Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Silver Line Phase II — Now Four Years Late

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by

James A. Bacon
in ,

Back when work began on the Washington Metro’s Silver Line under the Kaine administration, planners expected Phase II to be complete by 2018. Here it is, mid-2021, and the officials in charge now are hoping to open in early 2022. Phase I went relatively smoothly, but Phase II, which extends the commuter rail system to Loudoun County, has been a fiasco. Press coverage of the incessant delays has taken on a fatalistic tone — oh, well, another delay. Stories enumerate the problems — more than 100 design changes, defective panels, flawed rail ties, bad concrete — but no one seems interested in the underlying cause of so many failures, which, one suspects, can be attributed to terrible project management by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).

The opportunity costs of the four-year delay continue to mount. Reston Now highlights the plight of Weird Brothers Coffee which opened at Worldgate Metro Plaza in anticipation that the Herndon station nearby would open in 2019 and generate foot traffic. Meanwhile, traffic congestion in Northern Virginia, which the multibillion-dollar project was designed to mitigate, is returning to the hellish pre-COVID conditions. Twenty years ago when Virginia Department of Transportation projects were running late and over budget, it was a statewide scandal. Today? Virginians are so inured to incompetence that there’s not a peep from anyone.

But, hey, government is something we all do together! We’re looking forward to Congress enacting a trillion-dollar infrastructure package to shower free money on the state. What could possibly go wrong?

— JAB

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17 responses to “Silver Line Phase II — Now Four Years Late”

  1. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Murphy’s 3rd — Nothing is as easy as it first looks to be.

  2. Matt Adams Avatar
    Matt Adams

    The issues arises from contractors who are known not to operate in good faith reporting to MWAA (Metro Washington Airports Authority) who has no idea about Train Control. So half of it doesn’t even meet WMATA (Washing Metro Area Transit Authority) standards.

    1. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
      energyNOW_Fan

      Union or not?
      I forget the agreement with WMATA

      1. Matt Adams Avatar
        Matt Adams

        WMATA is Union, but that has nothing to do with it.

        MWAA is overseeing the construction and accepting the work on behalf of WMATA prior to handing it over after commissioning.

        Phase II is a different supplier than Phase I, the suppliers higher installers so on and so forth.

        Edit: For clarification sake, I would presume anyone operating under a craft on the job is Union (if that was your question)..

  3. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    looking at the prospective trillion dollar stimulus. Divide that by 50 to get a ballpark for Virginia then compare that number to the annual transportation budget.

    1. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      To what end?

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        of the line.

  4. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
    energyNOW_Fan

    No joy in Mudville?

    Bank of America commodities strategist Francisco Blanch said in a research note on Monday he sees a case for $100 a barrel oil next year.

    “First, there is plenty of pent up mobility demand after an 18 month lockdown. Second, mass transit will lag, boosting private car usage for a prolonged period of time. Third, pre-pandemic studies show more remote work could result in more miles driven, as work-from-home turns into work-from-car…

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      Our son and family are coming to Virginia in two weeks and both he and his wife plan to work remotely from our house some days (hm, how much CAN the wifi handle, if the grandkid is streaming…?) It wouldn’t surprise me at all that “work from home” has not meant less traffic.

      But high-end transit projects like that are racist and unjust anyway, of little benefit to the downtrodden. Who cares about getting the rich folks to and from Dulles for their flights across the pond?

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Well, put this in the wrong place earlier.
        You can replace recluse with curmudgeon if it feels like a better fit.
        https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mouse_potato_large.jpg

      2. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
        energyNOW_Fan

        If McAuliffe reclaims Gov office, it will be interesting to see how he copes with Dem cancel culture, recently trying to kill his favored Amer Legion Bridge expansion project. Maybe this is issue Youngkin can get the irrational Dems over a barrel down the Great Falls rapids..

        https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/06/plan-to-widen-beltway-and-interstate-270-suffers-major-defeat-in-key-vote/

    2. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Every METRO region has a Federally mandated transportation board (called an MPO). One of the work products of these boards is a 10-year transportation plan – that is based on past and anticipated future trends.

      These boards determine WHAT money will be prioritized on and what not.

      In the NoVa area – until the pandemic – commuting was the big issue as people love NoVa jobs and hate NoVa housing and prefer the exurbs.

      Down Fredericksburg way, there emphasis has been how to attract govt agencies and contractors to re-located to the Fredericksburg Region.

      Now one emphasis is remote work centers. Buildings with uber-internet, zoom meeting rooms, offices and the like but also gyms, pools, restaurants, etc…

  5. Brian Leeper Avatar
    Brian Leeper

    “Twenty years ago when Virginia Department of Transportation projects were running late and over budget, it was a statewide scandal. Today? Virginians are so inured to incompetence that there’s not a peep from anyone.”

    Most of the ones who gave a shit moved the hell out of here.

  6. tmtfairfax Avatar
    tmtfairfax

    When confronted with a Silver Line question, one must remember that it stopped being about rail to Dulles Airport many years ago. With the help of Gerry Connolly, then on the Fairfax County BoS, it became a matter of enriching Tysons landowners and developers, who, in turn, helped fund the transition of Mr. Connolly to Congress. So far, everybody in that deal has done well.

    1. Brian Leeper Avatar
      Brian Leeper

      Sounds like the “Virginia Way” in action. Which is kinda like the “New Jersey Way”, but with an added air of genteel Southern snobbery.

      1. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
        energyNOW_Fan

        In some ways I suppose.
        Are you an NJ escapee Brian?

        1. Brian Leeper Avatar
          Brian Leeper

          No, actually. NJ is just one of the first states that comes to mind when you think about corruption. (Which may be because that corruption in NJ is investigated, dealt with. and reported, as opposed to being swept under the rug….)

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