Metro News Release

For immediate release: January 22, 2008

Metro successfully completes first half of Metro Center Metrorail station platform repairs

Metro officials successfully completed the first half of platform repairs at the Metro Center Metrorail station this past Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend.

Over the long weekend, Metro performed platform structural rehabilitation work on the Red Line bridge at the Metro Center Metrorail station because the bridge is sagging. This included the installation of new bearing pads that support the north side of the Red Line bridge over the Blue and Orange lines, granite platform and floor tile replacement, expansion joint and structural concrete repairs.

“On behalf of Metro, I would like to thank our customers who used Metrorail this weekend while we made these important repairs at the Metro Center Metrorail station,” said Gerald C. Francis, Metro’s Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer. “We understand this work may have been an inconvenience for some, but this is an important project for us to complete. We will be back next month to complete repairs on the opposite side, and hopefully, we will not have to come back to this location for another 30 to 40 years.”

On Saturday, January 19, there were 274,258 people who rode Metrorail; 167,434 rode Sunday, January 19, and 257,599 people rode on Monday, January 21.

The second half of this construction project will continue next month, during the President’s Day holiday weekend, February 15 to 18. The Metro Center Metrorail station will be open, however, all Red Line trains will share one track between Farragut North and Judiciary Square and all Blue and Orange Line trains will share one track between the Farragut West and Smithsonian Metrorail stations. Metro encourages riders to add at least 30 minutes of travel time when this project continues next month.

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News release issued at 12:00 am, January 22, 2008.