AUSTIN, Texas — Heads up, MetroRail riders: Regular services will be suspended for about a week starting Saturday.
Capital Metro said construction and maintenance work will disrupt rail service and the MetroRail will not operate from Saturday, July 10, to Sunday, July 18.
Crews will clean up vegetation around the rail line, improve drainage issues and replace some of the ties that hold the rail together, all in an effort to improve safety, reliability and infrastructure on the rail.
"Typically in the summertime, a lot of folks take a vacation. We see our ridership levels dip," said Dottie Watkins, CapMetro's chief operating officer. "It's when we will impact the fewest number of customers. And we really want to make sure that the track is up and ready to go when we get into the fall semester."
However, there will still be MetroRail service to Q2 Stadium on the evening of Tuesday, July 13, for the Austin FC exhibition match against Tigres. CapMetro will operate its Sunday special event service schedule for that match.
CapMetro data shows more than 5,000 fans used the Red Line for the first two Austin FC home games in June.
CapMetro says it has alternative bus services from most MetroRail stations that can take riders downtown, though not directly to the Downtown Station. Here is a list of alternatives:
- Leander: MetroExpress 985
- Lakeline: MetroExpress Routes 985
- Howard: No replacement service
- Kramer: MetroBus 3 and MetroRapid 803 (at Domain)
- Crestview: MetroBus 1 & 7 and MetroRapid 801
- Highland: MetroBus 7
- MLK: MetroBus 18
- Plaza Saltillo: MetroBus 4 (on Seventh Street)
The work on the Red Line fits into the City's overall transportation plan, known as Project Connect.
"When we look at Project Connect, which is our vision for transportation in the region over the next decade or so, we see the Red Line playing an important role. And so, making sure that we maintain all of the existing infrastructure to [an] excellent state of good repair is really important so that we can continue to guarantee the safety and reliability of that service," Watkins said.
CapMetro also said the track work will close down Lamar Boulevard near Crestview Station for 24 hours this coming weekend. Traffic will be diverted to Airport Boulevard and other alternative routes.
Construction will disrupt traffic on Howard Lane near Howard Station the following weekend, July 16 through July 18, for 48 hours. Alternative routes for this closure are more scarce, so travelers are advised to plan ahead.
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