"Up to Feb. 1, I think we were pretty much on time and on budget," said Charles "Sam" Carnaggio, as he gave an update on Metrorail construction to the Committee for Dulles last week. After the presentation, though, he said that although heavy snows had presented some challenges to construction, even keeping workers from getting to project sites on a couple of days, the record-breaking winter weather would not have a substantive impact on the construction timetable.

"We work with the contractor to mitigate that and make up for it," said Carnaggio, who is the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s (MWAA) project director for Rail to Dulles. "It’s more of an inconvenience than anything, but that’s part of building a complex project like this."

A "DESIGN-BUILD" PROJECT, plans for some parts of the rail line are still being drawn up while others are under construction, but Carnaggio told the nearly 200 people who attended the Committee for Dulles’ luncheon at the Sheraton Reston on Thursday, Feb. 18 that roughly 85 percent of the design work for the 23-mile rail and its 11 stations had been completed.

Construction on the first phase of the line, which will run through Tysons Corner and out to Wiehle Avenue, has been underway since last spring, and Carnaggio showed pictures of the work being done on various overpasses along the route, as well as the first five stations. Much of the construction thus far consists of installing caissons and bridge piers, as well as continuing utility relocation and the widening of Route 7 in Tysons Corner.

Near the interchange of the Dulles Connector Road and Interstate 66, a tunnel will connect the line to the West Falls Church Metro Yard, and two tunnels are already under construction beneath the interchange of routes 7 and 123 in Tysons Corner. "They’re pretty far in now," Carnaggio said, noting that the westbound tunnel was excavated as far as the Marriott Courtyard Hotel, while the tunnel that would carry eastbound trains was about three-fourths of the way under International Drive. This area had been of greatest concern to planners because, had anything gone wrong, much of Tysons Corner could have been disrupted.

On Route 7, workers are building the other ends of the tunnels using a "cut-and-cover" method, with deep trenches being dug and covered over. Some of the most disruptive work is being done along the stretch of Route 7 between Route 123 and the toll road, as the service roads are shut down and workers prepare to widen the road. "There’s more utility relocation taking place here than anywhere else," Carnaggio said, adding that retaining walls were also being built there to create a broad, level roadbed.

While foundations are being laid for the two stations that will lie on the north side of Route 123, as well as the Wiehle Avenue station, Route 7 has to be widened before construction can begin on the two stations that will be situated in its median.

BEYOND TYSONS CORNER, rail construction continues in the median of the Dulles Toll Road, while retaining ponds are being built behind the toll road’s sound walls. "You might not see something there, but behind those walls, there’s probably a lot of activity going on," Carnaggio said.

Where the toll road crosses the W&OD Trail, construction is being done with fiberglass rather than steel because of the overhead power lines. There, caissons and abutments have been built and pilings are being driven into the ground. "For those of you who live nearby, you probably won’t appreciate that," Carnaggio said, noting that the work could be noisy.

The second phase of the rail, which will run from Wiehle Avenue under Dulles Airport and out to Ashburn with six more stops, is just getting underway, and a consultant is in the process of doing a cost estimate, he said. "Hopefully, that project will be as successful as we are on Phase 1."

The first phase is expected to be operational in 2013, and the entire line is to be completed by 2016.

Another long-term road closure to accommodate rail construction was announced last week. The right-turn lane that runs along about a block and a half of southbound Route 123 between Scotts Crossing Road and the Beltway Inner Loop closed for two years, as of Monday. The lane served drivers turning right into the Capitol One building or onto the Beltway, said Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project spokesman Marcia McAllister.

The closure is to provide a safe workspace for crews building the Tysons East station. It was supposed to take place on Feb. 8 but was delayed due to the weather.