This story has been updated at 12:30 p.m. on April 23.

Metro will close the Silver Line in late May to connect the second phase of the line to the first phase.

Officials say they are taking advantage of the unprecedented low ridership because of the coronavirus pandemic in order to simplify and, they hope, speed up the project. Most of the work involves software and communications testing.

Metro previously planned to do this during a number of weekend closures, but said it would be easier to complete the project while the line is closed, and avoid starting and stopping work every weekend.

That means five Silver Line stations — McLean, Tysons, Greensboro, Spring Hill, Wiehle-Reston East — will close starting May 23. The work is estimated to take about a month, according to WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld, but the line will remain closed through the fall.

Metro spokesperson Dan Stessel says keeping it closed is safer for the construction work along the shared Orange Line Station at East Falls Church and it makes it easier on staff.

“It’s not fair to frontline employees to put them through changes that significant three times in a 100-day span when very few customers would benefit from it,” he said.

Metro’s board discussed the plan Thursday morning.

All this is in addition to the previously planned Orange Line work that will also close four stations starting May 23. Combined, all nine stations only saw about 1,250 trips on a recent pandemic weekday, about 3% of usual weekday ridership. Metro has already closed three of those stations due to low ridership.

Stations	Rail Line	Wed. 4/10/2019 station entries	Wed. 4/8/2020 station entries	2019 vs. 2020 % Difference
Wiehle-Reston	Silver	8,394	306	-96%
Vienna	Orange	9,727	301	-97%
Tysons Corner	Silver	3,747	206	-95%
Dunn Loring	Orange	4,110	203	-95%
West Falls Church	Orange	2,801	132	-95%
Spring Hill	Silver	1,277	105	-92%
East Falls Church	Orange	4,141	0	Station closed by WMATA
McLean	Silver	2,359	0	Station closed by WMATA
Greensboro	Silver	1,616	0	Station closed by WMATA

“This is about two things: working smarter and working safer,” Wiedefeld said in a press release. “Closing the stations to get the work done while ridership is historically low allows us to limit the exposure of our frontline staff and contractors, move aggressively on our capital program, and minimize inconvenience to the public.”

The move on the Silver Line is short notice — previous shutdowns have had months, if not years, of head’s up.

Usually, only a month’s advance notice would anger many Silver Line riders, but Wiedefeld says the decision boils down to far fewer riders due to teleworking and stay-at-home orders.

Shuttle buses for essential trips will handle the low level of ridership, Wiedefeld said. Lower traffic volumes also mean faster bus service.

Wiedefeld said he doesn’t expect ridership to increase any time soon with the coronavirus pandemic seeming to stretch on into the summer.

“I don’t see that flipping back on (in mid-June),” he said. “I just don’t see that.”

Metro has not set a start date for the Silver Line expansion work, given so many outstanding issues with the project. Contractors for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is in charge of building the line, says its work should be done by later this year. Testing will follow and will take several months.

Orange Line Work May Take Longer Than Planned

Orange Line work to reconstruct platforms, replace floor tiles and upgrade passenger info screens and more, will go on as planned, but could take longer than expected.

Metro originally expected to reopen stations by Labor Day, but now has not pinned a completion date because of social distancing guidelines. Kiewit, the project contractor, has started new safety protocols in light of the coronavirus, but they don’t know how it will affect the project schedule yet.

“It’s like an anthill,” Wiedefeld said of the work sites. “It’s people working over, around, and under each other… there are tens, if not hundreds of people in some of these sites.

“So that’s not that’s just not realistic anymore, given the current issues that we’re dealing with.”

One new wrinkle to the old plan: West Falls Church was originally set to stay open since it has multiple platforms and work can be rotated, but Wiedefeld said it’s easier and safer to close the entire station, given the low ridership.

Wiedefeld also said he is unsure if supplies it needs, like new passenger screens, will be available when needed given worldwide supply chain issues due to COVID-19.

The work is part of Metro’s larger Platform Improvement Project at 20 stations across the system. The outdoor stations started deteriorating — sometimes dangerously — due to exposure to the elements and de-icing agents, according to Metro.

Last summer, Metro shut down six stations on the Blue and Yellow lines to fix serious structural issues on the platforms. The shutdown caused headaches for thousands of riders, who were frustrated by the inadequate shuttle bus service at the beginning of the project.

After this summer’s shutdown, 10 more stations are set for renovation in the coming years: Addison Road, Arlington Cemetery and Reagan National Airport (will not close completely) on the Blue Line; Cheverly, Landover and New Carrollton on the Orange Line and West Hyattsville, Prince George’s Plaza, College Park and Greenbelt on the Green Line.

This story originally appeared on WAMU.