A Metro for Potomac Yard — By 2018?

• May 27th 2014

by Lark Turner

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Officials may be moving forward with a design for the Potomac Yard Metro station by this fall.

On May 15, the City of Alexandria showed off four options proposed for the station, which will be evaluated during a comprehensive look at the impact the station will have on the surrounding environment. A recommended option should show up on a draft Environmental Impact Statement by the fall, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Construction is about two years behind schedule, The Washington Post reported, but Metro’s now looking to get it done as soon as possible. The cost, which will be mostly covered by the city, is estimated at anywhere from $209 million to $493 million. All but one of the options could either intrude on National Park Service land or obstruct scenic views from the George Washington Parkway.

Here are the proposals in detail:

Option 1

This option, Alternative A, would sit between the CSXT Railroad tracks and the north end of the Potomac Greens neighborhood, in the “Metrorail Reservation” identified during earlier planning efforts for Potomac Yard. The city would build two pedestrian bridges from the station to the planned development in Potomac Yard, along with pedestrian access to the Potomac Greens and Old Town Greens neighborhoods.

Option 2

The next option, Alternative B, would be located between the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the CSXT Railroad. Its layout would be similar to that of option 1, just with a different location.

B-CSX Option

This is the newest option, which would require moving the CSX tracks. It’s extremely pricey and would likely add a lot of time to the project, the Post reports.The new metro would be located where the Regal Potomac Yard movie theater is now.

Option 4

This option, called Alternative D, would be a raised station just west of the CSXT right-of-way, in the vicinity of the existing Potomac Yard Retail Center. Business owners like this plan for obvious reasons, but the Post labeled it perhaps the least feasible. It would have a center platform layout, and a pedestrian bridge would connect it to Potomac Greens and Old Town Greens to Potomac Avenue at East Glebe Road.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a_metro_for_potomac_yard_by_2018/8532.