Metro is again reminding riders to plan for two weeks of Red Line construction beginning Monday.
Starting Monday, December 18, a two-week construction project will commence on the Red Line. The project aims to carry out essential safety repairs on the tunnel and track infrastructure, upgrade signal and communications systems, and install new platform edge lights.
From Monday, Dec. 18 through Saturday, Dec. 30, there will be no Red Line service between Dupont Circle and Gallery Place. Farragut North will be closed, and there will be no Red Line service at the Metro Center’s upper level.
Normal service will run on all other lines, serving 97 of Metro’s 98 rail stations, according to a press release from Metro.
The Blue, Orange, and Silver lines will still stop at Metro Center. You can use the entrances on 12th Street NW, but the ones on G Street NW at 11th and 13th Streets will be closed. To get to Gallery Place, take the Red Line from Glenmont. The Yellow and Green lines will run as usual.
Farragut North will be closed for the entire construction project. Shuttle buses will run frequently to all affected stations, providing access to holiday shopping and entertainment downtown and throughout the city, including connections to Metro’s major transfer stations.
From Friday, December 22 to Christmas Eve, Metro will extend the work zone, causing the Red Line service to be unavailable between Dupont Circle and Union Station. Farragut North and Judiciary Square stations will be closed, and there will be no Red Line service on the upper level at Metro Center and Gallery Place. Additionally, the Gallery Place entrance at 9th & G streets NW will be closed.
Metro announced that repair crews will fix the deteriorated concrete ceiling above both tracks over two weeks. The repairs date back to the earliest days of the Metro system. Along with these critical repairs, the crews will also complete other essential maintenance work to prevent future service disruptions.
“Ridership is historically 40 percent lower during this time and completing the work with a small number of stations where Red Line service is unavailable will get the work done faster and affect fewer customers. In two weeks, Metro crews will be able to accomplish what would normally take three months if done on weekends,” Metro said.
To help riders reach their destinations, Metro is providing shuttle buses alongside MARC, VRE, Commuter Bus, and DC Circulator service.
Photo: “WMATA.RedLine.UnionStation.WDC.4July2017” by Elvert Barnes is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
