Crews Build Underground Metro Connection in Bethesda
About 130 feet under Wisconsin Avenue, crews have a subterranean work site, blasting out granite and shoveling out stone.
Their purpose: To connect the east side of Wisconsin Avenue to the Medical Center Metro Station, providing employees and visitors of the Bethesda Naval Medical Center with easy underground access to the subway.
The project also includes an underground “bridge” about 15 feet under Md. 355 so pedestrians won’t need to dodge cars crossing the busy street.
The $81 million project started in April 2017 and is on track to be completed in June 2020, said Frank Kingsley, the project manager for the Montgomery County Department of Transportation.
The federal government is putting up the money, he said. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will maintain the connection to Metro. The county will maintain the underground bridge, he said.
At 202 feet long, the escalators on the National Institutes of Health side of the Medical Center stop are among the longest in the subway system.
The plans for the Navy Med side do not include an escalator. It would have required more right of way that the Navy could not provide, said Phil Alperson, of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation.
Instead, Metro riders can take elevators or walk up and down stairs.
Blasting has been a major part of the project. About 24,000 pounds of explosives have been used to break up the granite, Kingsley said.
A 3-D rendering of the Medical Center Metro Station expansion. (Click to enlarge)
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