Orange and Silver Line Stations Shutdown for Platforms Rebuild/Replace

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/ ... cts--60304

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Under the expanded plan, WMATA will combine work to demolish and reconstruct platforms at four Orange Line stations with a separate project on the Silver Line to connect Metrorail to new "phase II" stations, which are being constructed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Beginning May 23, all stations west of Ballston Station on the Orange and Silver lines will be closed through the fall. Ridership at those stations during the pandemic totals about 1,200 customers per weekday – less than 5 percent of normal ridership, WMATA officials said in a press release.
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https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Orange ... r-2020.cfm

All stations west of Ballston on the Orange and Silver lines will be closed beginning Saturday, May 23:
Orange Line: East Falls Church, West Falls Church, Dunn Loring, Vienna
Silver Line: McLean, Tysons, Greensboro, Spring Hill, Wiehle-Reston East
All trains will begin/end service at Ballston. Orange Line service will run from Ballston to New Carrollton.
There will be no Silver Line service.
Free express and local shuttle bus service will be available to provide alternative travel options for essential workers.

As a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency, ridership at stations west of Ballston totals about 1,200 customers per weekday – less than 5% of normal ridership.

I'm not going to knock WMATA for doing it. If it speeds things up for next year, even better. It's no Blue Line realignment, but then I wonder about traffic along the Blue Line anyway...

I was out on I-66 outside the beltway the other day - there is this major construction project to widen I-66, and all of the bridges that cross I-66 are being rebuilt. I noticed that they had done lots of work on the bridge supports in the middle - between the inbound and outbound tracks, and it looks like they have taken advantage of the Metro shutdown to accelerate the work on those supports. Some of them are essentially done - ready for the concrete beams that would cross the highway..

Metro has posted its first update with photos of the ongoing re-construction. https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/Plat ... update.cfm

New update from Metro - due to excellent progress on the platform project and the effort to tie-in the Silver line phase 2, the Silver line will resume service Aug. 16 and the following stations will reopen: McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill, and Wiehle-Reston East and Orange Line station West Falls Church. https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Silver ... pening.cfm

Vienna, Dunn Loring, and East Falls Church are still expected to reopen by Labor Day.

Metro has also posted its second update with photos of the ongoing reconstruction work https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/Plat ... update.cfm

A topping slab is more commonly referred to in the tile and paver setting industry as a mud job. It serves two purposes, it brings the structural slab up to the desired elevation for the setting of the tile or pavers and provides an impervious layer to prevent water penetration into the structural slab.

I hope the the contractor took great care when setting and tyeing that epoxy coated rebar. Epoxy coated rebar is known to suffer accelerated failure from corrosion at spots where the epoxy coating has chipped off. VDOT has banned its use because of this issue.

As it did when rebuilding Blue and Yellow stations last summer, Metro is occasionally posting throwback photos of the construction of Orange line stations currently being rebuilt. This week's throwback is to Dunn Loring's construction. https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/Plat ... fm?id=1060

It's been a while, so I'll condense several updates here.

First, back on July 17 Metro announced service changes to take effect August 16 as the ongoing PIP wraps up. In short, on Aug. 16 West Falls Church will reopen and all Orange Line trains will begin/end there. Vienna, Dunn Loring, & E. Falls Church will remain closed until (supposedly) September 7. Silver Line service resumes on August 16, with five stations west of Ballston reopening. Press release here https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/Plat ... ust-16.cfm

Second, a detailed post back on July 29 includes updates on platform work as well as work to re-align the tracks that is being undertaken while the stations are closed for platform improvements. The post has lots of nice photos of ongoing work. https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/Plat ... pdates.cfm

Finally, it's outside the topic of this post (so I'll make a new post momentarily), but Metro has accelerated its timeline and will begin platform improvements at National Airport Aug. 8.

With construction ahead of schedule and Metro service levels returning to pre-pandemic frequency, Metro announced that E. Falls Church is reopening early, on Aug. 23. https://www.wmata.com/about/news/EFC-Ar ... reopen.cfm

Just to put a bow on this thread, the final stations reopened on Sept. 8 following the completion of phase 2 of the Platform Improvement Project, which is now tackling National Airport station. As the wrap up press release notes, there remains some ongoing finishing work. https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Vienna ... uesday.cfm.

Metro also has a snazzy graphic page touting the accomplishments from this summer. As the page notes, Metro has now tackled 50% of the stations that need to be addressed under this project. https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/Plat ... lights.cfm