WASHINGTON — Some of the steel and concrete girders that will carry Silver Line Metro trains through Dulles International Airport are developing cracks.
Forty-eight to 60 of the horizontal cross beams intended for use on the aerial portion of the track through the airport will be inspected for possible cracking.
Eight girders that have already been installed will be replaced. Any girders displaying cracks will be removed from the project, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is overseeing construction of the second phase of the Silver Line.
Quality control teams working for the authority and contractor Capital Rail Constructors discovered the cracks, according to the airports authority. An independent engineering firm has been brought on to “identify any process or design flaws” and to make sure the girders eventually used in the project are sound.
Once completed, the project will include 622 girders of varying sizes. The pieces with the cracking are 96 inches high but smaller girders will also be inspected.
While the cracks are investigated, construction work involving the girders will be suspended. But other work on the Silver Line will continue.
“There’s no work stoppage. A lot is continuing to occur as there is a forensic analysis of the cause and what needs to be done to fix it,” Dulles Airport Manager Christopher Brown tells WTOP.
Brown says construction for Phase Two of the Silver Line is a big, long-term project and the director of the project likens the girder issue to a brief hiccup.
“We’re very confident the appropriate repairs and corrections will be made and that aspect of the project will be able to proceed as scheduled,” Brown says.
The $2.7 billion Phase Two project will extend the Silver Line past Dulles Airport to Ashburn and is expected to be completed in 2020.
