Silver Line Could Be Ready by July 4

• April 7, 2014

by Lark Turner

The Silver Line may be ready to ride as early as July 4, WTOP reported late Friday.

Despite a series of embarrassing and potentially costly delays, the project’s first phase, encompassing the McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill and Wiehle-Reston East stations, is nearly finished. The second phase of the project will take the new line all the way out to Dulles International Airport. That project is scheduled for completion by 2018.

Commuters will have much easier access to Dulles once the first phase, which extends Metro by 11.4 miles, opens to the public. On its Silver Line website, Metro explains how: “When Phase 1 Silver Line service begins, Metrobus, Fairfax Connector, and Washington Flyer buses will connect Dulles Airport to the Metrorail system and Washington DC.” In other words, getting to Dulles may get a lot cheaper soon.

That’s pretty good news for developers, who’ve banked on the new line bringing business to the areas surrounding the stations. As the Washington Business Journal notes, developers have built new shopping centers, homes and office towers with “virtually door to door mass transit service.” Now they’ll get to see if their gamble will pay off.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/silver_line_could_be_ready_by_july_4/8325