East Falls Church station

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East Falls Church
WMATA Metro Logo.svg WMATA Orange.svg WMATA Silver.svg rapid transit station
East Falls Church station from inbound end of platform.jpg
Location2001 North Sycamore Street, Arlington, Virginia
Owned byWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Bus stands4
ConnectionsBus transport Metrobus: 2A, 26A, 28A
Bus transport Arlington Transit: 52, 53, 55
Bus transport Fairfax Connector: 715, 803
Bike transport Washington & Old Dominion Trail
Construction
Structure typeSurface
Parking422 spaces
Bicycle facilities12 racks, 6 lockers
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeK05
History
OpenedJune 7, 1986; 35 years ago (June 7, 1986)
Rebuilt2020
Passengers
20173,955 daily [1] Decrease 0.65%
Services
Preceding station WMATA Metro Logo.svg Washington Metro Following station
West Falls Church
toward Vienna
 Orange Line Ballston–MU
toward New Carrollton
McLean
toward Wiehle–Reston East
 Silver Line Ballston–MU
toward Largo Town Center

East Falls Church is an island-platformed Washington Metro station in Arlington, Virginia on the Orange and Silver Lines. East Falls Church station is the last aboveground, at grade, or open cut station for eastbound trains. East of this station, the trains heading toward downtown DC descend underground, therefore leaving the median of I-66 and entering subway mode.

The station serves the communities of Falls Church and Arlington, Virginia and is located in the median of Interstate 66 near Lee Highway (U.S. Route 29). Service began on June 7, 1986. East Falls Church has a parking lot with 422 spaces on the Lee Highway side of the station.

Transit-oriented development[]

Of the six stations on the Orange Line in Arlington, East Falls Church has the least transit-oriented development. Unlike the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, East Falls Church station is located in the median of Interstate 66, posing pedestrian access issues.[2] Arlington County is currently considering plans to develop the site.[3]

History[]

The station opened on June 7, 1986, as part of the final westward extension of the Orange Line to Vienna.[4] Its opening coincided with the completion of 9.1 miles (14.6 km) of rail west of the Ballston station and the opening of the West Falls Church, Dunn Loring, and Vienna stations.[4]

The Silver Line began service on July 26, 2014, resulting in East Falls Church becoming the final transfer point before its split with the Orange Line.[5]

In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The platform at the East Falls Church station would be rebuilt starting in early 2021.[6] However, due to low ridership caused by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, platform reconstruction began one year early, and is currently under construction along with other maintenance and repair projects on all stations to the west.[7]

This station was one of 19 WMATA stations closed due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.[8][9] The station was further closed due to the during the platform reconstruction and Silver Line phase two tie-in projects which closed stations west of Ballston–MU station.[10][7] Shuttle buses began serving the station on June 28, 2020.[11] Trains began bypassing the station on August 16, 2020 when work was nearly done. The station was reopened on August 23, 2020.[12]

Station layout[]

Similar to all stations within the Interstate 66 median apart from West Falls Church, East Falls Church utilizes a simple island platform setup with two tracks. There is an exit in the central part of the platform that leads to a mezzanine on the western side of North Sycamore Street. The station's parking lot and bus bays are located to the north of this exit at the southwestern corner of the intersection of North Sycamore Street and North Washington Boulevard.[2]

P
Platform level 		Westbound ← WMATA Silver.svg toward Wiehle–Reston East (McLean)
← WMATA Orange.svg toward Vienna (West Falls Church)
Island platform
Eastbound → WMATA Silver.svg toward Largo Town Center (Ballston–MU) →
→ WMATA Orange.svg toward New Carrollton (Ballston–MU) →
G Street level Exit/entrance, buses, parking

References[]

  1. ^ "Metrorail Average Weekday Passenger Boardings" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. May 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Station Vicinity Map: East Falls Church" (PDF). WMATA. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "East Falls Church Planning at a Glance". arlingtonva.us. Projects & Planning. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Lynton, Stephen J. (June 8, 1986), "9.1 more miles for Metrorail", The Washington Post, p. C1
  5. ^ "All aboard! Metro's new Silver Line rolls down the tracks for the first time". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  6. ^ "Metro wants to rebuild 20 station platforms over three years, creating SafeTrack-like disruptions". Washington Post. May 7, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Platform Improvement Project". www.wmata.com. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  8. ^ "Special Covid-19 System Map" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "Metrorail stations closed due to COVID-19 pandemic". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. March 23, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  10. ^ "Metro to use upcoming low-ridership summer to maximum effect, expands Orange, Silver line shutdown". www.wmata.com. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "Metro to reopen 15 stations, reallocate bus service to address crowding, starting Sunday | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  12. ^ "Metro announces reopening of East Falls Church and Arlington Cemetery stations on Aug. 23". WJLA. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.

External links[]

Coordinates: 38°53′10″N 77°09′24″W / 38.886038°N 77.156531°W / 38.886038; -77.156531

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