DULLES, Va. — The highly anticipated Silver Line extension is finally open.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) project consists of six new Metro stops including the Washington Dulles International Airport.
The second phase of the plan was $250 million over budget and four years behind schedule, but the opening was an exciting accomplishment decades in the making.
Metro officials held a big celebration at the Dulles location with fanfare from local, state and national leaders hours before the line opened to the general public.
Among the speakers included U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who made jokes about having to pick up someone from Dulles.
"There's that little pause when you ask, 'Which airport did you say you were going to be?'" Buttigieg said. "Awkward pause no more because it will be easier no matter what."
The final result makes it easier for people to travel to the terminal as soon as they get off with a walkway.
Senators Mark Warner, (D) Virginia, and Tim Kaine, (D) Virginia, had the chance to see years of hard work in person when they took the Metrorail to Ashburn.
Both former governors touted the bipartisan commitment to open the new line 60 years after the airport first opened.
Warner said Reston alone is in the process of a $3 billion redevelopment project inspired by the Metro stations.
"We're going to see the kind of smart growth approach building around Metro stations in a way that will help our region," he said.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who was also in attendance, said the Silver Line will not only help connect residents to jobs but help tourism and highlight new direct flights to cities overseas.
"We know that when we can easily travel, when DC residents can get to work and when all of the beautiful people in Virginia get back to work in DC, they can get on the train," she said.
"Just like many of us would say of the Silver Line itself, not a moment too soon," Buttigieg added. "We have been waiting for a long time."
Finn Vigeland and his friends decided to ride the Metro to Ashburn to experience the new extension.
"A lot of us work in transportation so it's especially exciting for us," Vigeland said. "We were talking how it changes our perspective of being able to go to Dulles. It used to be such a hassle, so this is for sure opening up the possibilities an easy one-ride from my office."
"It's kind of crazy to think it's finally happening," Sam Facas added.
WMATA said it can take under an hour to get from Metro Center to Dulles.
WUSA9 tested out travel times on the train in comparison to driving to Dulles on opening day.
During rush hour at around 5 p.m., reporters Matthew Torres and Adam Longo started from L'Enfant Plaza. Longo drove while Torres waited on the platform for about 12 minutes before the Silver train arrived.
With the help of the access road, Longo arrived first at around 45 minutes.
The time to get from L'Enfant Plaza to the new Dulles stop on Metro was a little over one hour.
Although the travel time in the car was faster, both reporters agreed the benefit of avoiding any traffic or paying more to take a rideshare or park the car outweigh waiting longer on board the train.
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