Dulles International Airport station

Dulles International Airport is a planned Washington Metro station at Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County, Virginia, U.S., on the Silver Line. Originally planned to be operational by 2018,[2][3][4] the station is now expected to open in July 2021.[5] The station was originally planned to be underground,[2] but was built as an above-ground station next to daily parking garage one.[6]

Dulles International Airport
rapid transit station
Station under construction (February 2018)
Coordinates38°57′21″N 77°26′52″W
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeAbove ground
Other information
Station codeN12
History
OpeningJuly 2021 (projected)[1]
Future services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Loudoun Gateway
toward Ashburn
 Silver Line Innovation Center
toward Largo Town Center

History
The Dulles Metro Station under construction in November 2015.

A Washington Metro station had been considered for Dulles since at least 1969, but formal plans were not made until 2002, with the first phase of the project commencing in 2004. According to a 1969–1970 engineering study, a full-scale Metro station was planned (but never built) 28 feet (8.6 m) below a parking lot.[7] The originally planned single-side platform station would not meet current Metro specifications for a center platform, which is necessary since current plans would extend service beyond the airport to western suburbs. Plans for an above-ground facility drew concerns from the Virginia Historic Preservation Office regarding the visual impact on the Eero Saarinen-designed terminal. Consultants estimated that an above-ground station would save $640 million in construction costs.[8]

On April 6, 2011, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board voted 9–4 to build an underground station 550 feet (170 m) away from the terminal, rather than an above-ground station 1,150 feet (350 m) away from the terminal, at an additional cost of $330 million. Construction of the underground station would have extended its expected opening to mid-2017.[9] However, on July 20, 2011, the MWAA board reversed its previous vote and approved an above-ground station due to pressure from state and local officials to reduce overall project costs.[10]

Station layout

The station will be connected to the terminal building using the existing pedestrian tunnel which connects the hourly and daily parking lots and parking garage 1 to the baggage claim level of the airport terminal; it is equipped with moving sidewalks. The section of the tunnel connecting the terminal and daily and hourly lots to parking garage 1 was closed in January 2016 in order to reconfigure that tunnel section to accommodate the future Metro station entrance.[2]

P
Platform level		 Westbound ← (under construction) toward Ashburn (Loudoun Gateway)
Island platform
Eastbound → (under construction) toward Largo Town Center (Innovation Center) →
G Street level Exit/entrance, fare control, ticket machines, station agent
B Tunnel Walkway to Garage 1 and airport terminal


Panoramic view of construction in December 2016

References
  1. "More cracks were found at Silver Line stations. Here's what needs to happen before Metro opens Phase 2". Greater Greater Washington. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  2. "Dulles Metro: Dulles Station". Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  3. Aratani, Lori (April 30, 2015). "Silver Line phase 2: now arriving in 2020". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  4. Smith, Max (August 5, 2019). "Metro's Silver Line extension to Dulles gets tentative opening date". InsideNova. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  5. "More cracks were found at Silver Line stations. Here's what needs to happen before Metro opens Phase 2". Greater Greater Washington. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  6. Sherfinski, David (July 20, 2011). "Airports board approves above-ground Dulles Metro station". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2014-12-06.
  7. "Metrorail Track and Structures in Washington, D.C." BelowTheCapital.org. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  8. Kravitz, Derek (November 9, 2010). "Metro stop's location could mar view of Dulles". The Washington Post. p. B5.
  9. Hosh, Kafia (April 7, 2011). "Dulles to get underground Metro station". The Washington Post. p. B1.
  10. "Decision Made to Build Dulles Rail Station Above Ground". WRC-TV News. July 20, 2011. Retrieved 2014-12-06.
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