WASHINGTON — Metro riders who have had to deal with Red Line construction this month will see service return to normal this weekend, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said Thursday.
The original plan was for the Red Line to resume normal service on Sunday, but it is expected to reopen one day ahead of schedule.
In the last couple of weeks, Red Line riders have had to get off their trains and onto shuttle buses to get south from Dupont Circle due to construction that affected the Farragut North, Metro Center, and Gallery Place stations. Likewise, northbound riders had to do the same to get to Dupont Circle and beyond.
The goal of the work was to "repair the deteriorating concrete beams and ceiling that date to the system’s original construction."
While the planned construction will finish a day early and reportedly $250,000 under budget, according to WMATA, the process had some bumps along the way.
On Dec. 18, an electrical issue caused smoke in the Red Line tunnel – forcing the closure of the Dupont Circle Metro Station – aggravating already frustrated commuters.
"Credibility is based on honesty. While #wmata service has improved & is generally good, today the [Red Line] was bad, and we own that," WMATA CEO Randy Clarke tweeted that night. "Team worked very hard to isolate an arching issue that stretched the planned shuttle. Apologies to those impacted. We are doing a review to improve."
But commuters have a light at the end of the tunnel. Red Line service returns to normal on Saturday at 7 a.m.
"We appreciate all of our customers, businesses, the District and the effort our Metro staff who worked through the holidays to get this critical work done," Clarke said in a news release on Thursday. "Maintaining the safety and reliability of the system is vital. Thanks to Mayor Bowser and the District Department of Transportation, we were able to use special dedicated bus lanes created for this project to minimize the impact to customers."
Here is what WMATA says came out of the construction work:
- Metro's construction team used more than eight tons of concrete and 466 pounds of rebar to rebuild the Red Line tunnel ceiling to prevent concrete from falling onto trains.
- The team replaced 3,159 linear feet of running rail between Farragut North and Metro Center.
- Workers installed 1,152 lights for the new platform edge lighting between Farragut North and Judiciary Square with brighter, more sustainable LED lights.
- Added extra insulation to the third rail power cables between Gallery Place and Judiciary Square to provide a moisture barrier of the electrified third rail, which powers the trains.
- To prepare for its next generation train signaling system, Metro installed 15,914 linear feet of fiber optic cables between Farragut North and Judiciary Square.