King Street Metro | ALXnow

Metro derailment in Alexandria among safety lapses outlined in scathing audit of transit system

Published April 7, 2022 at 2:15PM

A Metro train headed toward the Van Dorn Metro station (staff photo by James Cullum)

A six-car Metrorail train hit a contractor work unit and derailed in the Alexandria Rail Yard in 2020 because an interlocking train operator was watching a movie trailer on an electronic device.

There were no injuries, but the February 10, 2020, incident is included in a scathing audit of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority by the Washington Metropolitan Safety Commission, which found “a culture that accepts noncompliance with written operational rules, instructions, and manuals.”

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PHOTOS: King Street-Old Town Metro Access Improvement Project nears completion

By James Cullum

Published May 17, 2021 at 3:30PM

The King Street-Old Town Metro Access Improvements Project will be finished by this summer. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

The final touches are being made on the King Street-Old Town Metro Access Improvement Project.

On-site bus route testing will begin later this month, and bus service to new shelters will start in early June, according to the city. Contractor Fort Myer Construction Corporation was supposed to have finished the project last spring.

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JUST IN: Woman arrested after fight on King Street Metro station platform

By James Cullum

Published April 2, 2021 at 2:05PM | Updated April 2, 2021 at 3:54PM

Updated at 3:20 p.m. — An adult woman suffered minor injuries after an altercation with another woman on the platform of the King Street-Old Town Metro station in Old Town on Friday.

Alexandria Police and the Metro Transit Police Department responded to the incident at around noon.

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Council approves roadway conversion at George Washington Masonic National Memorial

By James Cullum

Published March 25, 2021 at 2:15PM

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial, as viewed from the King Street metro station (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

One of the most visible congestion points in the city is about to get revamped.

On Tuesday, the Alexandria City Council unanimously approved roadway improvements the the intersection of King Street, Russell Road and Callahan Drive, as well as a conversion to one-way for the service road leading up to the George Washington National Masonic Memorial.

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A Year Late, Contractor Eyes Spring Completion for King Street Metro Access Improvement Project

By Vernon Miles

Published March 10, 2021 at 4:30PM

The King Street-Old Town Metro Access Improvements project. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

The infamously troubled King Street-Old Town Metro Access Improvement Project could finish in the next few months after a full year of delays.

The city said the first phase of the project is still reportedly on track for the spring 2021 timeline established last March, when the project was originally supposed to be completed.

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BREAKING: King Street Closed Around Train Station for Suspicious Package

By James Cullum

Published March 8, 2021 at 11:40AM | Updated March 8, 2021 at 12:06PM

(Updated at 11:50 a.m.) Alexandria Police have reopened the area of King Street between Callahan Drive and Daingerfield Road after investigating a report of a suspicious package.

Police closed the area near the King St-Old Town Metro Station and the city’s Union Station after a report earlier of a suspicious package around 11:35 a.m.

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Alexandria Police Make Arrests in ‘OfferUp’ Car Theft Investigation

By James Cullum

Published January 7, 2021 at 1:30PM

An Alexandria police cruiser (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Two men have been arrested after allegedly trying to resell stolen cars and nearly running over an Alexandria Police officer.

Michael Daugherty, an 18-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., and a 20-year-old man from Prince George’s County, Maryland, were arrested on Dec. 7 after allegedly fleeing the Yasini Auto Gallery near the King Street-Old Town Metro station in a stolen white Toyota RAV4.

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City Anticipates More Delays With King Street-Old Town Metro Access Improvements Project

By James Cullum

Published September 23, 2020 at 1:15PM

The King Street-Old Town Metro Access Improvements project. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

The city anticipates that there will be more delays with the completion of the King Street-Old Town Metro Access Improvements Project.

City staff are skeptical that the first phase of the project will be completed by this December.

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King Street Metro Access Improvements Project Likely Delayed Past August

By James Cullum

Published June 25, 2020 at 2:00PM

The completion of the King Street-Old Town Metro Access Improvements Project will likely be delayed past August, but it’s not clear for how long.

“This project is continuing forward,” Terry Suehr, the city’s director of the Department of Project Implementation, told City Council on Tuesday night. “The contractor continues to report that they are on schedule and are showing the schedule that shows them completing in August, but based on our observations of the progress that they’re making we suspect that they will not finish in August, so just notifying you all that we we do suspect that there will either be requesting extensions or we’ll be having to deal with contract measures to penalize them for not finishing on time.”

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Metro Further Reduces Service Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

By James Cullum

Published March 17, 2020 at 4:45PM

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority on Tuesday announced further reduced services at its Metro stations in Alexandria and throughout the region in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The news comes after a Metro Transit Police Officer tested positive for the virus on Monday.

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published February 18, 2020 at 8:00AM | Updated February 18, 2020 at 8:33AM

George and Martha Washington wave at the George Washington Birthday Parade in Old Town, Feb. 17, 2020 (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Still No Motive for Student Accused of Double Homicide — “George Ivan Maertens Aramayo said police have not told him why his daughter, 19, and Bianda, 21, were killed. He is not familiar with Mohamed Aly, the 18-year-old from Alexandria who is facing two first-degree murder charges. Aly attended T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, where friends say he was a strong student and athlete hoping to play college football.” [Washington Post]

APD Testing Electric Parking Enforcement Vehicle — “APD’s Parking Enforcement Unit conducted a test of an electric GO-4 vehicle today. Pictured is Parking Enforcement Officer Ms. Fuller, who has operated the GO-4 type vehicle for the last 23 years.” [Twitter]