The Vienna and Dunn Loring Metro stations on the Orange Line are now open, following a monthslong construction project that replaced old rails, installed fiber optic cable, and cleared vegetation from the tracks.
The two stations, as well as East Falls Church and West Falls Church, closed on June 3 as part of an ongoing, four-part initiative to maintain and upgrade the Metro, to “increase reliability and modernize the Metro system to make your commute more reliable.” East and West Falls Church reopened on June 26.
During this phase of construction, Metro said crews installed nearly 25 miles of new rails, installed 415 new welds to connect the rails together, and removed more than 97,000 linear feet of vegetation from around the Vienna and Dunn Loring Metro stations to prevent potential obstructions during storms.
“Replacing this section of rail was critical to ensuring the Orange Line is safe and reliable for years to come,” said Metro Chief of Infrastructure Andy Off. “We appreciate our customers’ patience while we completed this important work to improve our system.”
Construction will now move to the Green Line, where Metro will install fiber-optic cable, replace platform edge lighting, and replace power cables and switch machines.
Green Line stations between Fort Trotten and Greenbelt will be closed between July 22 and September 4, and Fort Trotten will not offer Green Line service July 22–23. Red Line service will remain available at Fort Trotten. Free shuttle service will be available between impacted stations.
Feature image courtesy WMATA
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