DC Metro subway extension delayed eight weeks

{mosads}The project, which is one of the largest public transportation projects currently under construction, is being built with approximately $900 million in money from the federal government. The line has been dubbed the Silver Line, and it will join Washington, D.C.’s, Red, Green, Yellow, Orange and Blue lines upon completion.

The president of the Washington Airport Authority said Wednesday the delay in the opening of the new Metro line was necessary to protect the future riders of the railway. 

“Our main goal has always been safety and quality – it supersedes all else,” said MWAA President Jack Potter said in a statement. “Any project this large and complex is inevitably going to encounter unexpected issues that require additional tests and adjustments. With Phase 1 of the Silver Line nearly complete, there isn’t sufficient time in the schedule to recover from recently identified matters within the original plan.”

The Silver Line is not scheduled to reach Dulles airport until 2018. Construction on the second phase of the railway, which is not being built with federal money, is scheduled to begin this year.