Photo by Jason Allen Photo.

Did you enjoy that Labor Day Red Line shutdown? Well, it was so successful that WMATA is back at it again. Over the Columbus Day weekend — between 10 p.m. on Friday, October 8 until closing on Monday, October 11 — both the Farragut West and McPherson Square Metrorail stations will be closed. Additionally, there will not be any Blue or Orange Line service at Metro Center. The closures will be in place so that WMATA can perform another massive, National Transportation Safety Board-recommended maintenance project: replacing four track switches which comprise the rail interlocking at McPherson Square. Several other smaller projects are also being planned so as to get the most out of the downtime.

As a result, the Blue and Orange lines will both be split into two sections over the weekend; normal service should resume on both lines when the system opens on Tuesday, October 12 at 5 a.m. Metro will be again operating free shuttle buses (precise details of which are to be determined) to move people around the work zones — though with 40 minutes being the estimated wait time, you might be better served just exiting and walking. At least you’ll get some exercise, right?

There are a bevy of potential complications with this project. While Columbus Day is a federal holiday, there are a lot more people in town then there are over the Labor Day weekend, and so, more people looking to get around. There’s a Redskins game on Sunday, a Roger Waters concert on Saturday Sunday at the Verizon Center (sandwiched by two Capitals games to boot), and a D.C. United game at RFK Stadium on Saturday, events which would normally draw plenty of Blue and Orange Line riders. Complicating matters, WMATA’s online Trip Planner will — yet again — not reflect the disruptions. Top all of this off with the fact that the closures are in one of, if not the most, heavily-used areas in the entirety of the Metrorail system, and we’re envisioning a whole lot of messiness come that holiday weekend.