If you were among the thousands descending upon Tysons Corner Center this summer for the grand opening of the new Hyatt Hotel, which included a concert and fireworks, you experienced firsthand the transformation taking place there and throughout the Dulles Corridor thanks to the arrival of Metro’s Silver Line.
It was just one of many milestones we’ve celebrated as we reach the one-year anniversary of completion of Phase 1 of Silver Line service from East Falls Church through Tysons to Wiehle-Reston East.
Previously, the mall was accessible mainly by car and one often had to contend with fierce traffic to get there. Today, the Tysons Station is one of Metro’s busiest on Saturdays.
With the opening of the mall’s plaza connecting with the Metro station and new offices, apartments, and the hotel, the outdoor space is bustling with families dining alfresco, dancing to one of the Friday night concerts, or trying their hand at the free games and activities set up throughout the plaza.
And that’s just the beginning of the transformation! The changes around the malls are emblematic of what we’re seeing take place across Tysons and Reston. Thanks to the Silver Line, people are doing something that up to now was unthinkable: They are walking to work, to eat, to shop, or to their homes.
The collection of office parks and shopping centers, once surrounded by vast expanses of parking, are now being connected to the Silver Line by raised walkways interspersed with pocket parks. Today, you can even walk off the train at Tysons or Reston to shop at a local farmers market!
Take a ride on the Silver Line through Tysons and out to Reston and you can see the transformation we envisioned taking shape. At least five new buildings including new high-rise apartments opened in the past year, and the construction cranes dotting the skyline and projects in the pipeline give us a glimpse of what’s to come.
The growing ridership on the year-old Silver Line demonstrates the pent-up demand for transit in the corridor. Wiehle-Reston East continues to be the busiest Silver Line station with nearly 9,000 riders a day, and during the morning rush it is the third highest revenue-generating station across the entire Metro system. Overall, Silver Line ridership is exceeding expectations with an average of 16,000 rider trips per day.
Northern Virginia’s economy is also feeling a boost. The 23-mile Dulles Corridor, with five Fortune 500 companies and numerous other firms headquartered there, already accounts for 25 percent of the region’s gross domestic product.
By connecting downtown Washington and suburban Maryland to the region’s second largest employment corridor, the Silver Line has created new opportunities for our workforce. And the growing commercial tax base along the corridor, already a primary driver of the regional economy, will relieve some of the burden on local property taxpayers and help sustain our investments in schools, public safety, and parks.
Within a few years, Phase 2 will extend the Silver Line to Dulles and Loudoun County, providing a new link to our premier international airport and opening a new commuting option for the outer suburbs.
Over my two decades of service as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and now as Congressman for Virginia’s 11th District, construction of the Silver Line topped my list of priorities. I was proud to work with other local, state, and federal leaders to keep this important project on track and I am excited about the future benefits of this transit line to our region.
I hope you share this excitement and will join us in celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Silver Line and the positive transformation to come.
Congressman Gerald E. Connolly represents Fairfax and Prince William Counties and the City of Fairfax in the U.S. House of Representatives. At the ceremony marking the opening of the Silver Line one year ago, then Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles said about Connolly: “Without him, we wouldn’t be here today.”