WMATA completes replacement of first entrance escalator at Bethesda Station

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) today opened the first of three new entrance escalators at the Bethesda Station.

Including demolition of the old escalator, site preparation and assembly, the new escalator took more than nine months to complete, WMATA officials said in a press release.

The estimated cost of replacing all three escalators is $8.4 million.

KONE, the agency's contractor, is replacing one escalator at a time to keep the station open.

Opened in 1984, the Bethesda Station currently serves almost 11,000 riders on a typical weekday, WMATA officials said.

The agency plans to replace 128 escalators by 2020, and has already installed new ones at Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, Pentagon, Van Ness and several other stations.