Metro's Yellow Line To Reopen In May After Work Between Pentagon And L’Enfant Plaza

VIRGINIA/DC — Metro plans to restart Yellow Line service in May after completing rehabilitation work on the tunnel and bridge between the Pentagon and L’Enfant Plaza stations, Metro announced Tuesday.

The transit agency began work on the Yellow Line bridge and tunnel in September. Following eight months of construction, customers will be able to use the Yellow Line across the Potomac River between Virginia and the District of Columbia, instead of only using the Blue Line.

The reopening of the Yellow Line will reduce travel times by as much as 15 minutes when service resumes on May 7, Metro said. Initially, Yellow Line trains will run every eight minutes weekdays and every 12 minutes after 9:30 p.m. and on weekends between the Huntington Station in Virginia and the Mt. Vernon Square Station in D.C.

During the shutdown, Yellow Line riders had to travel to the Rosslyn Station and then into D.C. instead of across the Yellow Line bridge and tunnel into L’Enfant Plaza.

Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said Tuesday that he is "proud and thankful to the dedicated women and men who worked to deliver this complex project on schedule and on budget."

Construction crews started work in September on the $261 million Yellow Line tunnel and bridge rehabilitation project to mitigate water intrusion in the tunnel and replace aging bridge bearings and expansion joints. The work included replacing more than 1,000 steel plates held together by more than 12,000 bolts in the tunnel and replacing 88 bearings on the bridge, according to Metro.

The project also upgraded the fire suppression system on the 3,000-foot bridge and removed and replaced miles of communications cables used by communications companies.

When it reopens on May 7, the Yellow Line will travel through the new Potomac Yard Station, which remains under construction. The Potomac Yard Station still does not have an opening date, according to reports.

Metro said bus shuttles have provided more than 821,000 trips for customers affected by the Yellow Line closure. Shuttle routes that have operated between Crystal City and L'Enfant Plaza, and Pentagon and Archives, since September will be discontinued with the start of Yellow Line service on May 7.

Also on Tuesday, Metro said its fiscal year 2024 budget includes a proposal to increase service on the Green and Yellow lines. To do so, Metro would turn back Yellow Line trains at Mt. Vernon Square, meaning Yellow Line trains would operate between Huntington and Mt. Vernon Square with service every six minutes. Green Line service would also improve from every eight to six minutes.

If approved by Metro's board of directors, the improved service frequencies would begin later this year, the transit agency said.