Congressman Gerry Connolly, joined by Congressman Jim Moran, criticized Metro management for failing to adequately notify citizens that it was closing three vital Metro stations, including the Washington National Airport station, for the entire Labor Day weekend.

Connolly was concerned about the problems it would cause for many Northern Virginia and metro area citizens who were planning to travel through National Airport over the long holiday weekend.  Metro stations at the airport, Crystal City, and Pentagon City will be closed due to track maintenance and other repairs from Friday night until early Tuesday morning.

The letter to Metro said Connolly and Moran were concerned about Metro's "poor communication with the public leading up to this major travel disruption."   The congressmen said they were glad to see Metro making needed infrastructure improvements, but they questioned the timing.

Here is the full text of the Connolly-Moran letter to Metro:

September 2, 2009

Mr. John B. Catoe, Jr.
General Manager
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
600 5th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Mr. Catoe,

We write to express concern over the closing of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Station during the Labor Day weekend and the poor communication with the public leading up to this major travel disruption.

While we are glad to see Metro making needed infrastructure improvements, we question the decision to close a major intermodal station like National Airport for three full days. As you know, some 39 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home over the long Labor Day weekend. Many of the National Capital Region’s residents have made plans to ride Metro to National Airport or to any one of the major tourist destinations in our nation’s capital. Further, many of the airport’s employees rely solely on Metro to reach their jobs on a daily basis.

We are troubled by the failure to give appropriate advance notice to the public. Clearly, the track maintenance alert issued by Metro on Aug. 5 was inadequate as most Metro riders and airline travelers are just now becoming aware of the fact that service on two of Northern Virginia’s three Metro lines will be completely disrupted during a holiday weekend. Public service notices through the media should have been made well in advance of this closure. Having knowledge of this closure sooner would have allowed them to make alternate travel plans and avoid unnecessary delays.

We would appreciate it if you could provide details on what if any alternative maintenance schedules were considered and what Metro intends to do to address this problem in the future – including efforts to avoid prolonged closure of major stations and better publicizing of the implications of scheduled track and station maintenance. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Gerald E. Connolly                                                           James P. Moran
Member of Congress                                                     Member of Congress
11th District, Virginia                                                        8th District, Virginia