Metro Readies for Red Line Maintenance in December

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

WASHINGTON, D.C. – WMATA put out a release that Metro is preparing for safety repairs on its Red Line for December.

WMATA put out a release that Metro is preparing for safety repairs on its Red Line for December. It has detailed service interruptions and travel alternatives for its customers which can also be found here.

Between December 18^th and December 30^th, Red Line service between Dupont Circle and Gallery Place will be suspended, and Farragut North and Metro Center will also be closed. In that time frame, the weekend of December 22^nd to December 24^th, Metro “will extend the work zone with no Red Line service between Dupont Circle and Union Station.”

During this time, crews will work on repairing deteriorating concrete in the ceiling above both tracks. In addition, Metro has listed out other critical repairs and maintenance work to include the following: replacing switch machines, installing almost 40,000 feet of fiber-optic cables, installing platform edge lighting at closed stations, replacing rail fasteners, repairing rail joints, replacing concrete grout pads to stabilize the tracks, performing repairs to leaks, and installing insulators to provide a “barrier between the electrified third rail and ground.”

The closure will allow crews to complete this work more quickly than if they only performed this work on the weekends, which would take an estimated three months.