The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is experiencing delays in its multi-phase Silver Line project to link Washington, D.C., with outlying areas such as Dulles International Airport and Tyson’s Corner.
This expansion project would eventually allow AU students to access the two areas more easily.
Phase one of the project, which has a targeted completion date of mid-2013, will add five stations west of East Falls Church, including several stops in Tyson’s Corner. Phase two of the project, which would extend Metro service to Dulles, is scheduled to be completed in 2016.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which manages Dulles and Reagan Airports, is in charge of the expansion project.
Although the most recent projections for the Silver Line show that it is about six months behind schedule, MWAA says that the project will be finished on time as long as there is sufficient funding.
Reagan National Airport is currently the only major D.C. area airport accessible by Metrorail.
D.C. residents traveling to Dulles Airport must take a Metro express bus from Rosslyn station or take a taxi, according to the WMATA website.
Many in the American University community are eagerly anticipating easier access to Dulles and Tyson’s Corner.
“The only reason I don’t ?y out of Dulles is that it’s so inconvenient to get there,” said Jill Fitzgerald, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs “The Metro extension would alleviate this problem. I hope Metro does it while I’m still in school.”
Becky Gordon, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she looks forward to increased accessibility to Tyson’s Corner and to nearby airports.
Students looking to travel to Tyson’s Corner via Metro must go to Dunn Loring-Merrifield and take a bus from the station, according to the WMATA website.
“[The Metro expansion] is a good idea in terms of getting to places like Tyson’s Corner, because so many of us don’t have cars,” Gordon said. “In terms of time and logistics the Metro is not the most convenient thing.”
