Major Milestone Celebrated Outside Soon-To-Open Herndon Metro Station

HERNDON, VA — Elected officials representing the Town of Herndon and regional transportation leaders gathered Thursday morning along Herndon Parkway to celebrate a significant transit milestone. They cut the ribbon on the newly constructed bus bays that will provide pedestrian and vehicular access to the nearby Herndon Metrorail Station.

"We're really excited that we're opening our bus bays," Mayor Sheila Olem said, during the ceremony. "On the 15th of November, Metro will open here in the Town of Herndon and we will be the only town in the commonwealth that has a metro station within our town."

"Everything's coming together so well on Metro's Silver Line due to a lot of involvement by a lot of partners," said Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust. "Particularly today, I wanted to thank the mayor and the council members for what they've done here in Herndon, their partnership and leadership has been outstanding."

Related: DC Metro's New Silver Line Extension Sets November Opening Date

Councilmember Signe Friedrichs told Patch that she felt energized about Thursday's event and the imminent arrival of Metro.

"This has been a long time coming. ... We've been ready and waiting," she said. "I'm really proud that our staff has done such a great job of getting it done in time, because Metro there was always this question, 'Would it be ready before the Metro?' Well, it's ready."

"When we think about imagining our communities to be accessible and transit-oriented, especially as we think about housing and development, I think that this means for local residents in Herndon and also for those in our region that they'll have access to that to the into the Town of Herndon and see the full charm of our town on display," said Del. Irene Shin (D-86th). "It'll drive more traffic for small businesses, which I think will be a huge boon for our local economy and not to mention access to the Dulles Airport is going to be a huge point of advantage."

"This multimodal drop off point will encourage more ridership on the rail as commuters will be able to access this station easily and safely by car, by bus or by bicycle," said State Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-33rd), during the ceremony.

Construction on the Bus Bays Project began in August 2021 and was completed last month. The bays, which include shelters for commuters, provide access for cars and the Fairfax County Connector busses from both directions on Herndon Parkway. The project also added a signalized crosswalks at the entrance of the Metrorail promenade, so that pedestrians would be able to safely cross the parkway.

The total cost for the project was the $5.9 million, with the Town of Herndon providing $1.2 million and an additional $1.5 million in general bond funding. Grant funding covered the remaining costs, including grants from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, the Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program, and the Fairfax County Herndon Metrorail Station Access Management Study program.