Explosion-like sounds near the future Dulles Metro

Anyone working, driving, eating lunch or walking in the vicinity of Route 123, the Dulles Connector Road and Anderson Road in Fairfax County at 1 p.m. on Thursday, may hear a series of very loud noises. The sounds will be generated by a test conducted by engineers building the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport.

The "statnamic" test will measure the load capacity of the foundations of several underground piers that will support the above-ground stretches of the subway.

Officials with the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project said the test will sound like several small explosions. In a statement, they described a "short testing period."

-- Lisa Rein