The developers of Rosslyn’s Central Place have built a new tunnel just for buses

For over two years, Metro has shuffled bus stops and detoured bus routes around Rosslyn to accommodate construction of a huge new development called Central Place. With construction wrapping up, Rosslyn's buses are about to get a new bus-only tunnel that will make rides smoother and faster.

Six Metrobus routes, three ART routes, and a Circulator route all serve the Rosslyn Metro station. Almost all of these buses use a series of bus bays that line North Moore Street between Wilson Boulevard and 19th Street. At one point, many buses used a bus-only alleyway connecting North Moore to North Lynn Street to avoid left turns onto busy Wilson.

In 2014, construction began on Central Place, a development that will bring two towers (one office and one residential), ground floor retail, and a big public plaza to the entire block between North Lynn, North Moore, Wilson, and 19th, right next to the Metro and its series of bus bays.

Since that time, Metro has repeatedly relocated bus stops to make room for construction on North Moore. And with the bus alleyway between North Moore and North Lynn closed for construction, buses have to make a big, looping detour to get onto North Lynn.

In my personal experience riding the 15K during rush hour, this detour means it can often take 10-15 minutes just to get from the bus bay to the Intersection of Doom (North Lynn at Lee Highway) only 0.2 miles away.

But all that's about to change. As part of the plans for Central Place, the site's developer agreed to build a bus tunnel through its south tower to replace the bus alleyway previously connecting North Moore and North Lynn.

Now that tunnel is almost ready to use.

Metro says buses will begin using the new tunnel on December 18.