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Metro is considering the redevelopment of the Park & Ride surface lot of the east side of the College Park-U of Md station into a multifamily residential building with ground floor retail. The proposed project concept by a private developer is anticipated to include: 

• Two buildings with approximately 430 residential units and ground floor retail
• Enhancements to the stream area next to the station as an environmental amenity and pedestrian plaza

To implement this joint development project, the surface lot on the eastern side of the station will be removed. In anticipation of this project, the State of Maryland and Prince George's County financed the construction of the 1,290-space Park & Ride garage that opened in 2005 to replace and expand the number of spaces lost from this proposed project.

Curtain grouting is a leak-mitigation technique used to treat an entire area that is leaking by adding a rubberlike membrane on the outside of the concrete tunnel wall. To do this, holes are drilled in the ceiling of the existing tunnel until the exterior of the tunnel is reached. From there, a proprietary polymer-based emulsion (PBE) grout is injected into the hole at high pressure, which begins cascading down the curved exterior of the tunnel (like the way chocolate syrup cascades down an ice cream sundae). Two holes are drilled every 10 feet for the injections. The holes are then sealed at the conclusion of the process. The injected material forms a rubberlike impenetrable membrane, or "curtain," between the exterior of the tunnel wall and the surrounding ground medium.

The contractor has successfully used this solution in the mining industry to seal ground water inflows - some with flow rates of 50 gallons per second.

Metro plans to test this technique in the two different environments that exist along the Red Line segment - one in a linear bored tunnel and one in a blasted-rock cavern. The linear tunnel segment that will be used for the pilot will be a 2,000-foot section of the inbound track between Medical Center and Bethesda. For the second test location, Metro plans to use the entire Medical Center interlocking area, which is a cavernous space that was constructed out of blasted rock.

Metro is seeking feedback on the two proposed projects: surface lot removal for a Capitol Heights Metrorail station joint development project and a surface lot reconfiguration at the Morgan Blvd Metrorail station. 

Metro is considering the conversion of the Capitol Heights Metrorail station’s surface parking lot into a new multifamily residential project with self-contained parking for residents and retail space facing the Kiss & Ride area and the Metro entrance as part of a joint development project.

Metro's contractor, KONE, replaced the escalators two at a time in succession. The overall project took more than two years to complete, including site preparation, demolition and removal of the old escalators, installation of complex gantries and cranes to move the new escalators and supporting structures into place, as well as testing and tuning.

"Metro's infrastructure is aging and this is another example of the kind of investment that is needed across the system to provide customers with good, safe and reliable service," said Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld. "Before being replaced, these escalators were more than 30 years old and beyond their useful life. With these brand-new escalators customers will see the improvement."

With the completion of the escalators at Woodley Park, construction will begin Monday, June 5, to replace five entrance escalators at Cleveland Park Station. The project is expected to take 20 months to complete. The station's elevators will remain in service for the duration of the project.