Va. officials push for Dulles rail sound walls
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
November 26, 2009
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| Five Virginia federal lawmakers are calling for sound walls like those above to be installed along the path of a rail line to Dulles. (Examiner file photo) |
Five federal lawmakers from Virginia are calling for the installation of sound walls along portions of the Dulles corridor to protect communities from the noise of a new Metro line.
Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb, and Reps. Frank Wolf, Jim Moran and Gerry Connolly all want to see the barriers installed along the path of the 23-mile Dulles Rail project.
The push is an outgrowth of neighborhood complaints over the inadequacy of existing noise protection along the Dulles Toll Road and other Fairfax County arteries from screeching, rumbling Metro trains.
"I think there is some growing concern on both sides of the toll road -- 'Boy, that's not going to be very visually attractive, and it's going to be very loud,' " said Rob Jackson, president of the McLean Citizens Association.
The first phase of Dulles Rail, which is under construction, will run from West Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue in Reston. The second phase will run through Washington Dulles International Airport and into Loudoun County.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is managing the project, plans to install three to five miles of sound walls and repair an additional 10 miles of existing walls. Officials said it was too early to give a cost estimate for the work.
"We're just at the beginning of assessing the impacts that are actually out there and determining what might be needed," project spokeswoman Marcia McAllister said.
Individual communities have lobbied for the new walls. Hallcrest Heights in McLean, for example, successfully secured state dollars to build them. But with the state undergoing round after round of budgets cuts, the state's generosity might end there.
"Rail to Dulles is a critical transportation project that will improve congestion in the region," the Virginia lawmakers wrote in a joint letter this week to airports authority President James Bennett. "Those who live along the route of the rail project, however, should not be forced to shoulder the burden of the noise that comes with it. Sound barriers must be part and parcel of this project that is of such importance to our region."
