Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

DC’s Silver Line: A Transit Expansion 34 Years in the Making

Image via Greater Greater Washington
Image via Greater Greater Washington. Click to enlarge
false

When a politician like Maryland Governor Larry Hogan kills off a transit project, not only does he rob citizens of anticipated improvements, he could be wiping out decades of intricate planning.

Dan Malouff at Greater Greater Washington notes that by 2019 it will have taken 34 years to complete the Metro’s Silver Line, which will connect DC and suburban counties with Dulles Airport.

Malouff explains the above graphic:

The timeline begins in 1985, when the idea of a Metro line to Dulles Airport went from vague concept to serious planning initiative following a study that determined it would be feasible.

Planning (yellow on the timeline) and environmental work (green) took the next 21 years, until 2006. It took another 3 years for officials to finalize funding (blue) before construction (purple) could begin in 2009.

Plopping a rail line down the middle of a gargantuan suburban highway with a capacious median is easy compared to putting one virtually anywhere else. Almost any other potential Metrorail expansion imaginable will be harder to plan, fund, and build.

"That doesn't mean it's not worth doing," Malouff writes. "But it's definitely going to be hard."

Elsewhere on the Network today: Streets.mn tests whether motorists are yielding to pedestrians; and Biking Toronto reports that there is fresh green paint, but no physical separation, on a much-needed bike lane.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Eyes on the Street: Culver City’s Farragut Walkway Revamp

The ~200 foot long walkway - also used by cyclists - connects two residential streets about a half-mile south of downtown Culver City

November 4, 2024

This Week In Livable Streets

Tuesday is Election Day! Click through for endorsements and recommendations!

November 4, 2024

Metro Rider Updates: C/K Lines, Bus Lane Cameras, TAP-to-Exit, and Cell Service

Cameras on Metro buses are now enforcing bus lanes! Metro K Line Aviation/Century Station opens this Sunday, with changed C and K Line operations. TAP-to-exit and cell phone reception are expanding.

November 2, 2024
See all posts