Red Line riders should be prepared for delays starting Friday night and running until Tuesday morning as Metro shuts down the Grosvenor-Strathmore station for major track work.
That means riders who pass through the station should build in 40 minutes extra to wait for free shuttle buses — and be prepared for earlier final trains for the night.
Red Line delays
» WHERE: The Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail station will be closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend.
» WHEN: 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, until 5 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19.
» WHY: The work is part of a broader $177 million Red Line rehabilitation project that will run through 2013.
» HOW: Riders passing through that area should add another 40 minutes to their travel plans. The transit agency will run free shuttles between White Flint and Medical Center stations.
» NOTE: Metro’s online trip planner will not show the changes.
It’s the latest three-day holiday weekend that Metro is using to do major track work that takes more than two days. For Labor Day and Columbus Day weekends the agency overhauled some sections of track in Virginia and the District. The work for this weekend’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is less disruptive than some of the previous weekends, according to Metro. Only one station will be closed on one line, outside downtown.
But for Red Line riders who had to suffer through months of delays after the summer’s deadly June 22 crash, it is one more set of hassles, especially for those who have plans or work on the King holiday. Riders attending the Capitals or Wizards games, the Strathmore Hall, or the Health Expo at the D.C. Convention Center also will be affected.
They will face more delays in the years ahead as the work is part of the multiyear $177 million project to rehab the Red Line.
This weekend’s work involves rebuilding the tracks, which entails replacing 1,400 feet of rail, 310 railroad ties and 300 track fasteners. Workers will fix more than 60 water leaks, concentrated near the area where the train goes underground.
This weekend’s work involves rebuilding the tracks, which entails replacing 1,400 feet of rail, 310 railroad ties and 300 track fasteners. Workers will fix more than 60 water leaks, concentrated near the area where the train goes underground.
Nighttime riders should take particular note: The last train passing through Grosvenor on Friday will leave at 9:43 p.m. so the crews can shut the station by 10 p.m., said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel. The last Red Line train departing the Shady Grove station for the White Flint station will leave 30 minutes earlier than usual, meaning a 2 a.m. departure from Shady Grove on Friday and Saturday, when the rail system closes at 3 a.m.
Riders elsewhere should gear up for more substantial closures on Presidents Day weekend, Feb. 13-15. Metro plans to work on the Orange and Blue lines at the Rosslyn station that weekend, meaning delays on two lines and possible closures to multiple stations around the area.
