Metro work to block trains to airport this weekend

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) _ A major overhaul of Metro track will shut down rail service to Reagan National Airport from Alexandria during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

Metro plans to replace the track between the airport and the Braddock Road station beginning at 9 p.m. Friday. The work is scheduled to be completed by 4 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

The transit agency is offering free shuttle bus service every five minutes between the airport and the Braddock Road station. Officials say passengers should plan for an extra 30 minutes in travel time in the area.

Dave Kubicek, Metro’s assistant general manager for Metrorail, says doing all the work at once will prevent months of delays that would have resulted from single-tracking trains in the area.