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Transportation security might have gradually left the headlines in the months following the Sept. 11 attacks, but it hasn’t left radar screens of transportation decision makers — including those at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.



By the first week of September, metal detectors and x-ray machines are scheduled to be in place at WMATA’s Jackson Graham Building headquarters for visitors and their packages, plus six employee-ID activated access gates, which already have been installed. The gates enable only Metro employees to enter the building with their current identification badges.



Building visitors would need to pass through the metal detectors and have their packages x-rayed. People seeking only to purchase fare media, secure employment information or pick up bus schedules wouldn’t need to pass through metal detectors.



Metro employees wouldn’t have to pass through the metal detectors, either, as long as they display their identification badges. The procedure could change if conditions warranted a higher level of security.



Funding for the additional security was included with $49 million Congress provided WMATA last December. Additional planned improvements include purchasing bomb-containment trash cans, securing additional K-9 units for the Metro Transit Police Department, and expanding the agency’s chemical sensor program to an additional 10 rail stations.