WASHINGTON 鈥� Commuters will need to be nimble this week as three different track work situations will be in place during rush hours.
Here are the key things to know:
1. Midweek switches
Through closing Monday night, the major shutdown of the remains in place.
On Tuesday, Metro has no rush-hour track work scheduled as crews prepare for the next work zone.
On Wednesday, 聽on the Orange and Silver lines between East Falls Church and Ballston.
2. Don鈥檛 get complacent Monday
Crowds have packed into the Pentagon City Metro station during the current track work zone, and unless many find another way around, the crowds could pack platforms again Monday.
Pentagon City is the southern end of Blue and Yellow Line trains from D.C. and Rosslyn through the system鈥檚 closing Monday night. run between Pentagon City and Braddock Road, and Metroway service remains free Monday between Pentagon City, Crystal City, Potomac Yard and Braddock Road.
DASH has added buses on the AT3 and AT4 routes, and other options to the Pentagon on Monday include express shuttles to and from Franconia-Springfield.
Virginia Railway Express also provides service between Franconia-Springfield, Crystal City, L鈥橢nfant Plaza and Union Station.
3. Airport access
If you are heading to the airport from D.C. or Rosslyn, you cannot use聽Metrorail to get to Reagan National Airport until Tuesday morning.聽Trains do run to Reagan National from the south, but riders going beyond the closure zone may be better off picking up the express shuttles at Braddock Road.
For those trying to get to D.C. from the airport or back on Sunday or Monday, Metro shuttle buses run between the airport, Crystal City and Pentagon City. Those shuttle buses are scheduled less frequently than the buses that are running .
From Tuesday forward, airport access returns to normal .
4. A return to familiar territory
The single-tracking that begins Wednesday between East Falls Church and Ballston is the . While many of the backup options for riders are the same as that first work period in early June, Metro is planning some minor changes to operations to during this work zone than the last one in the area.
Many riders were able to find other ways to at least get to Ballston during that last work zone, where trains will run more often at rush hour than the stations to the west, and Metro will need a similar shift during this single-tracking period to keep shuttle buses moving and to keep trains from being even more overcrowded.
The work also reduces the number of trains from normal schedules at stations between Rosslyn and Stadium-Armory, with more significant service cuts between Stadium-Armory and Largo Town Center as well.
Find alternative options to get around the work in the .
5. Risk of first-day jitters
Despite the recent experience of commuters with this work zone, in each track work shift so far there have been some issues on the first day as riders and transit providers work out exactly how things should flow.
Riders have adjusted commutes more on the second day and beyond, so planning ahead to find alternative options on day one could provide some extra benefits.
