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ALEXANDRIA, Va — Drivers and pedestrians near Alexandria Union Station should prepare for a string of weekend closures in May as Virginia Railway Express moves forward with replacing two aging rail bridges over King Street and Commonwealth Avenue — the latest visible phase of a sweeping, multi-year rehabilitation of the station at 110 Callahan Drive.
The announcement, released Wednesday, comes a day after VRE hosted a virtual community information session on the project. The Alexandria Brief did not attend the April 21 meeting but has requested a recording from VRE.
Under the plan, King Street will fully close between Russell Road and Daingerfield Road on three consecutive weekends: May 1-4, May 15-18 and May 29-June 1. Each shutdown is slated to begin at 7 p.m. Friday and finish by 10 p.m. Monday, with CSX restoring track service by 5 a.m. Tuesday.
Traffic will be detoured to Duke Street. Commonwealth Avenue will remain open but narrowed to a single alternating lane guided by flaggers, while Sunset Drive will be limited to local traffic.
The bridge work is one piece of a broader overhaul being delivered jointly by VRE and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. In addition to replacing the King Street and Commonwealth Avenue spans, the project will reconstruct and lengthen the station's platforms, raise them to ease boarding, install new ADA-compliant elevators, replace the pedestrian tunnel and stairs serving the center platform, and eliminate the existing at-grade pedestrian crossing between platforms.
Funding for the combined effort comes from four sources: $9.3 million in federal rail safety dollars now managed by the Federal Transit Administration, $21.9 million from Virginia's SMARTSCALE program, $13.2 million in FTA formula funds with state and local matches, and a $91.4 million contribution from VPRA through the Commonwealth Rail Fund — the largest single funding source. The contractor received its notice to proceed in December 2025 and has 756 consecutive calendar days to reach substantial completion.
Both projects are tied to the state's Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative, which officials say is aimed at expanding capacity, improving safety and enhancing the passenger experience along the Washington-Richmond corridor. The work is also being coordinated with CSX's separate Alexandria Fourth Track project, WMATA, and a Kinder Morgan pipeline relocation.
Pedestrians are already feeling the effects. A sidewalk closure at the station took effect March 23 and is expected to remain in place for up to two years, with marked detours guiding riders around the work zone. VRE has urged passengers to allow extra time and warned against crossing the tracks without assistance from station or VRE staff.
During the May bridge weekends, the sidewalk linking King Street to the station tunnel will close on both sides under the bridge, though the Commonwealth Avenue sidewalk will stay open. Detour signs will guide foot traffic. Beginning May 15, the stairs from the east platform to King Street will also be closed.
Metro service will not be affected, and VRE said overnight noise should be very limited. The city generally restricts construction noise to daytime and early evening hours on weekdays and Saturdays, with no work permitted on Sundays or city-observed holidays without special approval.
More information is available on the VRE website. Questions can be directed to AlexandriaStationImprovements@vre.org.
