Metro To Shut Down 6 Stations Along Blue, Yellow Lines In 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Metro announced plans Monday to temporarily close all Blue and Yellow line stations south of Reagan National Airport during the summer of 2019, as part of a three-year project to rebuild outdoor station platforms.

Metro will make repairs at 20 outdoor platforms throughout the project, estimated to cost between $300-and $400 million. The project will "address structural deficiencies after decades of exposure to the elements," officials said.

The project kicks off with a "summer shutdown," which includes closures at six stations from Memorial Day to Labor Day 2019: Braddock Road, King Street, Eisenhower Avenue, Huntington, Van Dorn Street, and Franconia-Springfield.

Metro will demolish and rebuild the station platforms at Braddock Road, King Street and Eisenhower Avenue stations in Alexandria during this time. Blue and Yellow line service will operate at regular intervals between the airport and Largo Town Center (Blue Line) and Fort Totten/Mt Vernon Square (Yellow Line).

Following the summer shutdown, Metro will reconstruct the platforms at Van Dorn Street, Franconia-Springfield, Huntington and Reagan National Airport between September 2019 and May 2020. The location and configuration of these stations allows construction to take place while all rail stations remain open, Metro said.

Rail service is expected to operate normally except for the Blue Line in September 2019, which will be impacted by the reconstruction of Van Dorn Street Station.

The remaining 13 station platforms to be reconstructed in 2020-2021 are: West Hyattsville, College Park, Greenbelt, Rhode Island Avenue, Vienna, Dunn Loring, West Falls Church, East Falls Church, Cheverly, Landover, New Carrollton, Addison Road, and Arlington Cemetery.

Metro did not say how service will be affected at these stations. Service plans for these stations are being developed, including possible coordination with construction activity associated with the Purple Line in Maryland and the widening of I-66 in Virginia, Metro said.

The platform reconstruction plan will be presented Thursday at the Metro Board of Directors Capital and Strategic Planning Committee meeting.

Photo via WMATA