Alexandria’s mayor and others in the city are expressing deep frustration after Metro’s announcement that the opening of the future Potomac Yard station will be delayed, yet again.
“Clearly what’s happening right now, and the oversight that WMATA is providing, is not sufficient,” said Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson (D), who wants his city to have a greater role in the process than it has had until now.
Once expected to open this spring, Metro announced last year Potomac Yard Station would not open until this Fall, and then last week announced it would not open this year. Metro did not give a new timeframe for when it will open, only saying it would provide an update by the end of the year.
“It is very disappointing that they’re finding these problems with the contractor at this point, and I know it’s seriously inconvenienced lots of people,” Alexandria Chamber of Commerce CEO, Joe Haggerty told 7News. “But I do hope new [Metro general manager Randy Clarke] will straighten this out. He seems to understand the problems.”
The future Potomac Yard Station has already attracted a lot of new development near where it is being built on Potomac Avenue behind the popular Potomac Yard Center shopping center.
“Proximity to the Potomac Yard Metro Station was a key factor in choosing to locate our headquarters and national training center in Potomac Yard,” National Industries for the Blind President and CEO Kevin Lynch wrote in response to emailed questions from 7News. “Access to reliable public transportation is critical to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our employees and visitors. When the most recent Metro delay was announced, we knew it would have a significant impact on not only our employees who are blind, but many of our sighted employees, and visitors. For people who are blind, a dynamic and accessible public transportation system is integral to maintaining employment and leading an independent life.”
“The delay in completing construction of the station is due to the contractor’s failure to meet the project delivery schedule,” Metro said in a press release Friday. “Metro will continue to work with the contractor to produce an achievable schedule and will provide an update by the end of this year.”
7News reached out to the contractor, called Potomac Yard Constructors, on Monday afternoon and as of early Monday evening had not heard back. But, the Alexandria mayor believes the delays are not just the contractor’s fault.
“We believe these delays have been a direct result of WMATA’s at times mismanagement of this project, and failures by their contractor,” Wilson said.
7News reached back out to Metro on Monday about Wilson’s comments, and the transit agency sent the following statement:
“We share the City’s frustrations, and we continue to work with the Mayor, City leadership, and the contractor building the station to move it to completion as quickly as possible.”
Metro also announced Friday that due to unexpected issues with the soil in the ground, work to link the future Potomac Yard station with the rest of the Metrorail system will take longer than planned, and therefore a shutdown of six Blue and Yellow line stations that began last month will last longer than expected. The stations will now reopen on Nov. 6 instead of October 23 as previously planned.
Wilson said he thinks the problems with the stability of the soil should have been known well before work to link up the station to the rest of the Metrorail system began.
Alexandria riders have experienced a lot of difficulty dating back to 2019 when all of the city’s Metro stations were shut down for the summer as part of a platform improvement project. Last month, those same stations were shut down again as part of the project to link Potomac Yard to the Metrorail system. Also, last month Metro shut down the Yellow Line bridge over the Potomac as part of a major rehab project that is expected to last until next spring. While it’s closed all Metro trains in Virginia will enter D.C. through the tunnel between Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom.
“We have had over the last three or four years a very tiny, tiny portion of normal Metrorail service,” Wilson said. “That’s unacceptable to the commuters of our city. We invest a lot of money in Metro, and our taxpayers -- our residents – of our city deserve better.”
The budget for the Potomac Yard Metro station is $370 million, and it is being funded by public money, much of it from the City of Alexandria.