates.
Notably, the plan continues to preserve a tract of trees near the intersection of Huntington Avenue and Biscayne Drive. WMATA proposed selling the land to a developer to build more townhomes, but homeowners wanted to keep the trees as a buffer from the developed station and help with stormwater runoff.
Next, the comprehensive plan amendment for the Huntington TSA will head to the Board of Supervisors for a vote currently scheduled for Dec. 6.
The cold and rain didn’t dampen enthusiasm for the opening of Metro’s long-awaited, $3 billion Silver Line Phase II.
Yesterday marked the much-anticipated public opening of the 11.4-mile extension of the rail line from Reston into Loudoun County. Along with six new stations, this marks the first time that locals can take a train to Dulles International Airport.
Over multiple ribbon-cutting ceremonies throughout the chilly, wet November day, local officials touted the debut of the line as a “game-changer” and a “new era” for western Fairfax County and the D.C. region as a whole.
“It really is the establishment of a new identity for the Dulles corridor,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said at the new Reston Town Center station. “Now, what we’re going to see is the Dulles corridor tied together with transit in a way that was really never anticipated…We are in a new era.”
Riders, too, recognized what this could mean for the region and their daily travel.
“It’s going to change my life,” Raj Paradaar told FFXnow while riding the extension’s first passenger-filled train heading westbound. He lives in Ashburn and works near the Reston Town Center station, so he plans to ride the Metro most days.
Inside the Innovation Center station, commuters came and went, including a United Airlines flight attendant headed to work at Dulles. He lives in an apartment building across the street from the new station, along with a number of other flight attendants, FFXnow was told.
“That’s where we live,” the United Airlines flight attendant said pointing outside. “And that’s where we work…Honestly, taking a train is just much easier.”
Other riders said the extension won’t significantly affect their day-to-day habits, but they agreed it will make getting to the airport simpler.
Franconia resident Terry Rice, clutching luggage, happened to have a trip to Italy scheduled on the extension’s opening day. While planning, she realized that Dulles Airport was now only a train ride away.
“It may not change my life, but it’s going to make my life much easier,” Rice said.
Pulling into Reston Town Center station, the first stop on the new line. pic.twitter.com/83JP2LwMQh
— Matt Blitz (@WhyBlitz) November 15, 2022
During yesterday’s ceremonies, officials tried to make clear that the Silver Line extension’s impact is anticipated to go beyond simply being a link to the airport, reiterating a message that many have been saying for years.
“We have within our grasp…the ability to completely reinvent, reimagine [this corridor] as mixed-use development, as transit-oriented development, as environmentally friendly, as improving quality of life, as reducing carbon emissions, and as restoring choices for people who live in Northern Virginia,” said newly reelected Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) at a ceremony outside of the Innovation Center station. Read More
(Updated at 2 p.m.) It’s official: after years of rising costs and an ever-lengthening construction timeline, the second phase of Metro’s Silver Line has opened to the public.
A train pulled out of the new Dulles International Airport station for the first time shortly after noon following a celebration this morning, where local, state and regional leaders gathered to mark the opening of the 11.4-mile extension of the rail line into Loudoun County.
If everything went according to schedule, an express Silver Line train departed from the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station at 1:15 p.m., carrying winning “Silver Ticket” holders straight to Ashburn. The first passenger train from Ashburn to Downtown Largo will leave a little before 2 p.m., making all stops along the way.
First Silver Line train carrying local leaders, officials leaves the Dulles Airport Station #wmata @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/S4fhh8fMSg
— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) November 15, 2022
At this morning’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, which started at 10:30 p.m. at the Dulles station, Rep. Don Beyer said the extension would usher a “once in a generation community infrastructure paradigm shift.”
Metro Board of Directors Chair Paul Smedberg lauded regional and local leaders for coming together to make what was a decades-log planning dream a reality.
“Today represents the best of what transit can do it,” Smedberg said.
Sen. Mark Warner said that the opening is the culmination of years of bi-partisan planning for decades.
“Every one of these speakers are going to come with partially silver hair at this point,” Warner said.
Others characterized the opening as an opening of new opportunities and possibilities.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) said that the project will produce an “incalculable return on investment” despite cost overruns and delays.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who noted that today also marks the 60th anniversary of the airport, said she was confident that the Silver Line will offer a “comeback from Covid.”
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Board Chairman Jeff McKay said the extension provides a much-needed investment for the local economy, noting that the county is a significant economic engine for the commonwealth overall.
The long-anticipated project, which cost upwards of $3 billion, brings six new Metro stations to Virginia and activates the Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County with Metrorail service.
“This is the result of what many people before us have done,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
U.S. Department of Transportation @SecretaryPete sharing…
“What we see here with the ⚪️ Silver Line is democracy at work. Democracy 🇺🇸 in action can be a lot to bear. In the end, people have come together to make this work.” #SilverLineExtension #ridesilver #yourmetro #wmata pic.twitter.com/omKQPNp4Uz— Metro (@wmata) November 15, 2022
After years of anticipation and upwards of $3.1 billion in investments, phase two of the Silver Line will officially open to customers tomorrow.
Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about the 11.4-mile extension, which brings six new stations into Loudoun County. Notably, the extension provides a direct connection to Dulles International Airport, with its terminus in Ashburn.
The project also includes the largest rail yard in the Metro system — the Dulles Rail Yard — which is located on 90 acres of the Dulles Airport property.
Grand opening ceremonies
The first train will take off at 1:54 p.m. on the Ashburn Metro station, traveling the full 11.2-mile extension to Downtown Largo in Maryland. The deadline to snag one of 100 “Wonka-style ‘Silver Tickets'” for a preview ride at 1:15 p.m. ended last week via a social media contest.
A slew of grand opening ceremonies and celebratory events are planned throughout the day.
Dulles Airport gets its own big, invite-only ribbon-cutting. Then, at 2 p.m., the Fairfax County Department of Transportation will hold its own ceremony at the Innovation Center station.
Meanwhile, county officials will gather at the office building at 1950 Opportunity Way in Reston at 3:30 p.m. for another celebration. Attendees will get a chance to ride the new Reston Town Center shuttle and the new Fairfax Connector routes that start the next day, though service will officially launch Wednesday (Nov. 16).
Town of Herndon officials will also gather at 8 a.m. at the entrance of the Herndon Metro Station on the first full day of service — Wednesday — to celebrate the station’s opening. Newly re-elected Mayor Sheila Olem, State Senator Jennifer Boysko, and Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust are all scheduled to speak.
FCDOT is also planning a family day at the Innovation Center station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19.
How the extension works
Trains will run up to every 10 minutes during rush hour, every 12 minutes during midday, evening and weekends, and every 15 minutes during late-night hours.
Riding from the airport to the Metro Center station in D.C. takes around 52 minutes, while riding from the farthest station in Ashburn to Union Station takes 74 minutes.
Fares are based on distance travelled and the time of day, with costs ranging between $2 to $6. One-way trips after 9:30 p.m. are just $2. Metro offers a cost estimator to plan trips online.
Payment is made via Metro’s SmarTrip card, which can also be loaded to your mobile device. A plastic SmarTrip card can be purchased at all Metrorail stations, retail locations and online.
Getting to Metro
Each Silver Line station has a kiss-and-ride drop-off location — except the airport stop. Fairfax Connector buses are also available for all the stations. Detailed routes that service each station are available online.
Local jurisdictions own all the parking facilities near the Metro Stations. Parking fees can be paid by the SmarTrip card. Commuter parking is available for all but the airport and Reston Station stops.
Stations in Reston and Herndon
The Reston Town Center Metro Station (12023-A Sunset Hills Road Reston) is the first of the six new stations and includes two entrances on both sides of the Dulles Toll Road. While there’s no hourly parking in the kiss-and-ride lot, drop-offs are available on both sides. The facility also has 40 bike racks and 22 bike lockers. Future Capital Bikeshare stations are planned. But don’t bring your car and expect to leave it there — there’s no commuter parking.
The Herndon Metro Station (585-A Herndon Parkway) is near a planned transit-oriented development that hasn’t quite kicked off yet. While that project is still in the planning phases, the stop includes parking for roughly 3,500 cars in two garages, along with an exit to the Dulles Toll Road. The facility also has 162 bike racks and 18 bike racks. Two repairs stations and a bottle-filling station are also included.
The Innovation Center Metro Station (13747-A Sunrise Valley Drive) has a parking garage on the south side of the station for 2,000 cars, but parking is reserved and multi-day parking is not allowed. The facility has 177 bike racks and 10 bike lockers. Future electric vehicle charging stations are planned.
Add another Silver Line Phase II ribbon-cutting to the list, with the Town of Herndon planning its own celebration on Wednesday (Nov. 16).
On the extended rail line’s first full day of service, the town will celebrate with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Herndon Metro station. The event is scheduled for 8 a.m. at the entrance of the station at 585-A Herndon Parkway.
Newly re-elected Mayor Sheila Olem, State Senator Jennifer Boysko, and Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust are all scheduled to speak. Members of the Herndon Town Council are expected to be in attendance as well.
The ribbon cutting will also feature music from the Herndon High School band.
This ceremony is just one of several events coming next week to commemorate the opening of the long-delayed, three billion-dollar Silver Line Phase II.
On Tuesday (Nov. 15), the line will officially start running following an opening ceremony at Dulles International Airport. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is expected to be in attendance as Silver Line Phase II officially starts services at the Washington Dulles International Airport station.
Metro will be giving away “Wonka-style ‘Silver Tickets‘” as well as pennants to commemorate the opening.
Then, at 2 p.m., the Fairfax County Department of Transportation will hold its own ceremony at the Innovation Center station. Another ribbon-cutting will follow at the Reston Town Center station at 3:30 p.m.
After opening day, the Town of Herndon will have its own celebration the next morning on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
FCDOT is also planning a family day at the Innovation Center station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19. Attendees will be able to learn about the transit, walking and bicycling options at the station while enjoying music, food trucks and other activities, according to an event flyer.
Free parking for that event will be available in the station’s garage.
For riders who want to be on the inaugural train, the first eastbound train going to D.C. is expected to depart the Ashburn station at 1:54 p.m. However, the deadline to nab a ticket by entering Metro’s social media and email contest is fast approaching at 5 p.m. today.
The first full-length westbound trip traveling from Largo to Ashburn is scheduled to depart Downtown Largo at 12:51 p.m., arriving at Wiehle-Reston East at 2:02 p.m. before proceeding on the new section of the line.
(Updated at 3 p.m.) It’s official: the first train on phase two of the Silver Line extension project will take off at 1:54 p.m. from the Ashburn Metro Station on Nov. 15, Metro announced today.
The train will travel the full 11.4-mile extension from Loudoun County to Downtown Largo in Maryland.
“The start of passenger service will commence following a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting at the Washington Dulles International Airport Station to recognize this generational infrastructure investment,” Metro announced.
The opening will be preceded by a grand opening celebration that day. Only 100 customers will have a chance to receive a “Silver Ticket” to join Metro General Manager Randy Clarke and other officials for a preview ride before passenger service begins.
Here’s how to enter for the ticket:
Share your favorite memories with us on social media by tagging us on Twitter @wmata, Instagram @metroforward, and on Facebook @Metro Forward and use #YourMetroMemory. Customers can also email us at csvc@wmata.com with the subject line: Silver Ticket Metro Memory. Submissions must be sent by 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 10. Customers will be notified by noon, on Monday, November 14. Metro will select 50 customers plus a guest who will receive a “Silver Ticket” departing Wiehle-Reston East at 1:15 p.m. direct to Ashburn where the train will officially begin passenger service.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is expected to attend that event at 11 a.m.
New: Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg will attend the opening of the new Silver Line extension on Nov. 15, WMATA Board Chair Paul Smedberg said at the @NoVaTransit meeting last night.
The opening event at Dulles Airport station will start at 11 a.m. https://t.co/pZYoaZ32uy
— Jordan Pascale🎙️ (@JWPascale) November 4, 2022
The first full-length westbound trip will depart from Downtown Largo at 12:51 p.m. to Wiehle-Reston East and the six new stations. Trains will run every 15 minutes from end-to-end.
Once the Silver Line opens, Metrobus 5A and the Silver Line Express Bus will be discontinued the next day.
While Dulles Airport will get the big ribbon-cutting, Fairfax County is planning to celebrate the Silver Line extension’s long-awaited opening next week in Reston as well.
County officials will gather at the office building at 1950 Opportunity Way, which overlooks the new Reston Town Center station, on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 3:30 p.m.
“Join elected officials, business leaders and community members to celebrate the long-awaited opening of the Silver Line station at Reston Town Center,” a flyer invite to the event says.
Attendees will also be able to ride the new Reston Town Center shuttle and get information on the new Fairfax Connector bus routes that will start running that day. The new lines will run between the Reston Town Center, Herndon, and Innovation Center Metro stations.
Fatimah Waseem contributed to this report.
