Van Dorn Street station is a Washington Metro station located on the boundary between Fairfax County and the independent city of Alexandria in Virginia, United States, on the Blue Line. The station's island platform lies in unincorporated Rose Hill in Fairfax County, while the station's entrance and parking facilities are in Alexandria. The station opened on June 15, 1991. The station is located at South Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue, next to the Capital Beltway.
History
Construction An 83-station, 97.2-mile Adopted Regional System plan for Metrorail was approved by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) on March 1, 1968. Van Dorn Street station was included as part of the Adopted Regional System.
In June 1977, the City of Alexandria, Southern Railway, and UPS reached an agreement allowing WMATA to retain the air rights for the construction of Van Dorn Street station when funding became available. After years of planning, Metro awarded a $32.3 million ($ in ) contract Dillingham Construction in March 1987 for them to complete the station by 1991. Originally slated to be part of the Yellow Line, in early 1990 it was decided that Van Dorn Street station would be served by the Blue Line, with the Yellow Line being redirected to Huntington station.
The station opened on June 15, 1991 as a one-stop extension of the Blue Line southwest of the King Street–Old Town station. Van Dorn Street would remain as the southern terminus of the Blue Line from its completion until the opening of the Franconia–Springfield station on June 29, 1997.
Opening to present day Some Yellow Line trains to/from Greenbelt station began to serve Van Dorn Street during weekday rush hours on June 18, 2012, as part of Metrorail's Rush+ service. On June 25, 2017, Yellow Line trains stopped serving the station due to the elimination of Rush+ as part of major changes to the Metrorail system.
In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The Blue and Yellow Lines south of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport station, including the Van Dorn Street station, would be closed from May to September 2019. The platform at Van Dorn Street was rebuilt starting in September 2019, necessitating single-track operations on the Blue Line for several weeks. A nearby rail bridge was also rebuilt during the reconstruction. From March 26, 2020, until June 28, 2020, this station was closed due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.Between September 10, 2022, and November 5, 2022, Van Dorn Street was closed due to construction related to the new Potomac Yard station, which impacted all stations south of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport station. Temporary shuttle buses were provided throughout the shutdown.
Station layout
The station is the last Metrorail station to be built with a "Gull I" outdoor canopy design, named for the canopy's resemblance to a flying seagull. It has an island platform situated between Eisenhower Avenue and the RF&P Subdivision tracks, which carry Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak trains.
PPlatform levelSouthbound← toward Northbound toward →Track 3← Fredericksburg Line and Amtrak do not stopTrack 2 Fredericksburg Line and Amtrak do not stop →GStreet levelExit/entrance, buses, parking, fare control, ticket machines, station agent
Exits The station has two accessible exits on both sides of Eisenhower Avenue. The exit on the south side of Eisenhower Avenue connects with a bus bay loop serving DASH, Fairfax Connector, and Metrobus routes. The exit on the north side of Eisenhower Avenue, accessed via a tunnel underneath the road, leads to a 361-space parking lot.
References
External links
The Schumin Web Transit Center: Van Dorn Street Station Station from Google Maps Street View