Accessing the L’Enfant Plaza Station just got easier for some D.C. Metro riders; an entrance to the station reopened Monday after a monthslong closure to build new escalators. The north entrance to the station at Maryland Avenue and 7th Street Southwest was closed for eight months to build three updated escalators, according to a news release. The old escalators were 39 years old, which WMATA said made them more prone to problems.
Opening the entrance will also restore the connection to the Virginia Railway Express. It’s also the closest entrance for those visiting certain museums on the National Mall and those working at several government agencies. The improvements to the escalators include enhanced safety features and LED lighting, according to WMATA.
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Metro’s contractor, Kone, removed the escalators during the closure and added concrete-encased support beams before work to replace them began. “Each escalator is custom built to fit the entrance and is industrial grade, designed to be more durable for the weight and traffic of a busy station,” WMATA said in the news release. Metro plans to replace 130 escalators by 2028. Next year, it will replace the other six escalators at other entrances to the L’Enfant Plaza Station.
