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New Push For Metro Station in Alexandria
Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. says a Potomac Yard station "will be a great addition."
(Nikki Kahn - The Washington Post)
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With steep increases in the price of steel and concrete, Metro said it would cost $125 million to $150 million over four years to build a surface-level station with two platforms at Potomac Yard. Stations that are built between stations take longer and tend to be more expensive because construction takes place while trains are operating.
If the Potomac Yard station is built, Metro trains traveling between nearby stations might have to share one track for up to two years during the construction, Metro officials said.
"If the city of Alexandria wants to open a new station, we will be involved because expansion has to conform to our standards," Catoe said.
Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said a Metro station at Potomac Yard would meet the needs of the Washington area's changing demographics. More empty-nesters and young professionals are flocking to transit-accessible areas. "Combine that with rising energy prices and concern over climate change and I think you see the development of places like Potomac Yard moving much more quickly than you might expect."
Potomac Yard, a large swath of land south of Arlington County, was a rail yard that belonged to RF&P, formerly Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Co.
When Alexandria adopted a land-use plan for the Potomac Yard development years ago, a site was reserved for a Metro station. The density changes approved by the Planning Commission still must be approved by the City Council at its June 14 meeting.
The City Council has already approved $500,000 in the coming fiscal year's budget to study building a station, Jinks said.
