Yellow Line

The Yellow Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system that runs between in Virginia and in Washington, D.C. It consists of 13 stations in Fairfax County, Alexandria County, and Arlington County in Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C. It is the shortest line in the system, and since its truncation to Mount Vernon Square, it is the only line that does not enter Maryland. The Yellow Line shares track with the Blue Line between and and the Green Line between and Mount Vernon Square. It has only two stations that are not shared by any other lines (Huntington and ) and only two sections of track that are not shared by any other lines – the section south of King Street–Old Town and the section between and , crossing the Potomac River. History Planning for Metro began with the Mass Transportation Survey in 1955, which attempted to forecast freeway and mass transit systems sufficient to meet the region's needs projected for 1980. In 1959, the study's final report included two rapid transit lines that anticipated downtown Washington subways. Because the plan called for extensive freeway construction within the District of Columbia, alarmed residents lobbied for federal legislation creating a regional transportation agency with a moratorium on freeway construction through July 1, 1962. The new agency, the National Capital Transportation Administration, issued a 1962 Transportation in the National Capital Region report, which did not include the route that became the Yellow Line. A central route under 7th Street in downtown was only added in 1967 primarily to serve the "inner city". In March 1968, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) board approved its Adopted Regional System (ARS), which included the Yellow Line from Franconia and Backlick Road (in Springfield) to Greenbelt. While a cut-and-fill tunnel for Yellow Line was built under 7th Street and U Street, street traffic and pedestrian access were difficult. The result was the loss of the traditional retail businesses along the route. The downtown segment of the line was originally projected to open in September 1977. Obtaining approval of the District of Columbia and Prince Georges' County of the exact alignment of the Yellow Line north of U Street delayed construction. Originally, the ARS called for the line to be placed in the median strip of the planned North Central Freeway,.