MWAA Chooses a Frontrunner for Phase 2

Capital Rail Constructors showed lowest bid for Silver Line construction.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on Thursday issued a Notice of Recommended Award to Capital Rail Constructors for the major design-build portion of Silver Line Phase 2 rail to Dulles. Capital Rail Constructors is comprised of Clark Construction Group and Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. The recommendation recognizes CRC as the low-price proposer for the contract, but does not constitute a final award of the contract, MWAA said in a statement. The announcement follows an MWAA review of Capital Rail Constructors’ $1,177,777,000 proposal, which was determined to meet all necessary requirements, MWAA said. Capital Rail Constructors’ price proposal was the lowest of the five read by the Airports Authority at a public opening last …

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Five Bid for Silver Line Phase 2 Contract

Contractors estimate costs of $1.1 to more than $1.3 billion.

Five contractors - including Reston-based Bechtel - have entered bids to construct Phase 2 of Metro's Silver Line, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority announced Friday.  The bids ranged from $1.1 to $1.3 billion. Phase 2 is the 11.4-mile segment of the Silver Line that will run from Reston's Wiehle Avenue to Dulles International Airport and into Ashburn, Phase 1 of the Silver Line, from Tysons Corner  to Wiehle Avenue, is nearly completed and scheduled to open in December. MWAA said Friday the award of the Phase 2 contract will occur after a review to validate that each proposal properly responds to the solicitation.  “Today is a significant step toward the selection of the design-build contractor for Phase 2,” Pat Nowakowski, …

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Silver Line May Cost More Than Expected

Turnaround on Maryland end could cost Metro an additional $4.5 million year.

MWAA OKs More Toll Hikes for 2013, '14

Revenue necessary if Silver Line Phase 2 is going to be built, Airports Authority says.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board voted Wednesday to raise fees on the Dulles Toll Road through 2014, but held off on raising rates for 2015. As expected, starting Jan. 1, 2013, drivers will pay 25 cents more at the main toll plaza and at on/off ramps for a total of $2.75. In 2014, the rates will rise to $3.50. But the board put off approving an increase for 2015, in hopes of securing alternative sources of funding.  In deciding not to set 2015 toll rates, the board noted that the potential for low cost financing afforded by a TIFIA loan, combined with the potential for additional financial assistance from the Commonwealth and possibly other sources, along with the potential for a competitively priced Phase 2 Silver Line…

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Metro Says It Has $28M Surplus

WMATA credits aggressive cost cutting for savings.

Cost-containing measures have left Metro with a $28 million operating surplus for the fiscal year that ended June 30, the organization announced Monday. Fiscal controls included a successful health care audit and fuel hedging, which locked in a favorable rate for fuel that saved the authority money, it says. The fiscal year ended one day before Metro raised fares for riders and increased taxpayer subsidies to meet a projected shortfall in the budget. “I am pleased to report that we ended the year with a surplus and we continue to identify cost savings opportunities to ensure we are operating efficiently,”  Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles sais in a statement. “We anticipate applying the surplus to offset budget challenges we …

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Martire Ouster Has Cost MWAA $75,000

Board member says governor is wrong for trying to cut him from 13-member board.

It has cost the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority $75,000 to cover legal fees of a former board member who is fighting his ouster, The Washington Post reports. Dennis Martire, a Democratic appointee to the 13-member board, says his removal from the group that is charged with constructing Metrorail's Silver Line is politically motivated. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has argued that Martire damaged his credibility with questionable expenses, including spending nearly $9,200 to travel business class to Europe. Martire, an official with the Laborers’ International Union of North America, was appointed to the board by the previous governor, Tim Kaine (D). Martire has clashed with McDonnell over several issues, including a labor-…

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the-stix

7:35 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

Tammi.. I look forward to your linking PW County parking facility information. We can then judge whether the the costs are indeed comparable as you suggest. I also look forward to Mr. Nowakowski's response to Mr. Bruhns' (a determined opponent of Dullesrail) claim that that the current Phase 2 cost estimate is 2 times what it should be.. and that the Phase 1 actual cost is coming out 2 times what…   more ›

Update: VA Senate Passes Budget

Democrat Colgan changes his vote, and two-year, $85-billion budget is approved

A Virginia Senate Democrat changed his mind and voted for the budget Wednesday afternoon, enabling the two-year, $85-billion budget to pass 21-19. Sen. Charles J. Colgan (D-Prince William) told The Washington Post he had a change of heart on the plan he had coted voted against on Tuesday. While Colgan and other Senate Democrats had been pushing Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) for $300 million to extend Metrorail to Dulles International Airport, Colgan said the governor had not come through with funding, The Post reported. Colgan said he had simply come to the conclusion that the need to pass a state budget outweighed the need to secure funding for the project. The Commonwealth had been preparing for a potential shutdown in May if a budget was…

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County BOS Approves Metro Phase 2 Plan

Authorization from Fairfax County final step in agreement to move forward with above-ground station, lower price tag for Metro.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved changes on Tuesday to the funding agreement for the second phase of the Dulles Rail project. The plan will save as much as an estimated $757 million in fees for Dulles Toll Road users, county officials said. The board’s authorization was the final step needed to adopt the changes. The project’s other partners—the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), Loudoun County, Commonwealth of Virginia and U.S. Department of Transportation— agreed to the deal last month. “This strategy brings the cost of Phase 2 back down close to the original estimate and goes a long way to ensure this critical transportation project is completed,” Chairman Sharon Bulova said in a statement. “Dulles Rail …

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SuperG

11:58 pm on Wednesday, December 7, 2011

And you know what I'll do when the tolls get that high and the side roads are congested (they are already), I'll take the Silver Line to work in Reston. After work, I'll get back on it and meet my wife and kids downtown at a Caps, Nats, or Wizards game.   more ›

MWAA Board Votes in Favor of LaHood's Dulles Rail Plan

Proposal includes cheaper above-ground airport station plan.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board reversed its course on its plans for an underground station at Dulles International Airport, voting 11-1 Wednesday to accept a proposed plan - featuring the cheaper above-ground station - from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The MWAA board voted in April for the underground station, which would be more convenient for travelers but would increase costs by about $300 million Mame Reiley, chair of MWAA's Dulles Corridor Committee, said on Wednesday she still believes the underground station was the right thing for Dulles. "Although the difference in cost between the two choices has no direct impact on the cost of the tolls, our decision has become a political football," Reiley said in …

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Officials Thinking About Shifting Some of Silver Line Costs Back To Counties

Above-ground station, local governments may shrink price tag

There were no concrete decisions in Thursday's meetings between Loudoun and Fairfax counties and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) on how to cut costs for Phase II of the rail to Dulles Airport. But some of the discussion at the meeting revolved around transferring some of the financial burden back to the local governments. The latest estimate for Phase II of the Silver Line, which will run to Dulles International Airport and into Loudoun County, is $3.5 billion. More than $300 million of those costs would be for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's  (MWAA) proposed underground station at the airport, which brings the and total cost estimate in about $1 billion more than expected. At this week's meeting, U.S…

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