Around Town

Arlington County is largely shutting down to celebrate America’s birthday

By Matt Blitz
July 4 fireworks as seen from Joint Base Myer (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)

Arlington County is set to essentially shut down on America’s birthday.

County government offices, courts, community centers, and county libraries are all closed on Monday, July 4 in observance of the holiday. The Long Bridge Aquatics and Fitness Center will also be shuttered. Covid-19 testing sites and vaccine clinics are taking a break that day as well.

Arlington County schools are closed for employees on Independence Day, with summer school starting the next day on July 5.

America’s birthday also means free parking. Meters will not be enforced on the holiday, though permit parking is still in effect.

Trash, recycling, yard waste, and special pick-up collection, however, will be on its regular schedule.

The monthly free paper shredding, scrap metal, and inert material drop-off event at the Shirlington facility that would have been scheduled for this Saturday shifts back a week, to July 9.

For those looking to check out the fireworks, Metrorail’s holiday schedule may be the impetus to stay in Arlington this year. Earlier this week, Metro announced service will be significantly reduced this Independence Day, relative to past holidays.

“Due to the reduced number of railcars available for service, capacity on Metrorail will be less than previous Independence Days,” said Metro’s press release. “That means customers should be prepared for longer lines to enter stations near the Mall after the fireworks, up to 60 minutes, and for crowding to occur.”

Metrorail will be operating until midnight, with trains every 20 minutes on the Blue and Orange lines and every 15 minutes on the Yellow Line. Trains will arrive every 7 minutes at the downtown stations serviced by several lines. Expect lines of up to an hour to catch a train after the fireworks, Metro says.

Metrobus and Arlington Transit (ART) buses will both be operating on a Sunday schedule. For ART, that means only a few of the busiest routes will be running.

There will also be an abundance of road closures in Arlington related to the fireworks show downtown.