Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) — Metro’s defending the effectiveness of its SafeTrack Program even though its own internal review found the section of track between Eastern Market and Minnesota Avenue
is still in marginal condition after a 16 day shut down during SafeTrack.
That section of track is particularly difficult to maintain because it runs across the Anacostia River said Metro spokesman Dan Stessel.
“We achieved what we wanted to achieve, or what we could realistically achieve within that 16 day timespan, addressing the most urgent conditions, restoring it to a much much safer piece of track,” Stessel said.
Stessel added work on that section of track is ongoing, and it will be for years to come.
Before SafeTrack, the D and G Junction as it’s called, was given a condition rating of 2.5 out of 5. Post safe track that only went up to 2.8. The areas that saw the biggest increase in condition ratings were between Rosslyn and the Pentagon on the Blue Line, Prince George’s Plaza to Greenbelt on the Green Line and West Falls Church to Vienna on the Orange Line.
Overall, Stessel said SafeTrack achieved its goal of doing three years worth of deferred maintenance in one year.
Metro officials and board chair Jack Evans had said all along that SafeTrack was not going to be a fix-all for the problem-plagued transit system but would rather bring it up to a state of good repair.
“This phrase ‘state of good repair’ is not a finish line that you cross and you achieve a goal and check the box. It’s something that has to constantly be tended, and you have to maintain it over time,” said Stessel.
Luckily for riders, Stessel said future maintenance should not involve shutting down entire segments of track during rush hour.
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