WMATA is having a pretty tough week, with bus lines on the chopping block and ten stations facing possible closure — including, awkwardly, the new Potomac Yard Metro station that’s a central part of plans for a new arena.
To make matters worse, it comes on the 40th birthday of three Alexandria Yellow Line stations.
The Office of Historic Alexandria noted in its weekly newsletter that this weekend marks 40 years since the Braddock Road, King Street and Eisenhower Avenue Metro stations opened on the Yellow Line.
According to the newsletter:
On December 17, 1983, the Braddock Road, King Street, and Eisenhower Avenue Metro stations opened on the Yellow Line. Passengers traveling from the new stations received free one-way trips for part of the day. At the King Street station, opening festivities included bagpipe music and ribbon cutting by Senators Chuck Robb and John Warner.
Service on the rest of the Yellow Line started in April of 1983, but the Alexandria stations came a little later.
The Yellow Line has seen some tough times in recent years, with a closure south of National Airport in 2018 and some closures, notably of the Eisenhower Avenue station, during Covid, but Metro remains by far the most used public transit in the region.