Metro News Release
For immediate release: January 14, 2011
Metro details shuttle bus service plans for this weekend's Blue and Orange Line station closures
Foggy Bottom to be closed; Customers advised to check metroopensdoors.com for important service changes before traveling during MLK Weekend
Metro will conduct significant safety and reliability work on the Blue, Orange and Red lines to comply with National Transportation Safety Board recommendations during the Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Holiday Weekend, causing some temporary service changes for customers. The agency will replace four track switches at the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metrorail station, make repairs to escalators and elevators and improve cell phone coverage on the Orange Line.
On the Blue and Orange Lines, there will be no service between the Rosslyn and Farragut West Metrorail stations, and the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metrorail station will be closed during the MLK Holiday Weekend from 10 p.m., Friday, Jan. 14, to closing on Monday, Jan. 17. Virginia riders headed into the city are encouraged to use the Yellow Line to get downtown to avoid the track closure, yet still conveniently transfer to Blue and Orange trains at L’Enfant Plaza.
To help riders get through the work zone, Metro will operate free shuttle buses between the Rosslyn (N. Moore St.), Foggy Bottom-GWU (23rd St., northbound, south of I St., N.W., and 23rd and I St., N.W., southbound) and Farragut West (17th and 18th and I St., N.W.) Metrorail stations. Throughout the holiday weekend, both entrances to the Farragut West Metrorail station (17th and I St. & 18th and I St., NW.) will remain open. Customers should build an extra 40 minutes into their travel plans if they need to pass through the work zone. Waits for shuttle buses could be long on Monday, Jan. 17, due to downtown traffic patterns. Customers are also advised to dress in warm layers to wait for shuttle buses.
To alert customers about this work, Metro has posted signs in key stations, placed notices on station kiosks, taken out paid advertisements in newspapers, will send e-Alerts, and make train and system announcements. Additional information will be available on Metro=s web site at www.metroopensdoors.com.
From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Jan. 15 to 17, extra Metro employees will be available at the Rosslyn, Foggy Bottom-GWU and Farragut West Metrorail stations to guide customers to their connecting shuttle buses, which will replace Blue and Orange Line service in that area. Regular service will resume when the Metrorail system opens on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
With the free shuttle bus services between the Rosslyn, Foggy Bottom-GWU and Farragut West Metrorail stations, Metro is aiming to minimize inconvenience and maximize customer demand. Free shuttle bus service will get riders where they want to go. It will just take longer.
Shuttle bus lines and waits for buses are expected to be long due to downtown traffic patterns and customers are urged to dress warmly to wait for shuttle buses. Riders should be aware that buses will serve riders along the streets as there are no bus bays at the affected stations.
In addition to the multi-day closure of the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metrorail station, from 10 p.m., Friday, Jan. 14 to closing on Monday, Jan. 17, Orange and Blue Line trains also will be sharing one track in two locations. Orange Line trains will share one track between the West Falls Church-VT/UVA and East Falls Church Metrorail stations to allow the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project to conduct major construction activities that will eventually connect the new rail line to the existing Metrorail system. On the Blue Line, trains will share one track between the Van Dorn Street and Braddock Road Metrorail stations to allow for maintenance work related to the Wilson Bridge project.
From 10 p.m., Friday, Jan. 14, to closing on Monday, Jan. 17, Red Line trains will share one track between the Friendship Heights and Van Ness-UDC Metrorail stations as personnel repair tunnel leaks and install new bumpy tiles on the station platform at the Tenleytown Metrorail station. Metrorail customers traveling between these stations are advised to add 20 minutes to their travel times throughout the weekend. Also, as part of the Red Line rehabilitation project, trains will share one track between the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet U and Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood Metrorail stations.
The Trip Planner, located on Metro=s Web site, will not reflect the impact of this work on its schedules. Customers should allow more time for their trips because of this work. For more information on traveling by Metrobus or Metrorail, customers may call (202) 637-7000 or TTY (202) 638-3780.
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News release issued at 9:40 am, January 14, 2011.