WASHINGTON — New bus-only lanes, parking restrictions and extended Yellow Line service are planned during a six-week shutdown of the Red Line this summer.
The bus lanes on Rhode Island Avenue Northeast are planned between 12th Street just east of the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station and North Capitol Street, the District Department of Transportation and Metro said. The bus lane rules will apply Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
DDOT will post signs and put temporary paint on the roadway marking the bus lane, DDOT Director Jeff Marootian said.
Rush-hour parking restrictions will also be extended by 30 minutes in each the morning and afternoon rush hour along parts of North Capitol Street.
Rhode Island Avenue and Brookland-CUA stations will be closed for 45 days for structural concrete repairs.
Metro will have shuttle buses connecting Fort Totten, Brookland, Rhode Island Avenue and NoMa-Gallaudet. There will also be express shuttle buses between each Brookland and Rhode Island Avenue and Union Station, Metro Center and Gallery Place.
Riders from stations north of Fort Totten, such as Glenmont, can transfer to the Yellow or Green Line at Fort Totten, or take the many existing bus routes downtown from Silver Spring.
The G9 limited-stop bus route, which is normally rush hour-only, will also run down Rhode Island Avenue at all times the rail system is open, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, of Maryland, and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
On the Yellow Line, the “rush-plus” service canceled last year when Metro cut back scheduled service across the system will essentially return during the July 21-Sept. 3 shutdown of the Red Line between Fort Totten and NoMa-Gallaudet.
The additional Yellow Line service to and from Greenbelt, with other trains turning back at Fort Totten rather than the usual Mt. Vernon Square, is meant to alleviate extra crowding as transit riders are directed to take buses, MARC trains or shift to Green Line stops in place of Red Line service.
During the shutdown, Red Line trains will be scheduled every six minutes between Shady Grove and NoMa-Gallaudet, and every 10 minutes between Glenmont and Fort Totten.
Between Shady Grove and downtown D.C., that is an increase from currently scheduled rush-hour service. Between Grosvenor and Glenmont, it’s a reduction.
During the work, Metro will not automatically refund riders with registered SmarTrip cards who experience significant rush-hour delays to or from stations between Glenmont and NoMa-Gallaudet.
Blue, Orange, Silver lines
Additional round-the-clock single-tracking is scheduled Aug. 11-26 on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines downtown.
“During the 10 commuting days of the Orange, Blue and Silver line work in particular, customers who use these lines are being encouraged to plan alternate routes now and use Metro only if absolutely necessary,” Metro said in a statement.
During the single-tracking between McPherson Square and Smithsonian, Orange and Silver Line trains will be scheduled only once every 20 minutes. The Blue Line will be shut down north of Arlington Cemetery.
Blue Line trains will run only between Franconia-Springfield and Arlington Cemetery, with no shuttle bus service planned between Arlington Cemetery and Rosslyn. They will be scheduled every 16 minutes.
Instead, those riders will need to go to Pentagon to transfer to a Yellow Line train into the District.
Metro will run a few additional Yellow Line trains at rush hour only between Franconia-Springfield and Greenbelt. Those trains will be scheduled every 16 minutes.
