Metro’s Yellow Line will reopen on May 7 following eight months of work on the tunnel and bridge between the Pentagon and L’Enfant Plaza stations. Trains will run every eight minutes on weekdays initially, Metro says in a press release, and every 12 minutes after 9:30 PM and on weekends.
Metro announced last March that the line would shutter in September. The announcement took the mayor of Alexandria by surprise: “These closures will again cut Alexandria off from the rest of the system and significantly impact Alexandria transit riders at a time where the City and its regional partners will be working to bring our residents back to transit,” Justin Wilson wrote in his monthly newsletter. Alexandria has several stations along the Yellow Line. Shuttle buses and travel along the Blue Line replaced service along the Yellow Line.
The Yellow Line will travel through the Potomac Yard station, which is still under construction. A Metro spokesperson says there’s no opening date yet for the new station.
In the release, Metro GM Randy Clarke notes that the project came in on time and under budget, and that crews replaced steel plates, bolts, and bearings, upgraded the bridge’s fire suppression system, and “replaced miles of critical communications cables used by multiple regional partners.”
There’s one more big change coming: Metro plans to increase Yellow Line service by turning back trains at Mt. Vernon Square. Passengers will have to transfer at Mt. Vernon Square to continue to Greenbelt along the Green Line. Such “interlining” would represent an improvement for people along both the Yellow and Green lines, Tracy Hadden Loh argues in Greater Greater Washington.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
