Washington Metro today announced that Shady Grove and Rockville stations will reopen on January 16, 2022, after a four-month shutdown for the Rockville Canopy Replacement Project. During the closures, Metro demolished the canopy at Rockville Station, erected a new steel canopy structure, and completed customer improvements– including installation of new information screens, brighter lighting, and modern faregates.
In addition, Metro teams are using the shutdown to perform track repairs that will improve service reliability and install more than 7.3 miles of fiber optic cable to enhance radio communications. Without the station closures, these upgrades alone would have required nine months of weekend shutdowns and overnight work.
The final stage of the canopy project – installing glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) panels on the canopy’s steel structure – will not be complete when the stations reopen. In January, the canopy will provide cover for customers but will remain temporarily unfinished until Metro determines the best type of exterior cladding needed to complete the project.
The interim canopy at Rockville Station will include brighter LED lighting, new Passenger Information Displays (PIDS), higher quality PSA speakers, and new CCTV cameras. Metro and its contractor are working quickly to develop a permanent solution for the canopy and will communicate additional details when available.
At Rockville Station, the Park & Ride is fully repaved to provide customers with safer and more accessible parking, new faregates are installed in the mezzanine, and the Rockville Pedestrian Bridge rehabilitation is complete. At Shady Grove Station, the platform canopy, roof, and escalators are being repaired and modernized faregates are being installed.
The closure also allowed Metro to perform safety-critical work on the tracks between Shady Grove and Rockville including repairs to the signal system, track maintenance, third-rail power cable inspections and repairs, and switch machine replacement.
-via Press Release