Surge #4. (Image courtesy of WMATA)

Surge #4. (Image courtesy of WMATA)

Metro’s year-long maintenance program continues next week with two work surges that has the general manager asking Blue and Yellow line riders to avoid the system.

At a press conference at Braddock Road, Metro GM Paul Wiedefeld outlined the third and fourth surges surrounded by Alexandria officials. As with the ongoing second surge, it’s going to require closing portions of lines and, in the case of the fourth surge, a station closure.

The third surge, which is scheduled for July 5 through 11, shuts down the Blue and Yellow lines between the Braddock Road and Reagan National Airport stops, segmenting the route into two parts.

For the Blue line, that means trains every 15 minutes between Braddock Road and Franconia-Springfield, and every 12 minutes between National Airport and Largo. Yellow line trains will come every 12 minutes between Braddock and Huntington, and between National Airport and Greenbelt.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said that “passengers should expect additional congestion on the airport’s roadways and in its parking facilities” during Surge 3.

Metro released this video outlining how it’ll work:

The fourth surge, from July 12 to 18, will shut down the Blue and Yellow lines between National Airport and Pentagon City, closing the Crystal City station during that time. Trains will run every 12 minutes, operating on each side of the segment.

There’s no Yellow rush plus service throughout the duration of these surges.

“We urge all citizens to rethink your commute,” said Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg. (Alexandria came out with its own video with the same message.)

There are a number of alternatives for riders, including free high-frequency express shuttle buses between Braddock Road and Pentagon City, free Metrobus shuttles between the stations affected by the segment shutdowns during the surges, and enhanced (and free) Metroway service. Metro is also increasing the frequency of the 11Y and 10A buses. There’ll also be a $4 weekday rush hour express shuttle bus service between Franconia-Springfield and Pentagon stations.

And if you’re willing to part with a few bucks, there’s always ride sharing services.

SafeTrack Surge 3 and 4 Brochure

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