UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Prince George’s County and Northeast D.C. are up next for commuter headaches, with major delays expected on Metrorail and roadways in the county because of Metro’s SafeTrack maintenance plan.
The second of the 15 work surges planned over 10 months will shut down the Metrorail system from Eastern Market to Benning Road from June 18 to July 3.
Orange, Blue and Silver Line riders will be affected by the closure.
“Surge 2 is going to be much different than Surge 1. Surge 1 has primarily been single tracking. Surge 2 will be a complete closure,” said Darryl Mobley, director of Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation.
The county received a briefing on Metro’s ambitious track restoration work, in which the transit agency is aiming to do three years’ worth of track maintenance in one year’s time.
“We’ll be shutting down from Eastern Market to Minnesota Avenue/Benning Road and basically the two stations being closed are Stadium-Armory and Potomac Avenue,” Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld told the Prince George’s County Council.
To counter the impact of the rail disruption, the county is urging all commuters who can telecommute or use flextime to do so. Commuters are also being urged to rideshare and carpool, and the county is calling on the Maryland State Highway Administration to step up enforcement of HOV lane restrictions during Metro’s maintenance period.
Metro will run shuttle buses between the closed stations and the county will offer free bus rides on the 15X route between the New Carrollton and Greenbelt Metro stations.
The county is also asking MARC to add trains during the maintenance period.
The surge will start on Saturday. The first work day of the second surge is Monday, June 20.
The county is warning residents to expect heavy delays at Metro stations and on major commuting routes.
