WASHINGTON — Metro has many more round-the-clock work zones planned, starting with Blue and Yellow Line shutdowns in November and December and again next summer, and continuing long-term, including an Orange Line shutdown in the summer of 2020.
Next month, the Blue and Yellow lines will be shut down between Braddock Road and Pentagon City from Friday through Monday of Veterans Day weekend. The Reagan National Airport and Crystal City stations will be closed, and service will be reduced on other parts of the Blue and Yellow lines.
Then, from the Monday after Thanksgiving through Sunday, Dec. 9, the Yellow Line bridge over the Potomac River will be shut down. Some Blue Line trains will run to and from Huntington. The weekend of Dec. 1-2, there will also be no Green or Yellow Line service at Gallery Place, Archives, L’Enfant Plaza or Waterfront. Archives and Waterfront will be closed.
Next summer, the Blue and Yellow Lines will be shut down south of Reagan National Airport, with Braddock Road, King Street, Eisenhower Avenue, Huntington, Van Dorn Street and Franconia-Springfield closed for months — from Memorial Day to Labor Day 2019 — as Metro works on platforms at Braddock Road, King Street and Eisenhower Avenue. Other platform work in that area will lead to continuous single-tracking for periods between September 2019 and May 2020.
In summer 2020, Virginia Department of Transportation Megaprojects leader Susan Shaw said this week, Metro plans to shut down part of the Orange Line in Virginia from July 5 to Sept. 7, 2020.
Metro’s initial plans revealed earlier this year called for closures of the Vienna and Dunn Loring Metro stations around that time, with work in the fall of 2020 at West Falls Church and in the winter of 2021 at East Falls Church.
VDOT is coordinating with Metro on its own Interstate 66 toll lane construction work, which will disrupt Orange Line service numerous times over the next few years.
“We’re trying to, one, take full advantage when they have to close for their work to try and do as much of our stuff as we can and take full advantage of that, but, in addition to that window, we may have the need for additional closures beyond that,” Shaw said.
The work includes relocating a Metro power station and bridge work around Dunn Loring and Vienna stations.
“In our early look at it, what we were looking at would be more targeted weekend closures, not during weekday peak period,” Shaw said.
Additional Metro closures could be required in Maryland due to Purple Line construction as the light rail connections to the Metro system are built at Silver Spring and Bethesda. At minimum, the work in Silver Spring is expected to include eight consecutive weekend shutdowns in the summer of 2019, and 12 other weekend shutdowns over a two-year period.
Metro is considering a longer-term 24/7 shutdown instead to reduce the number of days the Red Line is shut down. Work at Bethesda could be equally or more disruptive.
Other shutdowns planned
Also in the summer of 2020, Metro platform repair work is planned on the Green Line between Greenbelt and West Hyattsville.
In 2021, closures would shift to the New Carrollton end of the Orange Line, Addison Road on the Blue and Silver lines, and Arlington Cemetery.
Those shutdowns or single-tracking areas for platform fixes would be in addition to other long-term work zones, as well as weeknight and weekend single-tracking and shutdowns needed for maintenance or construction projects.
