Ballston–MU station


Ballston–MU is a side-platformed Washington Metro station in Arlington County, Virginia, United States. The station opened on December 1, 1979, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The station serves the Orange and Silver Lines. The station serves the transit-oriented community of Ballston, Ballston Quarter, and Marymount University. Ballston–MU is also a major Metrobus transfer station. The station entrance is located at North Fairfax Drive and North Stuart Street, near the intersection of Wilson Boulevard and North Glebe Road. West of this station, the tracks rise above ground inside the median of Interstate 66.
The station is currently the Western terminus for Orange Line trains due to Platform Reconstructions at stations west of Ballston.

History

Originally to be called Glebe Road, the station was renamed Ballston by the Metro board in March 1977. After several years of construction, the station opened on December 1, 1979, as the western terminus of the Orange Line. Its opening coincided with the completion of approximately of rail west of the Rosslyn station and the opening of the Court House, Clarendon and Virginia Square stations. Ballston would serve as the western terminus of the Orange Line from its opening through the opening of its extension to the Vienna station on June 7, 1986. The station remains as the final underground station for westbound travelers since its completion.
Known simply as Ballston since its opening, in December 1995 the Metro board voted unanimously to rename the station Ballston–MU, with the "MU" standing for the adjacent Marymount University. The $85,000 required for the change was paid for by Arlington County.
In September 2013, the Arlington County Board approved a funding plan for the county's share of revenue generated by Virginia's new transportation legislation. The plan calls for $500,000 to be allocated to planning for a new western entrance to the Ballston–MU station located at the intersection of N. Fairfax and Vermont Streets. The funding request would suggest that the entrance could be built by 2018.

Station layout