ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Weekend Metro riders — and Metro workers — are about to get a taste of Metro’s summer-long shutdown on the Blue and Yellow lines.
May 4 and 5, Metro will be closed south of Reagan National Airport— six stations in all. Trains will be replaced by free shuttle buses at Braddock Road, King St-Old Town, Eisenhower Ave, Huntington, Van Dorn Street and Franconia-Springfield.
The closure complicates getting to the airport for anybody coming from the south, so start looking for an alternative now.
The weekend work is to prepare for the summer shutdown of the same stations, which starts in three weeks on May 25 and lasts until September 8. Metro officials said aging station platforms have crumbled to dangerous levels and a summer-long blitz maintenance blitz is the most efficient way to tackle the problem.
“The advance work this weekend is necessary due to the complexity of the project and will allow Metro’s contractor, Kiewit, to begin construction on the first day of the summer shutdown,” said a Metro news release. “Crews will perform inspections on the six platform structures, install cable supports, stage heavy equipment and materials, and other pre-construction activity.”
Metro says there is another benefit to the weekend work. Metrobus and Alexandria DASH be able to test-run shutdown shuttle bus service. Metro’s contractor has already reconfigured bus stops and roads to make more room for shuttle buses. The transit agency said crews outside the Eisenhower Ave Station have setup platform “mock-ups” to help train workers, test construction methods and resolve technical issues prior to work beginning.
You can find more information from WMATA here. Here’s weekend service information from Metro:
Blue Line:
- Trains will operate regular service levels between National Airport and Largo Town Center only. Shuttle buses will replace Blue Line trains between Reagan National Airport and Franconia-Springfield. Allow additional travel time.
- Franconia-Springfield, Van Dorn Street, King St-Old Town, Braddock Rd, Huntington and Eisenhower Ave stations will be closed.
- Free shuttle bus information:
- Blue Line shuttle buses (provided by DASH) will operate between Franconia-Springfield, Van Dorn Street, King St-Old Town and National Airport.
- No stop at Braddock Road station.
- Customers traveling to/from Braddock Rd must use a Yellow Line shuttle.
Yellow Line:
- Trains will operate regular service levels between Reagan National Airport and Fort Totten only. (Note: On Saturday, trains will begin/end at Mt Vernon Square between 7 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., and between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.)
- Shuttle buses will replace Yellow Line trains between Crystal City and Huntington. Allow additional travel time.
- Huntington, Eisenhower Ave, King St-Old Town and Braddock Road stations will be closed.
- Free shuttle bus information:
- Yellow Line shuttle buses will operate between Huntington, Eisenhower Avenue, King St-Old Town, Braddock Road and Crystal City.
- No stop at Reagan National Airport.
- Customers traveling to/from Reagan National Airport must use a Blue Line shuttle.