Thursday, January 17, 2013
Metro has awarded a $151.1 million contract to upgrade or replace 128 escalators in its system, The Washington Post reports.
Metro has awarded a $151.1 million contract to escalator company KONE Corp. to upgrade or replace 128 of its escalators, The Washington Post reports. Stations on the list for escalator improvements under the contract include Bethesda, Friendship Heights, College Park, Glenmont, Medical Center and Shady Grove. Escalators that break down during busy rush periods have long been a source of frustration for Metro riders. In Bethesda, all three entrance escalators are slated to be replaced in 2014. Community leaders lauded the pending project following outcry about the escalators’ unreliability, Patch reported. According to The Post report, 88 escalator units will be complete by 2018, and the rest will be done in 2019 and 2020. Sarles told The …
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Transit advocates slam the deferral; county officials say the project can't move forward without the Purple Line.
Construction funds for a new south entrance to the Bethesda Metro station were not included in the proposed capital spending plan released Tuesday by County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), the Washington Post's Dr. Gridlock reports and county officials confirm. Some transit advocates, however, are speaking out against the delay. About $45 million previously included in the capital budget for the project's construction was pushed out past the proposed six-year budget plan, which looks at capital projects for fiscal years 2013-2018. The county is committed to the second entrance, according to spokesman Patrick Lacefield, but construction of the project is linked to the Purple Line, an 18-mile light rail planned between Bethesda and New …
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Action Committee for Transit: "The south entrance is needed independent of the repairs and independent of the Purple Line, and the repairs make the project more urgent"
A county transit advocacy group is pushing for the planned south entrance to the Bethesda Metro to be completed before WMATA’s 2014 escalator rehabilitation project at the heavily-used station. But county transportation officials say the south entrance is dependant on plans for the Purple Line, the 16-mile light rail planned to connect Bethesda and New Carrollton which is as of yet unfunded. The new south entrance would add a total of six high-speed elevators between the street level, the Red Line Metro station, and a planned Bethesda station on the Purple Line. The design of the new entrance is “inseparable” from the plans for the planned light rail, according to Gary Erenrich, of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation. …
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Bethesda Metro Improvement Task Force will advocate to keep the project on track.
Bethesda leaders are coming out in support of Metro general manager Richard Sarles’ announcement that the Bethesda Metro escalators are set to be replaced in 2014, but they’ll continue to advocate for the project to remain on track. Sarles announced to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce last week that all three Bethesda Metro entrance escalators will be replaced as part of its proposed six-year, fiscal year 2013 to 2018 Capital Improvement Program. Escalator break-downs and maintenance projects have long been a source of frustration for Bethesda riders. The Bethesda station opened in 1984, according to a Metro press release, and sees nearly 23,000 riders on an average weekday. “We can’t keep doing band-aid repairs and hope they …
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
WTOP reports on the project.
The escalators at the Bethesda station will be replaced in 2014, WTOP reports. WTOP cited Metro General Manager Richard Sarles, who spoke to the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce Wednesday. Escalator breakdowns, some during rush hour, have been a source of frustration for Metro riders. The Bethesda station has only one elevator. "We can't keep doing Band-Aid repairs and hope they will last - it's time to just replace the escalators," said Sarles in a statement, according to WTOP. Read the full story here.
Wayne Phyillaier
7:46 am on Friday, January 20, 2012
The county bought the right-of-way years ago for transit between Bethesda and Silver Spring. It would only take 8 1/2 minutes to ride the Purple Line from Bethesda to Silver Spring. This will be the fastest and most heavily used part of the Purple Line. It should be built first, not last. more ›