The long process to replace three of the longest escalators in the Western Hemisphere is underway.
The far left bus bay-to-mezzanine escalator at the Bethesda Metro station was closed and gated off on Monday as Metro begins what could be a two-and-a-half-year replacement project.
Demolition of the more than 30-year-old escalators can only be done during a four-hour work period when the station is closed at night, one big reason why the replacement of each escalator will take about 10 months. After demolition of the existing escalators, crews must construct, install and test the new ones.
Metro said contractor KONE will work on one escalator at a time, keeping the other two operating at all times.
So far on Monday, that was the case.
Metro cleared out newspaper boxes and bicycle lockers last week and also set up a Transit Police booth near the top of the escalators in case any problems arise.
While announcing the escalator project, Metro warned passengers that it may need to temporarily close the Bethesda station to prevent overcrowding during service disruptions such as a disabled train, medical emergency, infrastructure problem or power failure.
The escalators are the second longest in the Western Hemisphere, behind the ones at the Wheaton station.
