Bethesda Metro station escalator repair, controlled blasting

WMATA is making "minor" repairs to the oft-broken escalator between the plaza and bus bays at the Bethesda Metro station. In related news, there is expected to be controlled blasting near the Metro station for the Purple Line light rail project between now and the end of the year.

When blasting occurs, Metro trains will be held outside the station for several minutes. Passengers inside the station will be directed to exit by personnel, and then re-enter following the detonation. WMATA says to "expect loud noises during this time."

One caveat to all of this, is that the Purple Line contractor has said it will abandon the light rail project in the middle of construction as of today, June 20, unless they are compensated for cost overruns. Stay tuned.

WMATA tries to fix Bethesda Metro escalator leak (Video+Photos)

Metro riders have noted water leaks over the underground escalators at the Bethesda Metro station for many years. Last night, WMATA contractors began a new effort to try and stop these leaks. In 2014, the transit agency cited the property owner above the station as the responsible party for the water - which sometimes becomes icicles in the winter. Saturday night, workers were focused on an area close to the Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel.

A crane was brought in to lift heavy concrete. This required closure of the driveway and main entrance to the Hyatt lobby. "This is ridiculous," one arriving hotel guest exclaimed as he attempted to find another way into the hotel, while pulling a wheeled piece of luggage behind him. The Hyatt set up an outdoor front desk, complete with space heaters, in the 43 degree night air. Employees attempted to use the al fresco desk to sign in lodgers, and valet park vehicles.

Bethesda Metro escalators: Oh, no, not again!

I am shocked...shocked!...to report that some of the same escalators are out of service again at Bethesda Metro Center. The plaza-to-bus-bays escalator has been closed early this week for what WMATA calls a "major repair." WMATA also reports that a bus bays-to-mezzanine escalator will be out of service for at least part of today for an "inspection repair."

Riders have fled the system for their own personal vehicles or Uber, and only those who get free rides from the government or other employers are returning. The Washington Post has hilariously published recent editorials acknowledging that Metro is still terrible, and demanding that someone devise a way to force people to use it anyway. "Someone figure out how to keep those darn stagecoaches in business!" Good luck!

Escalator madness at Friendship Heights Metro station (Photos)

Escalator "modernization" continues at the Metro station with one of the longest escalator outages in Metro history, Friendship Heights. WMATA says they currently expect the Western Avenue bus bays-to-middle landing escalator to be back in service on December 30 of this year. The longer escalator between the middle landing and the mezzanine is expected to reopen on July 18. Stay tuned!

WMATA misses another escalator deadline at Bethesda Metro station (Photos)

WMATA promised the extremely-behind-schedule repair of the plaza-to-bus bays escalator at the Bethesda Metro station would be completed this week, and that it would be back in service yesterday. Wrong. The escalator was out of service Friday.

“SafeTrack has been very successful in terms
 of safety performance, work completed,
and schedule achieved.” - WMATA

Metro has been blasted by riders now that the final results are in for the "surge" and "Safe Track" efforts, and they have been an utter failure. They didn't even fix the water leaks at Bethesda, and are going to start another Safe Track-style extended station closure scheme this month to "try" to fix it. In fact, the end of Safe Track brought a complete meltdown on the Red Line this week. As I told you all along, Safe Track was nothing more than a way for Metro to save money by not running trains, while "looking busy." This from the transit agency that can't even get automatic train control operational with eight years to fix it. Eight years!

"This is an enormous achievement."
- Metro Board member Jack Evans

Forgive me for having a few chuckles while listening to our inept Montgomery County Council give equally inept Metro boss Paul Wiedefeld a "Heckuva job, Brownie!" warm welcome in Rockville this week. Perhaps in their shared incompetence, they find P.W. a kindred spirit of sorts. It's a match, folks.

There's also some new art in the Bethesda Metro station, and I have to say, I don't like it. I tried to contain myself when the first mural was done around the upper rim of the bus bays. But it basically looks like someone vandalized the station. It would be fine in a different context on its own, but it just doesn't fit with the Metro architecture. When you think of the great artistic triumphs of Greece and the Roman Empire, and then consider public art in downtown Bethesda...Good God, what's happened to
us? We need someone to Make Public Art Great Again!

"The remainder of the system
is in good shape."
- Paul Wiedefeld

“We’ll see a continuation of the
improvement of our infrastructure."
- Joe Leader, Metro COO

Bethesda Metro station reopens (Photos)

The Bethesda Metro station has just reopened, after a comedy of errors that began when a power surge knocked out escalator service at the station this afternoon. Initially, Metro had reported the escalator was being fixed, and that the station would reopen around 5:40 PM. That ultimately did not happen, leading to a Twitter apology from WMATA.

As rush hour wound down tonight, shuttles were still running between Friendship Heights and Medical Center. But signage only referred to the Medical Center shuttle, which appeared to confuse some stranded commuters. That free shuttle service is now canceled with the station reopening, Metro said.

The snafus were good business for the Dunkin' Donuts at the Metro Center, however, which was open until 9:00.

Dunkin' Donuts in the
Clark Building

Potential customers included
frustrated commuters, Metro
employees and TV crews

BUS BAY ESCALATOR UNDER " MAJOR REPAIR " AT BETHESDA METRO STATION (PHOTOS) #WMATA

That problematic escalator between the street level and bus bays at the Bethesda Metro station is acting up again, earning itself a "major repair" from Metro. Currently shut down as of this writing, the escalator is forecast to reopen tomorrow, in time for Election Day. Stay tuned!

WHAT A SHOCK! BETHESDA METRO ESCALATOR MISSES WMATA REPAIR DEADLINE (PHOTOS)

Remember the mezzanine-to-platform escalator at the Bethesda Metro station that WMATA said would be repaired by April 21? The deadline came and went yesterday, and the escalator is still out of commission. Now WMATA says the new deadline is May 19, virtually a month behind schedule.

Despite continued station closures, single-tracking and maintenance, the fact is that Metro's leadership continues to fail customers. At Friendship Heights Metro just the other day, all up escalators were stopped. A customer was surrounded by a small crowd midway up the escalator, in obvious physical distress, and unable to continue the climb. "You're going to be okay," a companion assured the victim.

This level of service is completely unacceptable, and potentially deadly for customers. It's high time that the Washington Post and regional politicians stop enabling Metro's failed leadership. Funding increases from state and local governments must be tied not only to actionable changes in operations, but also to changes at the very top of Metro. Enough's enough.

Here's the current condition of the escalator: