Fresh off a 3-day closure of two stations in the heart of the city, WMATA announced this morning that they’ll be closing five stations at the end of the Orange Line, as well as splitting the Blue Line, to perform NTSB-mandated maintenance over the weekend of March 4th through 6th.

The Orange Line will not operate between Stadium-Armory and New Carrollton, closing the stations at Minnesota Ave, Deanwood, Cheverly, Landover and New Carrolton. In addition, no Blue Line trains will traverse the gap between Stadium-Armory and Benning Road.  The closures begin at 10am on Friday March 4th, and will conclude when the system reopens on March 7th.

Metro will be working to repair aerial structures at Cheverly, as well as make upgrades to Stadium-Armory and “install 6,000 feet of cellular communication cables to ultimately improve cell phone coverage, replace 2,000 feet of track, 380 insulators, 1,400 rail ties and 400 track fasteners.”

 

In addition, Metro will be working on the Red Line tracks between Friendship Heights and Medical Center to replace track fasteners, and between Takoma and Glen Forest to improve train control rooms.  Single-tracking in both those situations will add 20 minutes per trip in delays.

Metro plans to operate Blue and Orange line shuttles during the weekend to help handle the coverage:

 

• Blue Line Shuttle: Stadium-Armory to Benning Road. This bus shuttle will operate between the Stadium-Armory and Benning Road Metrorail stations. Customers using this shuttle bus should add 15 to 20 minutes to their trips. 

• Orange Line Express Shuttle: Stadium-Armory to New Carrollton. This express shuttle bus will operate between the Stadium-Armory and New Carrollton Metrorail stations with no stops in between. Customers using this express shuttle should add 30 minutes to their trips. 

• Orange Line Local Shuttle: Stadium-Armory to New Carrollton. This local shuttle bus will operate between the Stadium-Armory and New Carrollton Metrorail stations and will stop at the Minnesota Avenue, Deanwood, Cheverly, Landover and New Carrollton Metrorail stations. Customers catching this local shuttle should add 40 minutes to their trips.