Metro News Release
For immediate release: November 25, 2009
Repairs being made to ceiling inside Farragut North Metrorail station
Cracks detected during routine inspection
Metrorail customers who use the Farragut North Metrorail station will see a work zone along an area of the station’s platform to allow engineers and maintenance crews to repair an area of the station’s deteriorated concrete ceiling, which was recently discovered.
A crack was identified in the ceiling yesterday (November 24) by members of Metro’s Track and Structures Department during a routine inspection of the Farragut North Metrorail station. The inspection process is part of Metro’s preventative maintenance program.
The inspectors noticed that a piece of concrete ceiling tile above the platform at the Farragut North Metrorail station’s north side (near the Connecticut and L Street side of the station) had become dislodged. It did not fall. Engineering staff were called in to investigate further.
During the engineering inspection, a piece of cement ceiling tile was removed and a 15-foot by 4-foot crack was discovered behind the tile. When an expanded area of ceiling tile was removed, other smaller cracks were discovered. One of those cracks extends above the station’s tracks. It was also discovered that there was a seeping of moisture into the cement ceiling. A 27-inch sewer pipe sits above this concrete area of the ceiling, however Metro’s engineering team has not yet determined whether the moisture is a result of the sewer pipe. They will continue to explore the moisture issue.
Today Metro officials established a work zone along the platform that extends 17- by 32-feet long and includes scaffolding and a newly constructed wall to keep patrons clear of the overhead work area.
“Our initial estimate is that the repair work is likely to take two weeks,” said Gerald Francis, Metro’s Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer. “However the timeframe may change based on what is discovered as it relates to the water intrusion.
“We will need to perform some repair work above the tracks,” he said. “We do not yet know if that repair work will be able to be completed when our system is closed at nights or whether we may need to temporarily close the tracks to make repairs. Our engineering group must thoroughly evaluate the condition of the deterioration of the concrete.”
Metro staff will be working to resolve the problem during the holiday, late nights after the rail system closes and through the weekends to make the necessary repairs, Francis said.
Farragut North Metrorail station was one of the original Metrorail stations that first opened in March 1976. As part of the very first stretch of the system that opened, the cement is believed to have been installed in the early 1970s.
News release issued at 8:51 pm, November 25, 2009.