Arlington Braces for Wild Ride
Officials Prepare for Metro Line Planned in Neighboring Fairfax

By Michael Laris
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2008

The announcement of a March start date for building Metro's Silver Line from just west of the Arlington County border through Tysons Corner was, in part, wishful thinking. The federal government hasn't given the final go-ahead for the project -- or the bulk of the crucial $900 million that would come with it.

But while talks among local, state and federal officials continue, ditch-diggers are tearing up access roads in Tysons Corner and transportation planners in Arlington are preparing for what is planned on the county's western flank.

After decades of talk, dirt is moving and officials in Northern Virginia are starting to coordinate what will be a vast construction zone through some of the most congested parts of the state.

Late last month, engineers gathered in a swath of weedy grass where Interstate 66, Metro's Orange Line and the Dulles access road connect. The area is between the East and West Falls Church Metro stations in Arlington and Fairfax counties.

The engineers were scoping out how they plan to connect the cement sections of a bridge that would carry the track, which would peel off from the main Orange Line in that area and stretch toward Tysons.

Days later, project planners took drawings of the planned Metro stops to neighborhood groups.

And last week, a few miles west of where the Silver Line would start its path toward Dulles International Airport, Paul Goguen peered into a 15-foot-deep trench beside Route 7.

Goguen is the utilities manager for Dulles Transit Partners, which has the contract to build the new line. He is responsible for moving the fiber-optic cables and utility lines that cut through Tysons Corner, one of the state's most important business centers.

Workers tethered to a cable pounded in a steel brace holding up temporary wooden walls in the 4-foot-wide ditch. PVC tubes will be dropped in, covered with cement and linked to a new network of manholes, where other crews will install the relocated lines using tuggers and winches.

The tubes will also hold the power source for the new Metro line.

The utilities are being moved to make way for a new path for Route 7 through part of Tysons. Metro stations are planned for the middle of the commuter thoroughfare, and new lanes will also have to be built around a planned work area in the center of the road. Later, a longer stretch of the road is to be permanently shifted.

"Our schedule says we have to take down the poles before we move the road before we build the station," Goguen said.

Arlington officials are preparing for Fairfax County to expand its transit-focused development model, which Arlington has followed in communities such as Ballston.

They say they are glad that Fairfax is headed in that direction, because they think tying development and public transportation is the best way for the region to grow. And Arlington officials say they are not concerned about competition from large development projects proposed in Tysons, where Fairfax planners say they hope to build a pedestrian-friendly city.

But they are concerned with more practical matters.

Dennis Leach, director of the county's Department of Transportation, said that a key issue is finding funding to maintain the region's existing Metro lines so that commuters don't see a decline in reliability.

"If we want to attract and retain transit riders, we have to make sure the service is there for them and it's reliable. Our system is aging," Leach said. "Part of the way you do it is to make sure your line is in a state of good repair," he added. Investing in eight-car trains for rush times is also key, he said.

Legislators in Richmond failed to come up with an overall transportation funding plan this summer to replace a package thrown out by the state Supreme Court. That leaves unresolved the shortfall for maintaining Metro lines and making other transportation improvements.

Leach said Arlington and Fairfax are coordinating on expanding bus service, which could help alleviate some of the commuting load during high travel periods, even in areas with a Metro rail line.

"We clearly support . . . efforts to make more parts of the region transit-accessible and transit-focused, but it does require more investment, not only on the new lines, but in the existing system," Leach said. "Were going to be accommodating more riders."

Federal officials have said that substantial work needs to be done before the Silver Line can be approved. Officials from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said they are getting closer to a deal. The authority announced the March start date late last month.