Silver Line extension project on track — barely

ARLINGTON, Va. – Construction of stations and track for Metro’s new Silver Line extension is now more than 30 percent complete, a top contractor told leaders overseeing the project.

The extension will take riders to Dulles International Airport, and the project is being managed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

However, construction has slowed a bit recently, and during an Airports Authority board meeting about the extension, board member Kate Hanley noted the project appeared “perilously close” to falling behind schedule.

After the meeting, Hanley said the construction progress is “within the margins that it should be in, and I want to be sure it stays there, and I was making that point.”

Keith Couch, with the contractor Capital Rail Constructors, said during the meeting that work was on a “positive, upward trajectory” and blamed the recent slowdown on issues with getting enough supplies. He also said construction was hampered by heavy rain in May.

Couch said work is in full swing at Innovation Center, Herndon, Reston Town Center, Dulles Airport and Loudoun Gateway stations. He said major work at the sixth and final station, Ashburn, will start later this year.

Construction is set to run through 2019. The extension could open to riders in 2020.

John Aaron

John Aaron is a news anchor and reporter for WTOP. After starting his professional broadcast career as an anchor and reporter for WGET and WGTY in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he went on to spend several years in the world of sports media, working for Comcast SportsNet, MLB Network Radio, and WTOP.

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