King Street Closures Extended Into May 5 Due To VRE Bridge Work Delays

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Intersections at King Street, Russell Road and Commonwealth Avenue will remain closed until Tuesday afternoon due to delays in the ongoing Virginia Railway Express bridge work, the Alexandria city government announced May 4.

The city cited an "unforeseen construction schedule modification" for the delay. The intersections at King Street, Russell Road and Commonwealth Avenue are now expected to open early in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 5.

The closures had originally been scheduled to lift by 10 p.m. Monday. The advisory was issued shortly after 11 p.m. that night.

The VRE is replacing bridge spans across King Street and Commonwealth Avenue, an upgrade the city says is essential for safety, reduced maintenance and improved service reliability.

Weekend construction is still planned for later this month, with construction running May 15 to 18 from Friday at 7 a.m. to Monday at 10 p.m. and May 29 to June 1 from Friday at 7 a.m. to Monday at 10 p.m. On both weekends, tracks are scheduled to be restored by 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Detour patterns remain the same. During active construction, King Street will be fully closed between Russell Road and Daingerfield Road, with traffic detoured to Duke Street. Commonwealth Avenue will remain open with a single travel lane. Sunset Drive will remain open to local traffic only.

The sidewalk connecting King Street to the station tunnel will be closed on both sides under the bridge during construction, but the sidewalk along Commonwealth Avenue will remain open, with signs pointing out detours. The stairs from the east platform to King Street will be closed starting May 15.

See more details from the city here.