Metro wants to connect Farragut North and West with a tunnel

Since 2004, Metro has been planning to build an underground connection between Farragut North and Farragut West. The two busy downtown stations are only 400 feet apart, and a connection could provide an attractive alternative to Metro Center, currently the only transfer point between the Red and Blue/Orange/Silver lines.

This was supposed to happen in the original plan

The Red Line crosses the Blue/Orange/Silver Line twice: once at Metro Center, where passengers can transfer between trains, and again at Connecticut and I Street at the southeast corner of Farragut Square. Early plans for the Metro system called for a single Farragut Square station, with two levels allowing transfers like at Metro Center.

But the National Park Service balked at allowing WMATA to dig up the square to build a station there, since it would mean killing the old trees in the square. As a result, there are two separate stations, one at Farragut North for the Red Line and one at Farragut West for the Blue/Orange/Silver Lines.

That means that riders coming from Virginia who want to head northwest on the Red Line have to stay on the train longer, riding past Farragut and McPherson Squares and doubling back at Metro Center, the busiest station in the system.

In 2011, Metro instituted a “virtual tunnel” called Farragut Crossing that allows riders to exit one Farragut and enter the other Farragut using a SmarTrip card without incurring an additional fare surcharge. However, this free transfer requires crossing three streets (K, I, and 17th) and walking a block outside. On weekends and for wheelchair users, the transfer also requires an additional block and crossing 18th Street.

Metro officials are continuing to work on the connector because it will provide necessary congestion relief at Metro Center and will shorten many riders’ trips. However, they’re also planning additional improvements in Farragut North and Farragut West since the tunnel will increase usage there.

Beyond the tunnel, stations would need greater capacity

There are three primary components in the project.

The biggest element is the tunnel itself, which will stretch about 450 feet between the eastern (17th Street) mezzanine at Farragut West to the south end of Farragut North. The entire tunnel will be in the fare-paid area. In the current plans, there would be no new entrances built along the tunnel.

Another part of the project calls for Farragut North to be able to handle more traffic. This means new staircases between the central/south mezzanine and the platform, redundant street and platform elevators, and reconfigured faregates.

One of WMATA’s design options also would extend the central/south mezzanine so it connects directly to the tunnel to Farragut West. That option improves circulation since it allows passengers to avoid the platform.

The final component of the project would expand capacity at Farragut West by extending the mezzanines on both the east and western ends, adding platform and street elevators at the eastern mezzanine, and reconfiguring the fare vending machines and faregates.

The project would have the added benefit of making Farragut North and Farragut West elevator-redundant stations, improving the accessibility of the system.

This would save time and ease congestion

The largest benefit is time savings for transferring riders. Without the tunnel, planners estimate that under crowded conditions in 2030 the tunnel would reduce travel time between the Farraguts from 6:14 (via Metro Center) or 7:51 (via 17th Street) to 3:19 (via the tunnel). The time savings is even greater during uncongested periods, with a reduction from 5:35 (via Metro Center) or 6:17 (via 17th Street) to 1:39 (via the tunnel).

Another advantage of the tunnel is that it would reduce crowding at Metro Center. Today, there are almost 85,000 daily transfers at Metro Center (in addition to about 56,000 daily entries and exits). Without the tunnel, the number of transfers at Metro Center is expected to climb to over 100,000 by 2030, with daily entries and exits rising to about 70,000.

With the tunnel, transfers at Metro Center would drop to around 78,000 by 2030, less than the number today. That’s because approximately 26,000 riders would elect to transfer between the Farraguts rather than at Metro Center.

Additionally, the proposed improvements at Farragut North and Farragut West inside the stations could reduce congestion on the platforms.

The current arrangement of escalators at Farragut North’s central and southern mezzanines concentrates passengers in the center of the platform. New staircases on either end of the mezzanine would better distribute passengers and reduce crowding.

At Farragut West, the four additional escalators would clear the platform more quickly, though they would likely increase congestion in the mezzanines.

Costs could be spread out

The project doesn’t have to happen all at once. The pieces could probably be broken out, though it could be easier or less disruptive to build them together.

The tunnel itself is estimated to cost between $70 and $73 million. The Farragut North improvements would cost around $23 million. The Farragut West construction would run about $36 million. That brings the total cost to around $130 million.

However, this study hasn’t fleshed out all the issues. Metro still needs to conduct additional analysis to determine some of the structural elements and do further design work.

Funding hasn’t yet been identified, nor has a timeline for construction. However, the study does anticipate the tunnel being open by 2030.