Bethesda Metro Center escalator-to-staircase conversion nearing completion (Photos)

 The conversion of the plaza-to-bus-bays escalator at the Bethesda Metro Center is now nearing completion. Handrails have been installed. WMATA's choice to remove the escalator and replace it with a wider staircase was largely driven by cost savings, as continued use of the escalator would have required installation of a canopy, without which the elements were damaging the often out-of-service escalator. The agency has now set December 31, 2022 as the date of completion for the project.

Bethesda Metro escalator-to-stairs conversion running out of summer (Photos)

The plaza-to-bus-bays escalator at the Bethesda Metro station was scheduled to be replaced with a more-primitive staircase by the end of this summer. Summer is half-over, and here is a look at the progress since my last update in June. In a sign that construction of the new stairs may be ramping up this week, a new scaffolding has been erected at the top of the stairs. Summer doesn't end until September 22, so they've still got about 7 weeks to deliver a gleaming new staircase here, folks.

Friendship Heights Metro station renovations update (Photos)

Metrobus and Ride On buses returned to their regularly-assigned stops at the Friendship Heights Metro station bus bays yesterday, according to Metro. But this is how the scene looked just hours before the scheduled reopening Friday evening. Affected bus routes were forced to temporary relocate around Wisconsin Circle during renovation of the bus bay area, which began mid-summer. Will the roof still leak water and ice during winter? Metro's Paul Wiedefeld wasn't available for comment, laughing his way to the bank with his 9% raise, despite declining ridership and a record of failure.

The escalator replacement at the station continues as well. It has taken so long, someone appears to have tried to turn the "8" at the end of 2018 on the sign into a 9.

WMATA to replace escalators at Bethesda Medical Center, Friendship Heights Metro stations

Friendship Heights Metro station,
ugly new ahistorical lighting
and all

Metro will be replacing more of the original, aging escalators at Red Line stations in Bethesda and Chevy Chase. A similar project was just completed at the Bethesda Metro station. Now, commuters who use the Medical Center and Friendship Heights stations will be getting an upgrade.

Both stations opened on August 25, 1984, and their escalators are just as old. WMATA will any day now begin replacing 3 long entrance escalators at the Friendship Heights station, and the last-remaining original bus bay-to-landing short escalator. At Medical Center, contractor KONE will also replace the 3 long entrance escalators. Medical Center's are 202' long, while the entrance escalators at Friendship Heights are only 130' long.

The work means one escalator will be out of service at all times, at both stations, over the next two-and-a-half years. Elevators will remain open at both, and escalator technicians will be standing by at both stations at all times, in case any of the escalators in service break down. Should escalator capacity or station overcrowding issues arise, both stations could temporarily shut down, and be bypassed by trains until the situation is resolved. WMATA recommends riders sign up for MetroAlerts so they will know if either station is closed.

Final Bethesda Metro station replacement escalator scheduled to open this afternoon

A ribbon-cutting this afternoon will mark the reopening of the fifth of five escalators replaced at the Bethesda Metro station. Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld, Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner, and prominent Bethesda realtor Jane Fairweather will cut the ribbon on the mezzanine level of the station at 3:00 PM this afternoon.

Fairweather is also Chair of the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce Metro Improvement Task Force. The escalator project cost Metro $8 million, and replaced 30-year-old escalators, three of which are the second-longest in the Western Hemisphere.

A working escalator at the Bethesda Metro station - now that is news!

Friendship Heights Metro escalator update (Photos)

While much attention has been taken up by the disastrous start for the new escalator at the Bethesda Metro station (multiple shutdowns by the multi-million dollar, brand new escalator), another escalator project at the Friendship Heights Metro station continues to lag behind schedule.

The most recent opening projection was June. Now Metro is saying October. Will it run when it opens? The existing escalators here were installed in 1984.

New Bethesda Metro escalator opening today (Photo)

You got a sneak preview of the newly-installed escalator at the Bethesda Metro station the other day. But today, you get to actually ride it. WMATA says the new escalator will open to the public this morning.

“We are excited to mark this milestone with the replacement of the first of the three long escalators at Bethesda,” prominent Bethesda realtor Jane Fairweather said in a statement Sunday. Fairweather, who also serves as chair of The Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce’s Metro Improvement Task Force, added that "We look forward to the improved reliability that local residents, employees, visitors, tourists and all users of the Bethesda Metro station will experience as they enter and exit the station."

Contractor KONE has two more escalators to go before the $8.4 million project is complete at the station. "This is a significant improvement for our customers at Bethesda Station," said Metro Interim General Manager and CEO Jack Requa. "This first new entrance escalator will provide more reliable service for the thousands of passengers who travel through the station each day."

A chance to ride a working escalator at the Bethesda Metro station - an exciting day indeed.

Sneak peek at new Bethesda Metro escalator (Photos)

The new escalator at the Bethesda Metro station is gleaming, and has more modern LED lighting than the one it is replacing. One of 3 surface-to-mezzanine escalators in the station that rank as the second-longest in the Western Hemisphere, it is the first of the 3 to be installed. 

The complete replacement of all 3 is scheduled to conclude in September 2016. KONE is the contractor for the project.

Riders' biggest concern - will they actually work on a daily basis?

PHOTOS FROM THE BETHESDA METRO STATION CLOSURE THIS PAST WEEKEND #WMATA

The Bethesda Metro station was closed for escalator replacement this past weekend, causing many delays for travelers who had to use shuttle buses to get around the dead spot on the Red Line.

Here are some scenes from the closure and work site:

Shuttle bus

BETHESDA METRO ESCALATOR REPLACEMENT UPDATE (PHOTOS)

One of the second-longest escalators in the Western Hemisphere is being replaced at Bethesda Metro station, between the surface and the mezzanine level. Here's a look at the current situation underground as of Tuesday.

One escalator is operating in each direction next to the one being replaced. A guard is on duty, as if a breakdown should occur on the remaining escalators, the station would have to close until it is fixed. KONE is the contractor replacing the 106' escalator.

The project, which began in October, is expected to take 42 weeks to complete, according to WMATA. Then the other two will be replaced, one at a time, and the whole project will be completed by September 2016.