By Jonathan Capriel posted May 14th, 2019 on bizjournals.com
WMATA plans to study sending trains over the Wilson Bridge, connecting Alexandria and National Harbor.
When the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened in 2006, many anticipated — or hoped — Metro would one day find its way across its span. Some 13 years after the first Toyota Corolla crossed, however, there’s been little movement.
But now the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is planning a study to figure out the logistics of moving its trains between Alexandria and National Harbor using the 12-lane bridge.
The study is supposed to forecast ridership to a National Harbor station, estimate the operating and capital costs of the extension, and examine the feasibility of putting Metro tracks on the drawbridge, which opens a few dozen times a year for maintenance and to allow particularly tall ships to pass. Maryland, which will fund the study, mandated it as part of a 2018 law that provided WMATA with a dedicated funding stream.
Regarding the study, WMATA has already “started that effort,” Paul Wiedefeld, WMATA general manager, said during an interview with WBJ reporters and editors. He did not get into specifics on how the study would proceed, how much it will cost or if a bid process was underway. A spokesman for WMATA did not respond to follow-up questions.
The $2.5 billion Wilson Bridge was designed to handle heavy rail, but it will be a long time before Metro riders can cross it given the many other capital improvements the transit agency has in its plans, from platform reconstruction to a new Potomac Yard infill station to general maintenance across the system.
If an extension were built, the new station would likely sit between the Beltway and MGM National Harbor, which opened in late 2016. An old site map provided by the Peterson Cos., National Harbor’s owner and master developer, shows Metro’s “M” symbol at that location.
Peterson Cos. National Harbor development map.
There is no space reserved for a Metro-specific parking garage in National Harbor, a Peterson spokeswoman said. The developer plans in the short term to build another parking garage to serve National Harbor, but that’s due to the area’s popularity — and its limited transit access — and has nothing to do with any WMATA plans.
A Metro connection to National Harbor would benefit more than 13,000 area employees and thousands of Prince George’s County residents, not to mention the nearly 12 million guests that visit National Harbor each year, said Jon Peterson, CEO of Peterson Cos. While National Harbor is served by several Metrobus routes and an internal circulator, the development on the Potomac is largely accessed by motorists. WMATA has not briefed Peterson Cos. on its plan to do a study.
Prince George’s County, where National Harbor is situated, would welcome a long-awaited Metro, said John Erzen, chief of staff for County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. WMATA had not briefed the county on its plans, but the idea isn’t new, he said.
“There has been talk about it since National Harbor opened,” Erzen said. “It’s something that has been talked about for many years.”