Potomac Yard Metro Groundbreaking Set For December

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A groundbreaking will be held for the future Potomac Yard Metro in Alexandria, the city announced. It will happen Dec. 19 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the future northwest entrance, 3601 Potomac Avenue near Regal Potomac Yard.

This comes after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit under the federal Clean Water Act. This was the final permit required under the joint permit application process with the Corps and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The Virginia State Water Control Board approved the state permit in September.

"Alexandria has worked closely with Metro and our federal and state partners to plan for a new Potomac Yard Metrorail Station that will improve mobility, promote economic development, and protect our environment," said Mayor Justin Wilson in a statement. "We now officially move from planning the station to constructing the station."

The station, on Metro's Yellow and Blue Lines between Braddock Road and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport stations, will likely open in early 2022. The location is bordered by the George Washington Memorial Parkway to the east and northeast, the Potomac Greens neighborhood to the south, and CSX tracks, Potomac Avenue, and Potomac Yard Shopping Center to the west and northwest.

Located near the station will be Virginia Tech's Innovation Campus, announced last November along with Amazon's decision to locate its second headquarters in Crystal City. The Virginia Tech Foundation submitted its first concept plan for the Innovation Campus and held a public meeting earlier in November. Construction of the first academic building could be completed in 2024.