Metro plans to shut down rail service at five stations this weekend, including along the busy corridor of the Shaw-Howard University, U Street and Columbia Heights stops. But some riders and businesses in those areas don’t realize the trains will stop at 10 p.m. Friday and stay closed through Monday at those three Green/Yellow line stops and also between East Falls Church and West Falls Church on the Orange Line.
“It’s just horrible to do it on a long weekend,” said Ben’s Chili Bowl owner Nizam Ben Ali, whose two U Street restaurants are busiest on weekends.
| Army Ten-Miler buys early opening |
| Even as Metro plans to shut down rail service in some areas, it is providing extra service systemwide Sunday morning. |
| The agency will open at 6 a.m. Sunday, an hour early, for the Army Ten-Miler. The agency also will operate extra Blue Line trains from 6 to 8 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. The race organizers are paying Metro to open early, the transit agency has said. |
It’s a doozy of a weekend, too. People will be milling around downtown for Taste of DC and Festa Italiana. Some will be running in the Army Ten-Miler race, while others will be protesting with Occupy DC or Stop the Machine. All of this, plus a forecast for perfect fall weather.
The shutdowns last through Monday. Columbus Day is a federal holiday, but many nongovernment employees will need to get to work.
Riders will be able to take free shuttle buses between the affected stations throughout the weekend. But anyone planning on taking Metro is urged to plan to wait an extra 30 minutes.
Getachew Zewdie, general manager of Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant on U Street, said he hadn’t known about the closures. “We get a lot of tourists,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll lose a lot of business.”
He also worried about how his staff would get to work, then home. “I’m going to have to tell them,” he said. “They all work late hours. Now they may have to go home early or take cabs.”
The owners of Ben’s Chili Bowl said they learned of the closures Thursday, after an employee coming in via Metro spotted a sign about it. The iconic spot has been closed this week for plumbing work but is slated to reopen Saturday morning. Their Ben’s Next Door restaurant will be open all weekend.
“It’s going to have a profound effect on us and all the businesses on the street,” said owner Virginia Ali. “Many people use that mode of transportation, and to wait up 30 minutes to take a bus is quite a hardship. To me, it seems like they should have given more public notice.”
Metro spokesman Dan Stessel responded to the concerns, “Well, it’s been out there since July.”
The agency released a yearlong schedule of track work closures, with the idea that having a long-term schedule would help organizations and communities plan around them.
Stessel said the agency also has advertised the closures in local newspapers and on the radio, plus reached out to local neighborhood councils, business development groups and dozens of churches, organizations, schools and neighborhood email lists.
Furthermore, he said, he expects riders will be pleasantly surprised by the shuttle service that will bridge the gap between stations.
“Buses will run more frequently than trains,” he said. “And anyone who wants to get to U Street can do it.”
