Today Metro announced that the U Street Metrorail station will receive a major cleanup and sprucing up between January and June of this year. 42 Metrorail stations will receive a thorough cleaning as part of the agency’s station enhancement program.

 

The station enhancement program, initiated in April 1991, was designed to restore the appearance of Metrorail stations. The $7.5 million program sees each station restored about every four years.

“Because of the work involved, all station cleaning activities occur in the middle of the night when the system closes and this allows us to conduct a full press on that station,” said Paul Gillum, Metro’s Director of Plant Maintenance. “Our dedicated employees take tremendous pride in restoring our train stations to like new conditions and the work involved is meticulous because of what needs to be done.”

A mini enhancement includes the cleaning of masonry surfaces, painting interior surfaces, repairing interior masonry surfaces, painting exterior surfaces, fabricating, installing or repairing signs, refinishing bus and station platform shelter benches and spot finishing bronze surfaces such as railings. A major station enhancement includes all responsibilities under a mini enhancement but also includes pressure washing the ceilings and walls, and painting interior surfaces.

A major station enhancement takes three months, which is approximately 25 percent longer than the mini-enhancement.

The full list of stations slated to receive a mini or major cleaning enhancement through June 2011 is available on Metro's website.