Ballston–MU station is a side-platformed

Washington Metro The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...

station in the Ballston section of

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. The station opened on December 1, 1979, and is operated by the

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional public transit agency that operates transit services in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA provides rapid transit servic ...

(WMATA). The station is part of the

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

Lines and serves the transit-oriented community of Ballston,

Ballston Quarter Ballston Quarter is one of the first major suburban shopping centers built in the Washington metropolitan area. It opened in 1951 as Parkington Shopping Center and was the nation's first shopping center built around a multi-story parking garage. ...

, and

Marymount University Marymount University is a Private university, private Catholic university with its main campus in Arlington County, Virginia, United States. It was founded as Marymount College in 1950. Marymount offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degre ...

(MU). Ballston–MU is also a central Metrobus transfer station. The station entrance is at North Fairfax Drive and North Stuart Street, near Wilson Boulevard and North Glebe Road. West of this station, the tracks rise above the ground inside the median of

Interstate 66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is a 76.32 mile east–west Interstate Highway in the East Coast of the United States, eastern United States. The highway runs from an interchange with Interstate 81 in Virginia, I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its w ...

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 Rosslyn station is the westernmost station on the shared segment of the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines of the Washington Metro. It is located in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington County, Virginia. Rosslyn is the first station in Virginia ...

and the opening of the

Court House A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

, Clarendon and Virginia Square stations. Ballston served 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

. The $85,000 required for the change was paid for by Arlington County. The station was the western terminus for Orange Line trains for several months in 2020 due to platform reconstructions at stations west of Ballston. On August 16, 2020, all Orange Line trains were extended to

West Falls Church station West Falls Church station is a Washington Metro station in Idylwood, Virginia on the Orange Line, the first station inside the Capital Beltway on the Orange Line going east. It is one of only two stations in the system to have three ...

when it reopened, bypassing

East Falls Church station East Falls Church station is an island platformed Washington Metro station in Arlington County, Virginia, on the Orange and Silver Lines. East Falls Church station is the last aboveground, at-grade, or open-cut station for eastbound trains until ...

Western entrance

Since at least 2005, the Arlington County government has planned for an additional western entrance to Ballston station, to be located on the south side of Fairfax Drive at North Vermont Street. Intended to relieve crowding at the main entrance, it would serve the dense residential and office developments in that part of the neighborhood and serve buses coming from

. It would have escalators and elevators leading to a new mezzanine with faregates at the western end of the station platform. Developer JBG Cos. agreed to build the entrance in 2005 as part of a new development at 4420 Fairfax Drive, in exchange for a higher density allowance. There is a knockout panel to accommodate the entrance. 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 the new western entrance, which at the time was forecast to be completed in 2018. In 2022, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority approved an $80 million grant to the county for the project. Plans for the entrance were published in October 2024, with construction planned for 2026 to 2029 at a cost of $177 million.

References

External links

* The Schumin Web Transit Center
Ballston–MU Station

Stuart Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballston-MU (WMATA station) 1979 establishments in Virginia Ballston, Virginia Bus stations in Virginia Railway stations in the United States opened in 1979 Railway stations in Virginia at university and college campuses Stations on the Orange Line (Washington Metro) Stations on the Silver Line (Washington Metro) Transportation in Arlington County, Virginia Washington Metro stations in Virginia