Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project Team Releases Document 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement and General Plans for the Proposed Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project, Public Hearings Report, October 2002. Comments due November 1.

The Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project team, which consists of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), has issued a Public Hearings Report which provides a review of the public hearings held on July 29, July 30, and July 31, 2002, as well as of the written comments received through the close of the public hearing record on August 28, 2002.  This report is available on the project web site www.dullestransit.com.

The transmittal letter accompanying the report signed by Karen Rae, Director, DRPT, and  Richard White, General Manager of WMATA, notes that the project team has recommended the Metrorail alternative as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).  This recommendation is based on the analysis contained in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and the Section 4 (f) Evaluation and on the comments received during the public hearing process.

More than 750 people attended the public hearings.  Of the more than 2,500 comments that were received into the public hearing record, 78 percent supported rail.  The general public consensus is that Metrorail should be extended for the full length of the Dulles Corridor from the existing Orange line through Tysons Corner to Route 772 in Loudoun County.

The Build Alternative recommended by the project team is Metrorail “commencing at the junction with the existing Metrorail Orange Line under the Haycock  Road bridge and proceeding westward in the median on the Dulles Connector Road in Fairfax County, through Tysosn Corner by Alignment T-6, continuing in the median of the Dulles Airport Access Road (DAAR) , through the Washington Dulles International, as modified by relocation northward of the portal at the Dulles Airport Marriott, then continuing in the median of the Dulles Greenway Toll Road to Route 772 in Loudoun County.   T-6 has four stations in Tysons Corner and the longest underground segment including an underground station, Tysons Central West, at Route 7 and Westpark Drive. 

The Project team also recommends that Yard Site 15, which is on Dulles Airport property, be selected for the Metrorail Service and Inspection Yard for the storage, maintenance, inspection, and repairs of Metrorail vehicles.

The team recommends that until Metrorail operations begin, the existing express bus service be modified to incorporate elements of Bus Rapid Transit to satisfy increasing travel demands in the Dulles Corridor.  Such elements could include pre-payment of fares, improvements at the West Falls Church and northside bus facilities, time transfers, and passenger amenities such as real-time information and bus shelters and lighting.

The project team will review and analyze the comments submitted on the Public Hearing Report and prepare final team recommendations.  The Fairfax County Board will vote on the LPA at its October 28 meeting.  The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority will act on the LPA on November 6.  The WMATA board is scheduled to consider and act on the project team recommendations in November and the Commonwealth Transportation Board in December.

The project team will then prepare the Final EIS for approval by DRPT, WMATA and the Federal Transit Administration in late spring 2003.    The final step in the environmental review process, the issuance of a Record of Decision by the Federal Transit Administration that identifies the action to be undertaken, the environmental findings, and mitigation requirements, is expected to be issued in the summer of 2003.