WASHINGTON — The three year project that would shut down the west entrance to the Van Ness Metro station to rehabilitate three long escalators is temporarily on hold, after the District of Columbia Department of Transportation suspended the permits for the project.
Who knew what and when about the project appears to be a game of he said, she said.
DDOT told Ward 3 residents last Thursday that the agency only learned about the May 4 construction start date on April 21, according to Greater Greater Washington. Metro announced the project publicly on the same date.
DDOT Deputy Associate Director Matthew Marcou decided to temporarily suspend Metro’s permits until the two agencies could agree on a start date.
DDOT spokeswoman Michelle Phipps-Evans and Metro spokesman Dan Stessel confirm the two agencies are talking.
However, Stessel says Metro informed DDOT about the project in March, before the April 21 announcement.
Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh says that she was not told about the project beforehand.
“I had WMATA come to my office prior to the ANC meeting (last Thursday) and expressed great annoyance at how they proceeded with this project. Everyone felt ambushed by their announcement about the closure and surprised by the lack of community engagement beforehand,” writes Cheh in a statement to WTOP.
“I tried to get a delay so that the building project at Connecticut and Yuma could finish first. They claimed they could not materially alter the timetable. I’m still trying to get a different answer from them,” she adds.
Metro spokeswoman Morgan Dye provided WTOP with a copy of an e-mail it sent to ANC3F Commissioner Adam Tope on April 1.
“We regret the inconvenience this will cause but in addition to the escalators, the stairs require structural repairs,” writes Metro Government Relations Officer Ann Chisholm.
But Tope could not confirm he received the e-mail. He received an e-mail from Metro on April 15, about a week before the formal announcement. Tope says the ANC sent a letter to Metro expressing concern on April 21.
“There should be more than one month’s notice for a two and a half to three year closing of an entrance. I work above the Dupont station and when that was closed, Metro gave months and months of notice,” writes Tope.
Stessel says this is a non-issue.
“This is in no one’s interest. Those escalators are getting neither younger, nor more reliable. DDOT was notified in March, but that’s not what riders care about. They care about getting this project done as quickly as possible to get the benefits of new, safer, more reliable escalators,” he writes.
He points out that the east entrance remains open and people can cross the street.
