(Photo by Joe Flood)

Yet more disruption is coming to Metro this summer. Smack in the middle of its 45-day Red Line repair work, which is shutting down two stations until September 3, the transit agency is taking up another 24/7 repair project on the Orange, Blue, and Silver lines.

Here’s what you need to know: From August 11 to August 26, the Orange and Silver lines will be single tracking between McPherson Square and Smithsonian stations, and the Blue line will only be running from Franconia-Springfield to Arlington Cemetery, resulting in “limited capacity, crowding, and delays,” according to WMATA. The Farragut West and McPherson Square stations will be closed entirely on the weekends of August 11-12 and 25-26, and Metro Center will only serve the Red Line.

The transit agency recommends that during this stretch, customers use alternate transportation, and only ride Metro if they have no other choice.

Repair work will focus on what Metro says is “the tightest curve in the Metrorail system between McPherson Square and Smithsonian stations.” Crews will be installing new rail and fasteners in that section.

The Orange and Silver lines will run every 20 minutes during the project, while the Blue Line (on its limited stops) will run every 16 minutes during rush hour, every 12 minutes in the afternoons and evenings, and every 20 minutes after 10 p.m.

Metro is recommending several alternative routes to the Orange, Blue, and Silver lines. If you commute from Virginia to downtown D.C., they recommend using the Yellow line. Also: consider the bus! To find schedule details about Metro buses, go here.

Here’s a more comprehensive list of possible alternatives from the transit agency:

• If you travel between Virginia and Downtown DC use the Yellow Line.
• If you travel between the Rosslyn and Pentagon stations, use the Yellow Line and transfer to/from the Orange or Silver lines at L’Enfant Plaza.
• Consider using Red, Yellow or Green Line stations that may be within walking distance of your destination.
• If you park and ride from Orange and Silver line stations in Virginia, consider using other county or Yellow/Blue line Park & Ride facilities.
• Orange, Blue and Silver line riders from Virginia consider riding select trains on the VRE Manassas Line (via Burke Center) or VRE Fredericksburg Line (via Franconia Springfield or Alexandria) to Crystal City, L’Enfant Plaza or Union Station.
• Orange, Blue and Silver line riders in Maryland consider taking the MARC Penn Line (via New Carrollton) or MARC Camden Line (via Greenbelt) downtown.
• If you park and ride from Orange, Blue and Silver line stations in Maryland, consider using Green Line Park & Ride facilities.

Still, there’s no denying that alternative commutes can be a pain, as one of our intrepid writers found out recently as she experimented with different routes during the Red Line shutdown.