WASHINGTON — Serious problems with the concrete supporting Metro’s Blue and Silver Line tracks near Benning Road will significantly reduce service at Silver Line stations and some Blue Line stations next weekend (March 16–18), Metro said Friday.
Silver Line trains will only run every 24 minutes during the single-tracking, including during next Friday’s rush hours. There will be no Blue Line trains between the Largo Town Center and Stadium Armory stations.
Instead, Blue Line trains will run to New Carrollton, which should keep service normal on the Virginia end of the Blue Line. Silver Line riders in Virginia on March 16 should consider using the Orange Line instead, because Silver Line trains at Wiehle-Reston East and stations in Tysons will only be scheduled every 24 minutes.
From Blue Line stations In Maryland and the parts of the District where service is reduced, Metro suggests using regular bus routes or Orange Line stations as alternatives.
What’s broken
A concrete slab near Benning Road that supports the rails between the Benning Road and Capitol Heights stations has cracked.
It had not been fully repaired and replaced since the stretch opened in 1980, Metro said.
In order to fix it, the concrete must be pulled out, repoured and allowed to cure; then, the rails and fasteners must be replaced.
The work is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. next Thursday and run through closing the following Sunday night. Metro expects normal service to resume the morning of Monday, March 19.
Similar issues have emerged before across the system, and other concrete fixes are among the reasons for Metro’s upcoming round-the-clock shutdowns.
The work comes as cherry blossom crowds are expected to ramp up, when Metro generally hopes to avoid track work.
