The long-awaited and often-delayed Potomac Yard Metro station will welcome riders on Friday, May 19.
When riders travel to the station, they may be awestruck by its excellent views and pleasant aesthetic.
“The only reason we’re standing here is because our community never gave up on this project. Our community has been pushing for this station for a generation and beyond,” Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson told reporters during the opening announcement.
The station is located in the fastest-growing area of Alexandria, Virginia, between the Reagan National and Braddock Road stations. It is only the second-ever in-fill station — a station built between two extant stations on a line — and Metro’s 98th station overall.
When Blue and Yellow line riders come, they will find views of the George Washington Parkway, Potomac River, the Washington Monument and even the U.S. Capitol from the station’s northern end.
“Quite frankly, we might sell tickets for the Fourth of July,” Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke joked.
Building the station brought unique challenges to the mass transit agency and contractors. The station sits on 1,500 concrete drilled shafts that serve almost like stilts through the unstable soil close to the Potomac River.
The sprawling station also brought design challenges because of its proximity to the George Washington Parkway, which is only a stone’s throw from the eastern entrance of the station.
“The big design elements were making sure that from the National Park Service land, the station looked appealing and didn’t interfere with a pleasant view,” Metro Chief Infrastructure Officer Andy Off told WTOP.
The facade is hand-placed brownstone that wraps around the entire station.
“It’s 360 degrees around the station. It’s gonna look beautiful from the parkway,” Off said during a tour of the new station.
The station also features an open concept to highlight the area’s natural beauty using windows and even a partially open platform canopy utilizing as much sunlight on the platform as possible.
“We can go to our older stations, we have the concrete canopy, but then you go out to Dulles and here, clearly totally different design elements built into the station really all in the name of bringing natural daylight,” Off told WTOP.
The station began construction in 2019 and faced numerous delays.
The station’s $370 million was funded by tax revenues and contributions generated by planned new development in the area, as well as state grants, loans and regional sources.
The station will also serve the new Virginia Tech Innovation Campus once it opens in 2024.
