Dulles Metrorail Project Overview

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) will construct a 23-mile extension of the existing Metrorail system, which will be operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority from East Falls Church to Washington Dulles International Airport west to Ashburn.

The extension will serve Tysons Corner, Virginia's largest employment center, and the Reston Herndon area, the state's second largest employment concentration. And, it will provide a one-seat ride from Dulles International Airport to downtown Washington.

Phase 1 and 2

The project will include 11 new stations. It will be built in two phases. Phase 1 will run from East Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue on the eastern edge of Reston. It will include four stations in Tysons Corner-Tysons east, Tysons Central 123, Tysons Central 7 and Tysons West. Construction will begin in March of 2009 and it will be completed in 2013.

Phase 2 will run from Wiehle Avenue to Ashburn in eastern Loudoun County. A construction date has not been set for the extension that will serve Reston Town Center, Herndon, Dulles Airport, Route 606 and Ashburn.


The purpose of Dulles Metrorail is to provide high-quality, high-capacity transit service in the Dulles Corridor. New Metrorail service in the corridor will result in travel time savings between the corridor and downtown D.C., expand the reach of the existing regional rail system, offer a viable alternative to automobile travel and support future transit-oriented development along the corridor.

FTA Decision - Final Design Phase

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has propelled the project into its "Final Design" Phase after many years of study and preparations. The project team is now working with the FTA to obtain a $900 million Full Funding Grant agreement in early 2009.

In the Fall of 2008 the FTA transferred $159 million to the project to be used for:

Right-of-way acquisitions
Reimbursement of third party preliminary engineering costs
Final design work
Project administration
Maintenance of traffic programs
Engineering and design of rail cars
The FTA has also released $14 million to be used for site preparation work for a 2,100 foot tunnel that will be built under the intersection of Route 7 and 123, the highest natural point in Fairfax County.

MWAA and DTP

MWAA and Dulles Transit Partners in March 2008 signed an updated $1.6 billion fixed-price contract to build the project, keeping the costs of the project to $2.6 billion.

Utility Reconstruction

Today, the construction team is involved in the relocation of 21 different utilities in the Tysons Corner area to prepare for project construction next spring. That work is being done primarily in the busy Route 7 corridor between Route 123 and the Dulles Toll Road.

Early Decisions

A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the project was completed in June 2002. This Draft EIS evaluated several alternatives, including three Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) options, a combined BRT/Metrorail alternative and a full Metrorail extension. Public hearings on the Draft EIS were held in July 2002. Based on extensive public comments and input from local jurisdictions, the full extension of Metrorail was recommended as preferred option or Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).

This Dulles Metrorail project was approved by the WMATA Board of Directors in November 2002 and the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) in December 2002. The Project was also endorsed by the Fairfax County, Loudoun County and MWAA Boards.

Following these approvals, a Final EIS was published in December 2004 and the FTA issued its Record of Decision approving the environmental process in March 2005.

Click HERE to go to the Dulles Metrorail Project Website.