Daniela Berson
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) After nine months of preparation and assembly, one of three new escalators at the Bethesda Metro Station is in service.
The new addition is the second longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere and rises 106 feet.
The entire Bethesda escalator project is expected to take about two and a half years to complete, due to the need to keep functioning escalators in service while others are replaced.
Metro’s contactor, KONE, is replacing one escalator at a time to ensure that the entrance stays functional throughout construction.
Montgomery County Councilmember Roger Berliner said that the improvements to Bethesda station are an important step toward the community’s future.
“As work now moves to the second and then third escalators, I have my fingers crossed for minimal disruption and I, like so many, look forward to when we will have a whole new fleet of escalators serving our Bethesda transit riders,” Berliner said.
Metro plans to replace 128 escalators by 2020, with construction already complete at nine other stations.
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Laura Marsh, Wikimedia Commons)
