WASHINGTON — Beginning Memorial weekend, Metro is closing several stations in Virginia to continue work on a rebuilding project. The scheduled closure starts May 23 and lasts until Labor Day.
This year's summer shutdown was originally only planned for three stations on the Orange Line: East Falls Church, Dunn Loring and Vienna. Now all Silver Line stations from East Falls Church to the end of the Wiehle-Reston East line will be closed, including Tyson's Corner.
Low ridership and reduced hours because of the coronavirus pandemic means the increased ability for crew and test work. It gives Metro the ability to speed up its three-year platform rebuilding plan.
The plan aims at fixing structural issues with 20 of Metro's outdoor platforms, with the first phase completed last summer. The new summer shutdown will allow crews to be able to work in a socially distant environment without impacting what normally would be busy riding times, according to Metro officials.
Metro has been asking riders to stay at home and reduce their commutes since mid-March, encouraging only essential workers to take the rail when need be. The 91-station system has since seen historically low ridership rates.
Here are the stations impacted:
- East Falls Church
- West Falls Church
- Tyson's Corner
- Greensboro
- McLean
- Spring Hill
- Dunn Loring
- Vienna
- Wiehle-Reston East
The transit agency said it will provide free shuttle buses outside the closed stations to transport people who still need to access certain stations.
In addition to the big summer shutdown, riders will also see waves of localized closures on the Green and Yellow lines starting in early June.
This all comes as Metro is slowly starting to ramp up service again as part of its coronavirus recovery plan. That plan is three phases, including stabilization, managed re-entry and recovery. Metro doesn't expect to be in a full recovery phase until sometime next year when a vaccine may be widely available.