Community Corner

WMATA Breaks Ground on Cinder Bed Metrobus Facility in Lorton

WMATA and local officials hosted a ceremony to celebrate the beginning of construction on a new metrobus facility.

Monday morning marked a big step for transportation improvement in the Northern Virginia area as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) broke ground on a new metrobus facility in Lorton.

The new, state-of-the-art facility, which will be located at 7901 Cinder Bed Rd., will replace Metro’s nearly 70-year-old Royal Street Bus Garage. This facility has exceeded its life and cannot accommodate the new buses.

"The facility we have now is so old. It was built when I was born and it was outdated by the time Jeff McKay was born," said Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th) jokingly during the ceremony. "We started this years ago, and this is going to provide for a tremendous economic development opportunity.

Lorton, like Springfield and the Route 1 corridor, is steadily growing said local officials. The addition of the new metrobus facility will also be a part of that. Fairfax County supervisor and WMATA board member Catherine Hudgins said building the facility in the lorton area is a "wise use of our resources."

"Bus services and our metro system are a key part to the way we service our community," she said.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place in what seems like a wooded area surrounded by a few businesses. However, McKay said it is the exact opposite.

"This location may seem like the middle of nowhere, but it's actually in the middle of an area that's going through revitalization. It has great access to Interstate-95. It has great access to Route 1," McKay said Monday.

According to Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Richard Sarles, the new Cinder Bed facility will service about 20,000 riders daily. The new facility will enable Metro to run modern buses on these routes.

"Modern bus facilities are crucial to improving transportation in the D.C. metro area," he said. "One of our important priorities is to imporve bus transporation as well as rail. This facility will be much more environmentally friendly and LEED certified."

Also in attendance during Monday's ceremony was a representative for Mayor William Euille of city of Alexandria and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff.

This project will generate about 300 construction jobs, said WMATA. According to the Metro media relations office, the facility is expected to be completed in 20 months, around mid-2015.


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