Yellow, Blue Line Metro Stations Around Alexandria Reopen

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The six Blue and Yellow Line Metro stations closed for the summer have reopened for regular service. The stations were closed from May 25 through Sept. 8.

Regular rail service resumed at the stations as of 5 a.m. Monday. Construction activity may continue at stations, but Metro does not anticipate disruptions to train service. Passenger displays may not be fully operational in the first days of service. Customers must use the Metro trip planner or listen for announcements from Metro staff at the station.

One other visible impact includes commuters boarding trains from one side of the platform at Franconia-Springfield and Huntington. Crews continue to install non-slip tile in the mezzanine areas.

At Huntington's north entrance, fare vending machine won't be available for about three weeks. A mobile commuter store will be available in the mezzanine weekdays from 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., or customers can load their fare cards online or on the south side of the Huntington station. The walkway between the Huntington north garage and Huntington 3 middle garage remains closed.

Regular parking fees at Metro parking lots and garages resumed. Kiss & Ride lots being used as construction staging areas will remain closed and bus stops will remain in temporary locations into the fall at the Braddock Road, Eisenhower Avenue, Huntington North, King Street and Van Dorn Street stations. Fairfax Connector buses will stay at temporary locations at Huntington North. Construction staging will impact the availability of bike racks at the Braddock Road station. The separate construction project outside the King Street Metro station is in the first phase.

The free Blue Line Shuttle, Yellow Line Shuttle, and express shuttles to the Pentagon from Franconia-Springfield, Huntington and Landmark are no longer running. The Landmark Mall commuter lot is now closed. Supplemental Metrobus trips on 8S,Z; 10A, 11Y (mid-day) 21A; and enhanced weekend Metroway service ended on Sept. 6, but enhanced rush hour bus service on 11Y will continue until Wednesday, Sept 11. In Alexandria, DASH will continue a $1 fare through Dec. 31 for those using the DASH mobile app.

Alexandria's temporary HOV restriction changes on Washington Street have ended. Regular HOV hours (7 a.m.-9 a.m. northbound and 4 p.m.-6 p.m. southbound) and occupancy (HOV-2) are back in effect.

Metro says closing the stations for the summer allowed it to avoid several years of single tracking and weekend shutdowns to work on the stations. The reopened stations feature improvements such as slip-resistant tiles, brighter LED canopy lighting, lighted handrails on stairs, new platform surveillance systems (CCTV) and operator-connected safety call buttons.

The City of Alexandria will provide a preliminary update on Metro summer shutdown data and a community feedback form later in September. A detailed report will follow in November.