Metro is taking advantage of low ridership and traffic-free highways to speed up work on the Silver Line.
A summer shutdown for the Silver Line will begin on Saturday, May 23 and continue through the fall. Metro is working on connecting the new stations in phase two of the Silver Line extension project, which is being built by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
“This is about two things: working smarter and working safer,” said Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul Wiedefeld. “Closing the stations to get the work done while ridership is historically low allows us to limit the exposure of our frontline staff and contractors, mitigate delays to our capital program, and minimize inconvenience to the public.”
All trains will begin and end service in Ballston and Orange Line service will run from Ballston to New Carrollton.
Free express and local shuttle bus service will be available for essential workers only. Shuttles will run every day and operate during the same hours as Metro (5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends).
Ridership has dipped to roughly 1,200 customers per weekday at stations west of Ballston due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo by Jay Westcott
Recent Stories
Before we head into a weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on the site in recent days. Herndon teen John Gluck takes his star turn on…
Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard says that the lack of beds in mental health facilities is compounding a mental health crisis and taking much-needed local officers off the streets for…
Portales Aloso waited an hour on Tuesday (Oct. 19) for a Metro train from Reston into D.C. The wait on Wednesday was 20 minutes. He was among countless commuters in…
(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) Reston-based company ScienceLogic is relocating its headquarters. It’s looking to move into the 13th floor office space at 11955 Democracy Drive. That’s the corner building anchored…
