The third and fourth phases of Metro’s yearlong “SafeTrack” maintenance work are set to begin by Saturday, and area officials are planning a coordinated effort to provide transportation alternatives.
The upcoming surge will involve subway track shutdowns between Ronald Reagan National Airport and Braddock Road, and between the airport and Pentagon City, significantly reducing service on the Blue and Yellow lines for 14 days.
Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld said he is pleased with the level of communication that has occurred between the transit agency and local authorities, which has information to be disseminated to the communities affected by station repairs.
“It’s local jurisdictions getting people to understand, help to get the word out, keep the demand down” that has made the first two phases successful, Mr. Wiedefeld said Tuesday during a press conference.
Alexandria, which will be affected by upcoming repairs, “will work to help mitigate any delays,” said Mayor Allison Silberberg.
Ms. Silberberg suggests that those affected “rethink [their] commute and try alternate travel options” such as the DASH bus system, telecommuting, walking, biking, carpooling and taking the Virginia Railway Express.
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Mitigation strategies include using the Metroway, a recently extended bus route that provides rapid transit on the Route 1 corridor and is faster than traveling in regular lanes due to dedicated right of way, said Christian Dorsey, a member of the Arlington County Board and the Metro Board of Directors.
The buses are identified by their bright blue color and can be used to travel between Braddock Road and Crystal City.
Alexandria and Arlington are increasing the frequency of their bus routes and the number of buses, as well as bus size.
Area officials encourage residents to consult local transportation websites as well as Metro’s online resources, where a comprehensive list of travel alternatives can be found.
While there are “a lot of moving parts and it could go haywire at any minute,” so far SafeTrack is progressing on track, said Mr. Wiedefeld.
Phase One was completed on June 16, resulting in the track section serviced being brought to a “state of good repair.” Metro’s final report found that in some cases work crews were able to accomplish more than what was originally planned resulting in further infrastructure improvements.
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While Phase Two is ongoing and scheduled to be completed by Sunday, the general manager said that three of the four scheduled track switch repairs already have been completed.
Compared to earlier surges, upcoming construction is “comparable” to that experienced during the second phase which closed rails between the Eastern Market and Minnesota Avenue/Benning Road stations resulting in necessary bussing between inoperable stations.
“It has a major impact because you are cutting service totally,” said Mr. Wiedefeld.
For Phase Two, Metro advised those capable of finding alternative transportation to do so at all costs, and predicted that bus alternatives, could only accommodate 30 percent of usual commuters.
Over the course of Phase Two, Metro has seen a 75 percent drop along the serviced segment and says that a similar decrease in ridership is needed for Phases Three and Four.
Funding concerns plague Metro as the transit authority faced its lowest ridership last year since 2004. Despite instructing riders to find transportation alternatives, Mr. Wiedefeld is not worried about riders failing to resume subway use.
“They want to use the system, they love the system,” said Mr. Wiedefeld. New repairs will serve only to make the system more reliable and easier for them to use, he said.
Despite a decrease in rider revenue along the serviced areas, Mr. Wiedefeld said that for Phase 1, revenue for the “overall system was relatively flat.”
• Aubri Juhasz can be reached at ajuhasz@washingtontimes.com.
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