Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) There’s good news for riders of Metro’s Orange and Silver lines in Northern Virginia: Thursday will be the last day of continuous single tracking between Ballston and East Falls Church. Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said Surge 1 is ahead of schedule. Crews had finished 96 percent of the work Monday, June 13.
“Given the importance of quickly getting into this intensive track rehab program, I am pleased with the work getting done in Surge #1, and want to thank the entire region for their support over the last twelve days,” Wiedefeld said in a press release.
Surge 1 included cleaning debris from the tracks and drains, repairing leaks and rebuilding the substructure of the railroad.
Wiedefeld said the work will improve safety on that section of the line and should also cut down the number of delays in the area.
After the work is done, Wiedefeld’s independent quality assurance team will do inspections to make sure everything was done properly. In the past, work that was supposed to have be completed was never done.
Once Surge 1 wraps up, Surge 2 will start Saturday. That will involve shutting down the section of the Orange, Blue and Silver lines between Eastern Market and Minnesota Ave/Benning Road. People will have to take shuttle busses to get between those stations.
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