Metro riders from Prince George’s and Arlington counties can expect up to 40-minute delays this weekend as the transit agency closes stations and conducts major track work through Sunday night.
Five stops on the Orange Line connecting the District to Prince George’s County and one Blue Line stop will be closed this weekend for a rehabilitation and rebuilding project to improve safety.
Meanwhile, Arlington County riders should expect 30-minute delays through 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from single tracking on the Blue and Yellow lines as workers make repairs on the rail bridge outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Orange Line delays begin Friday night at 10 p.m., when the line will terminate at the Stadium-Armory station, and shuttle service will be available for those traveling to the stations beyond. Benning Road on the Blue Line also will be closed, and shuttle service will be provided.
Metro is shutting off the area to conduct several projects over the weekend, spokesman Steven Taubenkibel said.
“This is an approach we’ve been doing for several years now where we close off large portions and try to accomplish as much as we can,” he said.
Repairs include replacing 4,290 feet of track and installing new track circuits outside Stadium-Armory to comply with a safety recommendation made by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The agency is also beginning repairs to the bridge crossing Beaver Dam Creek after portions of the track between the Cheverly and Deanwood stations were displaced up to 18 inches, according to agency documents outlining the repairs. Metro officials blame the track misalignment on Jemal’s Fairfield Farms LLC, a development company performing work on a piece of property adjacent to the Orange Line.
The misalignment there has forced trains to reduce their speeds from 55 mph to 40 mph since early 2008.
Metro filed an $11 million lawsuit against the developer late last year, saying there was “significant damage” to the tracks because of soil the developer had piled up near the transit system. The suit says the weight of the soil caused a hillside to fail, shifting the ground under track supports.
The developer has issued statements denying Metro’s charges.
Taubenkibel said this weekend’s Orange Line closure is the first of three planned for that section and Metro is finalizing the other two closure dates. He added the agency was looking at the possibility of keeping one track open for the last two repair dates.
