Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
The simplest way to do it would be to design a whole new Rosslyn station under, say, Key Blvd connected to the existing station via pedestrian tunnels, with no track connection. That's what the map shows. East Falls Church is a little less clear... it seems the Orange and Silver Lines would still share track between East and West Falls Church, so you'd have flexibility there.
The best solution is probably the most expensive one: re-route the tunnels such that the Orange Line goes from Courthouse to the new Rosslyn to Georgetown to M, whereas the Silver Line goes from the new I-66 express tracks to the old Rosslyn station and then under the Potomac to Foggy Bottom. That way, the airport line would hit the core of the city with hotels and tourist destinations while the Orange Line's commuters could be taken directly to M, which is close to K St offices.
Running the Silver Line through the old Rosslyn station would also make the transfer easy for airport-bound passengers coming from the Pentagon, Alexandria and Crystal City. Obviously you'd still have a ton of people transferring, so the pedestrian tunnels should be large.
|
The problem with the Silver Line re-route along I-66 is where would it fit? There is no median strip once the Orange Line goes underground nor much room in the I-66 ROW. The new line would have to go underground or be elevated. An elevated line would be a problem because the line has to go DEEP to get under the Potomac to Georgetown. The Silver Line re-route concept would probably require an underground pair of tunnels splitting off from the Orange Line tunnels to a new station north of and below the Rosslyn station that then heads north under the Potomac river which would be seriously expensive.
The Blue Line re-route could go under the current Rosslyn station & tunnels in a new connected station and then veer off to new tunnels under the Potomac to Georgetown. Still an expensive project, but fewer miles of tunnels. The Blue line re-route through Georgetown and M St scored better in the traffic analysis IIRC.
Switching the Orange Line to the new route through Georgetown and along M street would not fly at all. The Orange line does not just connect to the tourist areas, but numerous federal office buildings from Foggy Bottom to Federal Triangle to L'Enfant Plaza to Federal Center SW. There are many people who have brought homes along the Orange Line to commute to the federal offices. The route of going along I-66 and then into the Rosslyn station and then in the current tunnels under the Potomac does not work. The Rosslyn station is oriented N-S with the Orange and Blue line merging south of it.
One of the alternatives looked at were interline connectors at Rosslyn to go from Orange to Blue, another one near the Pentagon to go from Blue to Yellow, and another south of L'Enfant Plaza to go from Yellow to Blue. The interline connector at Rosslyn is an interesting idea, but would be majorly expensive with new station platforms at Rosslyn.