Cleveland Park entrance escalator replacement to begin June 5, 2017
Advisory Effective: 5/8/17 - 2/1/19
UPDATE 9/15/17
Replacement of the three long units will begin Monday, September 18, 2017.
Crews will begin demolition and removal of the East entrance and first of the three long escalators on Monday, September 18. Two of the long units will remain in service with one operating up and the other down.
On June 5, 2017, Metro will began a major capital project replacing the five entrance escalators at the entrance of Cleveland Park Station. The project will replace the current escalators, which were installed when the station opened, and have exceeded their useful life, with brand new escalators that are more durable and reliable. Metro's contractor, KONE, will install the new escalators one at a time, as part of our ongoing project to replace 128 escalators across the Metrorail system.
The station has two entrances with one escalator and one set of steps on each side of Connecticut Avenue which lead to a landing and three long escalators between the landing and the mezzanine.
Work will begin with the escalator on the west side entrance. While this escalator is replaced, customers will continue to have access to the west side steps and the east side escalator. This work is expected to last approximately three months.
Work then moves to the east side escalator, which will remain out of service for the remainder of the project.
How will this work affect my trip?
Customers entering the station will need to use the steps, or the elevator located at the east entrance. When constructions moves to the long units, instead of having three escalators available from the landing, only two will be available; one going up, and one going down. Metro will have escalator technicians on standby at Cleveland Park to respond immediately to any outage affecting the two available escalators. However, riders should be aware that in the event of a service disruption, the station may need to be temporarily closed to prevent safety hazards related to overcrowding.
How long will the project take?
This escalator replacement project is expected to take about one year and eight months for site preparation, demolition, construction, installation and testing of all five units.
Why will it take so long?
The long Cleveland Park escalators are 120 feet long and transport riders 59 feet from the station mezzanine to the entrance landing so their replacement is more complicated than an average escalator replacement. For example, the mid-level landing to mezzanine units require the smaller street to landing unit at the east entrance to be removed prior to the longer middle units and will require considerably more crane activity to remove the structures and major trusses that hold each of the escalators.
To keep the station open, the escalators will be replaced one at a time rather than all at once. And for safety reasons, the work can only be conducted when the station is closed to customers and the adjacent escalators are not in service. Taken together, these factors extend the project timeline to about one year and eight months. However, portions of the new escalators are manufactured in advance and are in storage so the project can move forward efficiently.
How can I stay informed about the project?
We encourage you to sign up for MetroAlerts to receive project updates by email. You can also receive messages alerting you whenever there is a delay or service change. Sign up for free at wmata.com/metroalerts.
Stay informed by visiting this page or calling Customer Service at (202) 637-7000