Update From Pentagon City Station

Post staff writer Mark Berman reports that the late rush hour is still going pretty smoothly at Pentagon City Station despite the detour of so many buses from the Pentagon Transit Center, which is closed this morning because of the memorial ceremony.

Metro employees on the scene attribute that to the savvy of Pentagon commuters and the fact that traffic and transit alerts have been going out for days.

Berman said at 8:40 a.m. that bus and rail operations remain very active but orderly. There seems to be some thining out in the number of people waiting to ask questions of the Metro employees near the bus stops on Hayes Street.

There was a steady stream of people getting off the diverted buses and heading into the Metrorail station for the trip to Pentagon Station, which has remained open for rail service. But it wasn't overly crowded on the street or in the station, Berman said.

Deb Johnson, 55, of Ashburn was doing what she normally does: Take Loudoun Transit's 8E bus to Pentagon City, where she works. She thought traffic on I-66 eastbound was lighter than normal this morning.

The big change she noted was that while she's usually the only passenger to get off at Pentagon City, today everyone did.

But "This was far less chaotic than I expected it to be," she said, "They really have it set up well."

Benchmark for congestion: She spoke to friends who are regular Metro riders and they told her this wasn't as bad as the day the Pope came to town.

The road closures around the Pentagon are scheduled to lift at 1 p.m. if conditions allow, Arlington police say.