Potomac Yard Metro South Access Option Recommended By Council

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Alexandria City Council voted Tuesday to recommend an option for a south entrance to the future Potomac Yard Metro station.

The council went with city staff's recommendation for a southwest access pavilion with a pedestrian bridge connecting to the station. The city will ask Metro to have its contractor Potomac Yard Constructors advance of this option with modifications.

The city will ask Metro's contractor to develop pricing for the basic ramp option as well. According to a city memo, "PYC would require two to three months to further advance the engineering necessary and provide updated pricing information." The updated information would be presented to the Potomac Yard Metrorail Implementation Work Group in September before going to City Council for a decision.

Earlier this year, Potomac Yard Constructors released preliminary cost estimates after the city and Metro had developed three options for a south entrance. The option endorsed by City Council, the southwest access pavilion with a pedestrian bridge, escalator, elevator and stairs, would cost around $75 million.

The south entrance will be funded by $50 million offered by the state when the Amazon headquarters was announced. In hopes of keeping the cost similar to the $50 million in state funding, the city recommended the elimination of the escalator at the southwest access pavilion for cost savings.

Previous plans for the station had only a north entrance without a south entrance, drawing criticism from residents and businesses. City of Alexandria officials said construction bids were higher than the budget, leading only the north entrance to be kept along with a basic south access ramp from Potomac Avenue and East Glebe Road. That changed when the state announced $50 million in funding for an enhanced southwest access point for the station.

The two other options that weren't chosen, a ramp from East Glebe Road with a moving walkway to the north entrance and southwest access pavilion with a small mezzanine, were estimated at $90 million and $100 million, respectively.

The Metro station will be located close to the future Virginia Tech Innovation Campus. Plans for a new location of the campus as part of a mixed-use development were announced earlier in June.