Metro resumes Crystal City construction project with shuttles replacing trains for six weekends

Published: 05/08/2026

Customers traveling through Reagan National Airport and Crystal City should plan additional travel time on select weekends from May 9-June 21 as Metro completes construction of a second entrance at the station in support of Arlington County’s Crystal City Improvement Plan.

Crystal City will be closed to build a second entrance at the station as part of Arlington County’s Crystal City Sector plan. The new entrance will accommodate growing ridership at the station, support new development in the area, and play a key role in a broader effort to make Crystal City a walkable community.

On two of those six weekends, the construction zone will be extended to Braddock Rd to support additional track maintenance, requiring closures of Crystal City, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and Potomac Yard stations; rail service will be suspended in both directions from those stations. Free shuttles will be provided during those weekends.

Table titled ‘Weekend closures’ and ‘Stations closed.’ Dates and closures listed: May 9–10 and May 16–17: Crystal City, Ronald Reagan National Airport, and Potomac Yard closed. May 30–31, June 6–7, June 13–14, and June 19–21 (three days): Crystal City closed.

Weekends of May 9-10 and May 16-17

Graphic titled ‘Free Shuttle Service’ for May 9–10 and May 16–17, showing a metro map of the Yellow and Blue Lines with free shuttles between Pentagon City, Crystal City, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Potomac Yard, and Braddock Road. Closure symbols mark closed stations at the airport and Potomac Yard.

Local and Limited-service shuttle buses will replace trains between Pentagon City and Braddock Rd on May 9-10, and May 16-17. Limited shuttle service will only make stops at three stations: Pentagon City, Reagan National Airport, and Braddock Rd.

Both shuttle options will operate every 8 to 10 minutes.

Customers traveling from the north to the airport should allow extra time and board shuttle buses at Pentagon City.

  • Limited-stop shuttle trips from Pentagon City to the airport are expected to take approximately 20 minutes, depending on traffic.
  • Local-stop shuttle trips from Pentagon City to Braddock Rd are expected to take 30 minutes or more, depending on traffic.

Customers traveling from the south to the airport should also plan extra time.

  • Limited-stop shuttle trips between Braddock Rd and the airport are expected to take approximately 15 minutes, depending on traffic.
  • Local-stop shuttle trips from Braddock Rd to Pentagon City are expected to take 30 minutes or more, depending on traffic.

Blue and Yellow line trains will run every 12 minutes on each side of the construction zone. All Yellow Line trains will run to Greenbelt.

Weekends of May 30-31, June 6-7, June 13-14, June 19-21

Graphic titled ‘Free Shuttle Service’ showing Yellow and Blue Line weekend service changes for May 30–31, June 6–7, June 13–14, and June 19–21. Map highlights free shuttle service between Pentagon City, Crystal City, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and Potomac Yard, with closure symbols marking affected stations.

Local and Express service shuttle buses will replace trains between Pentagon City and Reagan National Airport May 30-31, June 6-7, June 13-14, and June 19-21.

Shuttles will operate every 8  to 10 minutes.

During this time, customers will still be able to travel south into Alexandria from the airport via Metro Rail.

Customers traveling to the airport from north of Pentagon City should plan extra time to connect to the free shuttle buses. Shuttle trips are expected to take approximately 20 minutes depending on traffic. 

Blue and Yellow line trains will run every 12 minutes on each side of the construction zone. All Yellow Line trains will run to Greenbelt during this time.

Project Background and Benefits

The closures are necessary to safely support construction of a second entrance at Crystal City in collaboration with Arlington County. The second entrance is expected to open in summer of 2027 and will improve accessibility, transfers, and rider distribution.

Metro will also use these closures to complete additional infrastructure work near National Airport and Potomac Yard stations. Crews will do lifecycle renewal of Metro’s infrastructure including track and signaling components. They will also replace switches, crossties that support the rails, and grout pads that stabilize tracks. This work is part of Metro’s ongoing investment in reliability.

To learn more about the project, visit Arlington County’s website and the Metro website.

View planned track work at wmata.com/trackwork.

About Metro

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), known as Metro, is the region’s leading public transportation provider, serving a population of approximately four million people across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia within a 2,054-square-mile jurisdiction. With a network of six rail lines, 98 stations, 126 bus routes, and a door-to-door paratransit service, Metro is the second busiest transit system in the United States serving 268.9 million trips in 2025 with a $5 billion operating and capital budget. Since 2022, Metro has completed multiple transit-oriented development projects that have brought $15 million in tax revenue to the region from housing, office, and retail space in our community.  Safety and security are core values at Metro. Over 30,000 cameras monitor the system, and Metro currently has the lowest crime rate in history with fare evasion down 82% on rail. In 2025, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) named Metro the Transit Agency of the Year in recognition of industry-leading ridership growth, record high customer satisfaction, a newly redesigned Bus network, expanded rail service, and improved customer experience.