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NY Ave. Metro opens Nov. 20
(Published September 20, 2004)

Metro's New York Avenue rail station, expected to be a catalyst for economic development in Northeast Washington, will open Nov. 20, officials from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority have announced.

The long-anticipated addition of the new Red Line stop, located between the Union Station and Rhode Island Avenue stations, is scheduled to happen one month ahead of the original timetable. Project manager John Thomas attributed the early opening of the $103.7 million station to "everyone's hard work and commitment."

Metro officials expect the new station to add 6,600 new riders to the Metrorail system in its first year. The station, with entrances on M Street NE and Florida Avenue NE, is located near Gallaudet University in the Ivy City/Trinidad area and the headquarters of XM Satellite Radio in Eckington. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also plans to relocate its offices to a new building adjacent to the Metro station.

"This area will soon reap the benefits of what other communities have discovered over the years as to why Metro is so important to the metropolitan area in terms of job growth, affordable living opportunities and safe, quality public transportation services," Metro Board of Directors member Gladys W. Mack said in a written statement issued Sept. 16 by Metro officials.

Officials said two more partial shutdowns of the Red Line on weekends will be required in the near future to complete track work associated with the new station. The first will occur during the Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 9-11, and the second shutdown is tentatively set for the last weekend of October or the first weekend in November.

Since Labor Day, Red Line trains originating at Glenmont or Silver Spring in suburban Maryland and bound for the District have been passing through the new station on track that was recently installed and realigned.

Metro broke ground on Dec. 16, 2000, for the new station, which is the first to be built between two existing stops rather than expanding the 28-year-old rail system's terminus. The "New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet U" stop will be the system's 84th station.