WASHINGTON — Metro expects major crowds Saturday for Wreaths Across America, and so has limited some Saturday track work.
Single-tracking on the Blue Line is not scheduled to begin until 10 p.m. Saturday. The Blue Line will run on a regular weekend schedule until then.
Still, since the north entrance of the Arlington Cemetery station is closed for another two months or so for escalator replacement, entering or exiting the station could be difficult before and after the event. The station is not designed to handle such large crowds even when all entrances are open.
Metro is encouraging riders to walk to the cemetery from the Rosslyn or Pentagon stations instead if they can. From Pentagon, the south gate is the nearest entrance; from Rosslyn, the Ord & Weitzel Gate beyond the Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) is closest.
Saturday night and Sunday, Blue and Yellow Line trains are scheduled only every 20 minutes each, with single-tracking between Pentagon City and Reagan National Airport.
All day both Saturday and Sunday, Red Line trains are scheduled to single-track between Van Ness and Friendship Heights, with trains every 18 minutes. Some additional trains are scheduled during the day between Farragut North and Silver Spring.
No track work is scheduled on the Orange, Silver or Green lines.
Metro runs 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays, so the first trains arrive at Arlington Cemetery Saturdays around 7:30 a.m. The cemetery opens at 8 a.m.
On Sundays, Metro now runs 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Wreaths Across America closures
The convoy of more than 75 trucks carrying the wreaths for Arlington National Cemetery began arriving Friday.
Starting 5 a.m. Saturday, roads on the edges of the cemetery, such as Marshall Drive and Southgate Road, will be closed to traffic. Marshall Drive from Va. 110 past the Netherlands Carillon will be used for shuttle buses only.
Access to Memorial Bridge from the cemetery, from the southbound George Washington Parkway, and from northbound Va. 110 is also scheduled to be blocked much of the day Saturday.
Drivers are still expected to have access to Memorial Bridge from Washington Boulevard and the northbound GW Parkway.
Other lane closures are planned along Interstate 395, the GW Parkway and around the Pentagon. Arlington County police emphasized that parking on the shoulder of Va. 110 is “strictly prohibited,” as is blocking traffic to drop someone off or pick them up.
Any vehicles parked there may be towed. Drivers who are towed can call 703-558-2222. Drivers who block traffic while dropping off or picking up passengers can be ticketed.
A number of other construction lane closures or events are scheduled across the region this weekend, but many may be postponed due to expected heavy rain.
Mount Vernon’s Christmas Illuminations events, for example, have already been pushed back to next weekend.
