Metro’s Red Line trains won’t run between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights for two months this summer to accommodate construction related to the Purple Line.

Between July 6 and Sept. 7, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will operate free shuttle buses for passengers at its Friendship Heights, Bethesda, Medical Center, Grosvenor-Strathmore and North Bethesda stations.

The shuttle bus will take about 48 minutes to service the five stops.

An express option will take 26 minutes to travel directly between the North Bethesda and Friendship Heights stations. The Red Line rail currently takes about 12 minutes to cover that distance.

The authority is expected to announce shuttle pickup and drop-off locations at a date closer to the start of construction.

A Metro social media post from October said that “while planned work is not ideal, it’s a necessary part of our continuous improvements to maintain the safety and reliability of an almost 50-year-old system.”

Metro plans to build a second mezzanine at its Bethesda station as part of the Purple Line, a Maryland Transit Administration light-rail project that will connect Metro lines between Bethesda and New Carrollton in Prince George’s County.

Metro will also replace the railway above Rockville Pike that connects the Medical Center and Grosvenor-Strathmore stations. It will also upgrade the Grosvenor-Strathmore platform.