Alexandria Metro Shutdown: Traffic Delays, HOV Violations Noted

ALEXANDRIA, VA — We're more than halfway through the summer-long shutdown of six Yellow and Blue Line Metro stations around Alexandria. The city has released a mid-summer report detailing the impacts of the shutdown and commuter perceptions.

Around 650 people responded to a survey in June about delays experienced during the shutdown. 60 percent said they got to their destinations but with delays over 30 minutes. By comparison, 43 percent said they experienced delays of less than 30 minutes.

Shuttle buses serving the closed stations have clocked in at over 1 million trips so far. The Yellow Line shuttle has an average 6,285 weekday trips, while the Blue Line shuttle has an average 5,298 weekday trips. The trips for the Landmark-Pentagon Express—912—were considerably lower.

The report noted troubles with crowding during the first week of the shutdown. The Braddock Road station had the most issues with long lines and times between shuttles, given that it was the last stop before the destination of Crystal City. There was general congestion around the King Street station, which is also impacted by the separate improvement project outside the station. On the other hand, the Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue stations had moderate wait times with minimal or no crowding.

Use of regular DASH Bus routes declined by 14 percent in June compared to the same time last year, and complaints were up by 14 percent in May and June. However, its enhanced AT-3 and AT-4 service to the Pentagon are up 14 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Meanwhile Metrobus ridership increased by 30 percent when compared to averages before the shutdown.

The city also saw increases in traffic delays, although officials cited factors like weather, crashes and power outages. Overall, travel times throughout the city increased by about 4 percent when compared to the spring. The worst delay increases were 33 percent on eastbound Duke Street during the evening and 21 percent on northbound Van Dorn Street during the morning commute.

The city changed HOV lane rules on Washington Street to help buses navigate through traffic more easily during the shutdown. HOV hours for northbound HOV lanes were changed to 6 a.m.-10 a.m., and southbound lanes to 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Previously, HOV lanes required at least two people in a car during HOV hours, but now at least three people need to be in the car during HOV hours. According to the report, Alexandria Police handed out 200 HOV related parking violations and about 250 HOV persons violations on Washington Street.

More people have been utilizing city parking garages, which have discounted $2 weeknight and weekend rates. Parking garage use had increased by 12 percent overall when compared to the same time last year. The greatest increase in use is the Courthouse garage, which saw use increase 56 percent on weekends and 18 percent overall.

The shutdown had a negative impact on some Alexandria businesses, but this varied by location. On upper and middle King Street, 38 percent of businesses reported revenue declines of more than 5 percent.

The shutdown continues through Sept. 8. Nearly all of the concrete for new platform edges has been poured at stations, among other work. Crews have already fixed the "hump" at the Braddock Road Metro to ensure the platform is even with train doors.

The City plans to have one more community feedback survey after the shutdown is done.

See the full report on the Metro shutdown impacts in Alexandria.