Officials at Washington Dulles International Airport say moving a planned Metrorail stop away from the main terminal could shave more than $600 million off the project’s bottom line, but the potential relocation is becoming contentious.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority for years has planned on installing an underground Metro station at Dulles’ main terminal, a project that would require two miles of tunneling, new hangars and additional roadways.
But tunneling is extremely expensive compared with aboveground rail, and similar plans for underground tracks in Tysons Corner were shelved because they cost too much.
An aboveground station some 600 feet farther from the terminal would knock $640 million off the cost, according to airports authority estimates. But that 600 feet could complicate travel for disabled or elderly travelers.
Fairfax supervisor and Metro board of directors member Jeff McKay said he opposed moving the station.
“It would be a colossal mistake to move that [station] farther away from the terminal,” McKay said. “We’ve got one shot to do this right. And I’d rather be on the side of doing the intelligent, long-term thing to make access to the airport convenient for everyone.”
Cathy Hudgins, McKay’s fellow supervisor and colleague on the Metro board of directors, agreed there were other considerations besides cost.
“When we’re constructing this piece of infrastructure, we need it to be sustainable, high quality, and we need it to address mobility issues,” she said.
Others said price was critical.
Scott York, chairman of Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors, said he would make every effort to move the station.
“We need to do everything we can to save the cost,” York said, adding that he would urge his fellow supervisors to pass a resolution in support of moving the station.
Tara Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the airports authority, said a decision on the station’s location would be made before the project goes out for construction bids next year.
