Loudoun Gateway Station 606

Gateway Station 606
6-level | 612,864 SF parking structure with four (4) separate stair/elevator towers and an elevated pedestrian walkway connecting level 3 with the elevated Station Pavilion

The Silver Line of the Washington Metro is a public rapid transit system used by daily commuters in the DC Metro Area with stop stations from Wiehle – Reston East to Largo Town Center. On average, over 15,000 people use the Silver Line for their daily commutes.  To offer a shelter for their vehicles while on the Silver Line, large parking garages were needed.

Currently, Commonwealth Architects, Walter P. Moore and S.B. Ballard Construction Company are teamed together to collaborate on a design-build project involving the design and construction of two six-level inter-modal parking structures that provide a total of over 3,500 parking spaces.

Both Stations 606 and 772 Parking Garages support the large mega-project called the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project (Silver Line) valued at over $5.63 billion. The 606 and 772 garage project is one project spread out over (2) two locations. Both garages total over 3,500 parking spaces (1,584 spaces at 772 and 2,022 spaces at 606).

The Loudoun Gateway Station parking garage, the larger of the two, utilizes precast concrete double tees with spandrel panels and includes a 175’-0” long steel-trussed pedestrian bridge that provides a connection directly into the Metrorail Station.

Located on Dulles Airport property, this site required close coordination with MWAA for all utility and site related issues, including construction procedures such as FAA limitations on crane heights. Sanitary sewer and storm water management was coordinated with MWAA, Loudoun Water and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

The Station 606 Garage falls within the Authority of the “Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority”(MWAA) due to its proximity to the Dulles Airport. The Station 606 Garage requires working with the Owners Rep (Loudoun County), MWAA and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Having to work with (3) three different Stakeholder organizations with distinctly different interests in the project can be a challenge. S.B. Ballard has been able to successfully work with all Stakeholders involved in this very prominent project.

The two decks have been designed to Parksmart certification standards. Parksmart is the world’s only certification system designed to advance sustainable mobility through smarter parking structure design and operation. Parksmart complements LEED and other certifications and is administered by Green Business Certification, Inc (GBCI). Both garages will include full electronic parking guidance systems (red light/green light sensors) and several electric vehicle charging stations.

Construction to bring the Metro-rail’s Silver Line to Loudoun County will complete the 23-mile extension that ties Loudoun County’s booming economy into the region’s workforce, providing ample business opportunities and rail access to Dulles International Airport. Both parking structures have direct access to the new Metro-rail Stations. These parking garages were built in preparation for the future commuter traffic at these stations.  Both inter-modal parking structures will provide commuters with direct access to the new Silver Line Metro-rail Stations, providing additional transportation opportunities throughout Loudoun County and the Dulles corridor into Washington, D.C. and its surrounding areas. Metro-rail will open in Loudoun County in 2020

These parking structures are both (6) six-levels high, rectangular in nature, containing four bays of double loaded parking aisles. Each bay consists of a ramp, which ascends one parking level, and a flat landing at each end. This allows for two levels of vertical travel for each full revolution of horizontal travel. Both structures includes four stair towers, two of which have lobbies for dual elevators with vast amounts of glazing. The entire garage is illuminated with highly controllable LED light fixtures. Both parking structures also include a “parking guidance” and “revenue collection” system. Both the 606 and 772 structures have significant cast-in-place concrete walls. Roadway improvements along with way-finding and signage are also a large component of both parking garages.