Traffic & Transit
East Falls Church Station To Reopen Before Vienna, Dunn Loring
Vienna and Dunn Loring will be the last of Metro's stations to reopen after pandemic-related and construction project closures.
FALLS CHURCH, VA — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will open the East Falls Church station on Sunday, Aug. 23 as the Orange Line platform rehabilitation work proceeds ahead of schedule.
The West Falls Church and five Silver Line stations in Tysons and Reston reopened on Sunday due to progress on the Orange Line project and Silver Line connection to future phase two stations.
The Arlington Cemetery station, which has been closed since March due to the pandemic, will also reopen on Aug. 23. The two remaining closed stations in the Orange Line are Dunn Loring and Vienna. These stations will reopen the day after Labor Day on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
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Once those stations reopen, all Metro stations will be open for the first time since March 19, when Metro closed stations and entrances in response to the pandemic.
On Sunday, Metro will also boost service on bus routes, largely on weekends. Schedules will vary by route, but some may start as early as 4 a.m. or end as late as midnight. Metrobus weekend service will be restored to 85 to 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels. There will also be more weekday service on 174 routes, most of which will be near pre-pandemic levels of service.
Find out what's happening in Falls Churchfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The East Falls Church station also has a new secure bike and ride facility with free bicycle parking. Riders can access the facility using a SmarTrip card after completing online Bike & Ride registration.
The length of time it took to complete the bicycle parking facility has been noted by the Unsuck DC Metro Twitter account, a frequent critic of the transit authority.
HAHAH The East Falls Church bike rack, which took over 5 years to build, is about to open, just when Metro's ridership has been annihilated by the virus.
— (@unsuckdcmetro) August 17, 2020
According to Metro, ongoing construction activity will continue at the Orange Line stations even after they reopen. Daily vehicle parking remains closed at East Falls Church and reduced at the West Falls Church and Vienna stations.
Free shuttle bus service continue to serve closed stations. With the reopening of the West Falls Church station on Aug. 16, shuttle buses now run between Vienna, Dunn Loring and West Falls Church. Shuttle buses from the East Falls Church station connect to the Ballston-MU station.
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