The partial Red Line shutdown is almost over. Here’s what it allowed Metro to build.

After a more than 60-day shutdown, Metro commuters will finally be able to commute between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor-Strathmore by train again starting Monday.

“There’s a lot of work we’ve done to make the customer experience a lot better,“ Jeanne Acquadro, Metro senior program manager and project manager for the Bethesda and Grosvenor-Strathmore construction, told reporters during a press tour Friday.

She said commuters “will clearly see the difference between when they left on July 5th and when they come back on Monday.”

The transit agency paused service this summer to complete construction projects at some stops, including a second mezzanine at the Bethesda station for the Purple Line — a light rail line that will connect Bethesda and New Carrollton starting in late 2027.

The 6,000-square-foot mezzanine, which sits about 150 feet underground, will allow Metro passengers to connect to the Purple Line, and vice versa.

Metro invited reporters Friday afternoon to climb a construction ladder to view the mezzanine, which is 175 feet long and 35 feet wide and will open to the public when the Purple Line is completed.

“We do not want the Purple Line to open and wait for our mezzanine,” Acquadro said.

A contractor completed the work, which used 60 tons of steel, in 56 days, with an additional week for the transit authority to restore the station to operating condition.

“It took phenomenal effort,” Acquadro said.

Slabs of steel — some weighing more than 6,000 pounds — had to be transported by rail through the station for the project. It could take more than a day to get a slab into place, Acquadro said.

There are still some aspects of the mezzanine that need to be completed — including escalator installation — but the construction is far enough along to allow passengers back into the station.

Acquadro said she understands the toll the closure took on commuters, who had to take buses to access the impacted stations or find another means of travel. But condensing the Red Line work into the summer months made logistical and financial sense, she said.

“That was a big win for us to say at the end of this shutdown, we don’t have to impact our customers again,” she said.

The private charter shuttles that transported passengers between closed stations during the shutdown cost Metro about $16 million.

Metro receives some of its funding from local transit agencies, including the Maryland Transit Authority and the Montgomery County Department of Transportation.

Some traffic lanes along Rockville Pike closed during the shutdown to allow these shuttles to travel easily.

Acquadro said the shutdown also allowed Metro to tackle other projects, including improvements at Grosvenor-Strathmore and other stations. One project Acquadro said she’s particularly excited about are renovations to address water leakage issues across Red Line stations.

“It’s like ripping a Band-Aid,” she said. “I know for customers, that’s 56 days of trying to drive through traffic and whatnot.”

The Purple Line saga

While these Red Line improvements are slated to finish on time, the long-delayed Purple Line is not.

Purple Line construction began in 2017 and was supposed to begin serving riders in 2022. But cost overruns, the COVID-19 pandemic and litigation from disgruntled residents forced delays. The line is currently projected to open in late 2027.

The original design-builder pulled out of the Purple Line project in 2020, forcing the MTA to take over construction while finding a new builder. Work under state partnership group Maryland Transit Solutions began in 2022.

The project’s total cost, including its operations contract, is estimated to exceed $9 billion. The original 2016 agreement was for $5.6 billion.

Meanwhile, Purple Line construction has felt never-ending for many area residents, and shop owners along the line say their businesses have suffered from parking losses, ripped-up sidewalks and obstructed storefronts.