The City of Alexandria and DASH have been working with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the region’s localities to assist travelers as WMATA’s SafeTrack initiative continues.
SafeTrack’s “Safety Surges” involve long-duration track outages for major projects in key parts of the system that will cause delays throughout the region. The City of Alexandria urges commuters to telework and use alternative ways to commute that do not involve driving alone.
SURGE #8: AUGUST 27- SEPTEMBER 11:
Metro has announced changes to Surge #8, which will now begin Saturday, August 27, through Sunday, September 11, and include:
Weekdays: Blue Line trains will continuously single track between Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street stations
Weekends: Three consecutive weekend shutdowns where free shuttle buses replace trains along segments of the Blue Line to complete necessary switch rehabilitation work:
• August 27-28: Franconia-Springfield Station will be closed.
• September 3-5: Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street stations will be closed, including Labor Day.
• September 10-11: Franconia-Springfield Station will be closed.
Passengers can expect extreme crowding and delays in each direction for travel to and from the Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street stations.
TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES:
Rail
• Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) serve Alexandria Union Station ( 110 Callahan Dr.), which is adjacent to the King Street-Old Town Metro Station but does not use MetroRail tracks.
Bus
• DASH
• AT7 – connecting Van Dorn, Eisenhower Ave, and King St Metro stations Westbound to Landmark Mall
Eastbound to King Street Metro / Old Town / LeeCenter
• AT5 – weekend connection between Van Dorn and Eisenhower Avenue Metro
Westbound to Landmark Mall / Van Dorn Metro
Eastbound to Braddock Metro via Old Town
• Metrobus
• 11Y – Metrobus service from Mt. Vernon / Hunting Point to DC
• 21 A/D – Metrobus service from Landmark Area to Pentagon
• 25B – Van Dorn Metro to Ballston Metro
• Fairfax Connector
• Connector 321/322
• Saratoga Park & Ride to Pentagon services – Route 393 serves Mark Center and Pentagon
Bike
• Bike to work using Alexandria’s extensive bike routes and paths. For more information, see the Alexandria Bike Map
• If you don’t have a bike, check out Capital Bikeshare. There are 29 stations in Alexandria, with three more coming soon! During SafeTrack, Capital Bikeshare is offering single rides of up to 30 minutes for $2, in addition to the existing membership options.Telework
• The best way to commute is not to! Learn more about how to telework from home or a remote work center. For more information, see CommuterConnections.
The Alexandria Police Department will provide additional traffic control at key intersections impacted by the surge.The City’s Traffic Management Center will be fully staffed and ready to assist and adjust traffic signal timing based on traffic needs.
For more information about SafeTrack and Alexandria’s plans to help, visit alexandriava.gov/SafeTrack. To receive travel updates by email and text message, subscribe to the free MetroAlerts and Alexandria eNews services.
