Medical Center station (Washington Metro)

History

The station opened on August 25, 1984. Its opening coincided with the completion of 6.8 mi of rail northwest of the Van Ness–UDC station and the opening of the Bethesda, Friendship Heights, Grosvenor, and Tenleytown stations.

In September 2009, Montgomery County submitted a $20 million federal grant application to build a pedestrian tunnel under Rockville Pike to improve access to the Medical Center stop from Walter Reed Medical Center. Currently, there is only a crosswalk here, with many passengers crossing the heavily travelled street from Walter Reed on the east side of MD 355 to get to the station on the west side. Construction would have originally occurred in 2011, but the project was not approved until 2013. The project is fully funded at $68 million, mostly through the Department of Defense, and includes installation of new deep elevators, improvement of surface bicycle and pedestrian facilities, as well as an extension of the left turn lane on southbound MD 355. The project began construction in 2017. The elevators and staircases of the MD 355 crossing underpass opened in late 2021 and the east side elevators to mezzanine, another elevator to platform, and a new staircase opened on February 25, 2022.

Medical Center and Bethesda stations are expected to be temporarily closed beginning in mid-2026 to allow for completion of construction work at Bethesda.

Station layout

Medical Center is the last underground station heading towards , as north of this station, it emerges from the tunnel onto a brief elevated section, crossing the Capital Beltway. The station is one of 11 stations in the system constructed with rock tunneling and is accordingly deeper underground than most stations in the system. Its platform is located 114 ft below its west entrance and more than 120 ft below street level.

Unlike most other Red Line stations, the escalator bank emerges above ground outside, rather than in a subterranean landing. These escalators are located at the southwest corner of Rockville Pike and South Drive, where bus bays and a kiss and ride lot are also located. The escalators are 202 feet long and rise 101 feet from the mezzanine to the entrance landing.

References

References

1. (13 June 2016). "Cost of Rockville Pike Tunnel, Metro Elevators Project Increasing by $36 Million". Bethesda Magazine.
2. "Metrorail Ridership Summary". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
3. Staff Reporters. (August 25, 1984). "Red Line adds 6.8 miles; Opening ceremony for new segment set for today at Friendship Heights". The Washington Post.
4. Brisbane, Arthur S.. (August 26, 1984). "All aboard; Metro festivities welcome latest Red Line extension". The Washington Post.
5. (2017). "Sequence of Metrorail openings". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
6. Ujifusa, Andrew. (September 16, 2009). "County proposes underpass for Medical Center Metro station". Montgomery County Gazette.
7. "Medical Center Metro Crossing Project". Montgomery County Government.
8. Martinez, Julio. (January 11, 2018). "Tunnel to be Built for Pedestrian Use". DC Military.
9. Brooks, Jeremy. (January 11, 2018). "Progress to Continue on MD 355 Crossing Project through 2018". DC Military.
10. (February 9, 2024). "Metro announces three-year capital construction plans, including Red Line station closures this summer". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
11. "See some of the reasons why Metrorail is hard to maintain". Washington Post.
12. "MD 355 Crossing (BRAC) South of Jones Bridge Road/Center Drive to North of South Wood Road/South Drive Geotechnical Baseline Report for Proposal".
13. Johnson, Matt. (July 8, 2014). "What are the 10 longest Metro escalators?". Greater Greater Washington.
14. "Medical Center Entrance Escalator Replacement {{!}} WMATA".