Silver Line Construction Reaches Milestone

The Dulles Rail project marks a major milestone today, as construction crews lay the final span for the bridges that will carry the Dulles Corridor Silver Line trains. That means the Orange Line terminus is ready to be hooked up.

"This marks the completion of the aerial structure of this project through Tyson's Corner," says Patrick Nowakowski, the executive director of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. "We have over three miles of aerial structure and this is the last span being set into place."

The crews are using a truss that is longer than a football field to lift and move the 380-ton span, made up of 12 custom-cast concrete segments, so progress is slow-going.

"Obviously when you're picking up anything this heavy and you have workers underneath it, you have to be very careful and do this in a safe manner. We've been at this for several years now, so we've got it pretty well perfected, we take our time and we do it the right way."

When completed, the span will carry trains over the Capital Beltway and into the heart of the largest employment center in Virginia, Tyson's Corner.