Metro will be unable to fix a supply pipe that caused a flood of water and a ceiling collapse at the Pentagon Metro station during rush hour on the day before Thanksgiving, the agency said Thursday.
The Metro-owned water line runs beneath the Pentagon, in what Metro described as “an inaccessible location.”
There are significant security and cost-related concerns for any work beneath the building, so Metro plans to build a new water line going around the Pentagon instead. The water pipe that broke on Wednesday, Nov. 27 will be abandoned.
Metro said the ceiling partially collapsed in a service room after the pipe burst as water streamed into the station last week through elevator shafts and air ducts.
The water also dislodged ductwork and left the mezzanine level of the station under about five inches of water.
ARE YOU SERIOUS RN @wmata ??!? pic.twitter.com/hPxOQifKlW
— 🎄🎁 Cindy Lew Hew 🎁 🎄 (@cacaobunni) November 27, 2019
The Pentagon is expediting security clearances and construction plans, Metro said, so that a private company could be hired as soon as next week to start work on the new water line.
Metro needs water in the station for bathrooms and maintenance sinks, among other things.
Long-term station entrance closure
Construction work will close the north entrance of the Pentagon Metro station at all times except rush hour for at least “several weeks,” although there is no hard start or end date for the work.
On weekdays from 5 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Metro plans to keep both the north and south entrances open.
Blue and Yellow Line service will operate normally, with no major scheduled impact at this time.
