Platform reconstruction work underway at Addison Rd and Arlington Cemetery stations

Ten days into the 2021 spring shutdown for Metro’s Platform Improvement Project, construction crews are working around-the-clock. Work is being expedited the to minimize customer inconvenience as crews reconstruct the platforms and install new customer experience improvements.

At Addison Rd, half of the platform will be worked on at a time, allowing Silver Line trains to pass through the station while it is closed. Once crews complete construction on the first half of the platform, they’ll move to the second half of the platform and repeat the process.

Arlington Cemetery Station is completely closed with no train service passing through and both platforms are being worked on at the same time. While the construction strategy for each station is different, the process used to reconstruct the platforms remains the same.

Taking a Look at the Construction Process

Preparing for Construction (January 2021)

During the pre-construction phase, which took place in January 2021, crews moved in heavy equipment needed for the project and installed temporary shoring under the existing platform edges to provide support during demolition and subsequent work.

Construction Begins: Platform Demolition (February-March 2021)

Once construction staging was completed and the two stations were closed to customers on February 13, 2021 the project team began the invasive work. The first few days of construction activities consisted of removing eight-foot sections of the existing platform edge by cutting and lifting them onto flatcars. Once removed, at a safe distance large cranes lifted out the sections using steel cable lifting slings. These pieces will then be loaded onto trucks and hauled away.