In celebration of Try Transit Week, Sept. 16 – 20, Arlington Transit is planning some fun activities to encourage people to ride the ART bus as well as thank current riders for using the service. Throughout the week, the ART Prize Patrol will be riding various ART routes handing out giveaway items and thanking riders for using ART. Be on the lookout for the Prize Patrol when you board your ART bus!

On Thursday, Sept. 19, everyone will get to ride ART for free! This will be a great opportunity for new riders to try ART and see where the service can take them. Learn more and plan your trip at ArlingtonTransit.com.

Beginning on or about Thursday, September 12, pedestrians will use a protected corridor between Terminal B and the Metro station. Around the same time, the pedestrian walkway between Terminal C and the Metro station will close for construction nightly from 11:30 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. Passengers will follow detour signage to the Terminal B walkway.
Minimal impacts are expected.

Metro today announced that the six Blue and Yellow line stations south of Reagan National Airport—Braddock Rd, King St-Old Town, Eisenhower Ave, Huntington, Van Dorn St and Franconia-Springfield—will reopen as scheduled Monday, September 9, with completely rebuilt platforms and several customer improvements.

On Monday, regular rail service will resume on the Blue and Yellow lines when the system opens at 5 a.m. Residents may notice “test trains” operating in the shutdown area this weekend as Metro makes final preparations for the reopening.

With the resumption of rail service, Metro will no longer run shuttle buses from the stations; however, some shuttles will remain on standby in the event of a disruption. In addition, regular parking fees will resume Monday.

“All stations are reopening on time, and we look forward to welcoming our Northern Virginia customers back to the rails on Monday,” said General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld. “We are incredibly thankful to our customers, residents and nearby businesses for their understanding this summer as we reconstructed six station platforms – at the same time – in the largest and most complex capital project since Metro’s original construction. When the project is complete this fall, customers will benefit not only from safer infrastructure, but a more modern and convenient station experience.”

Transitway Extension to Pentagon City update

The project to extend the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway north and west to Pentagon City has been divided into three segments. The Crystal Drive segment (from 15th Street South to 12th Street & Long Bridge Drive) is currently in the design phase, which is expected to be completed in summer 2020.

Visit the project page

Bus test on Crystal Drive tomorrow

On Saturday morning, Aug. 3, street parking will be temporarily closed on the east side of Crystal Drive between 15th and 12th Streets and on the north side of 12th Street South near Crystal Drive.

The parking restriction will be in place from 8 am to noon. During this time, County staff will run a transit bus along the parking lane as a test for the Transitway extension project.

The north end of Crystal Drive and 12th Street were designed and constructed with a 12-foot northbound lane that is currently used for parking but will eventually become a bus-only lane. The testing, expected to last 30 minutes to one hour, will reconfirm the turning radius along this stretch is appropriate for bus sizes used in ART and Metrobus fleets.

---

Arlington asks VDOT to close 23rd Street pedestrian tunnel

After years of maintaining the little-used 23rd Street pedestrian tunnel that runs under Route 1 in Crystal City, the County Board last month approved a resolution to formally ask the state for the tunnel’s closure.

After improving the crosswalk and signal at this intersection over time, the County determined that closing the tunnel will not make it any harder for people to cross Route 1.

Once the agreement is executed, VDOT will mobilize its contractor to begin the deconstruction, which is anticipated to begin this fall and last approximately six weeks.

Read the news release

Visit the project page

---

Project construction updates

Clark Street Demolition

The contractor has resumed grading activities and the spreading of top soil, and started the removal of temporary construction-related devices just south of 15th Street. Work to complete the area south of 18th Street is scheduled to start by mid-August.

Traffic signal work at the intersection of 20th Street and Route 1 will resume the week of Aug. 5. It’s scheduled to be completed in the coming weeks.

Additional demolition work to the retaining walls has been put on hold pending a design modification.

Visit the project page

Crystal Drive Two-Way Conversion Phase 3

The contractor has completed the majority of the work on 27th Street. The asphalt milling, repaving and pavement marking application will be performed during one operation and in conjunction with the remainder of the project on Crystal Drive.

The contractor’s current work activities are concentrated on Crystal Drive. A loading area is under construction near the Hyatt hotel, stormwater facilities are being modified, street lights are being relocated, and some segments of the existing roadway are being re-aligned in order to accommodate the new two-way road cross section near the Metroway station. A new right turn lane is also being constructed for northbound traffic at 26th Street.

Visit the project page