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Metro reports big strides in track work slowed by summer heat

By Dick Uliano

WASHINGTON — Metro’s own report card on its latest round of track work shows that crews were able to complete a great deal, but August’s hot weather slowed productivity and left some work unfinished.

With rail service limited for 13 days on the Red Line between Shady Grove and Twinbrook stations, Metro says its crews were able to replace 3,572 crossties, repair power cables and track junction boxes, and improve drainage. But August was marked by extreme heat, humidity and electrical storms, and Metro says the weather slowed productivity.

Still, the amount of work completed in this recent surge would have taken more than two years to accomplish if done during closed periods of a fully operational system, according to Metro’s analysis.

Only 86 percent of the track work was completed in the work zone, leaving 14 percent to be rescheduled.

The special track maintenance on the Red Line was extended for three days and included two weekend shutdowns, which gave crews the chance to make repairs on both sets of tracks in the work zone.

Audit: Metro put millions of federal dollars at risk in failed Buy America program

By Max Smith
WASHINGTON — Oversight and contracting failures at Metro risked an immediate loss of millions in federal funding, a new audit report from Metro’s Office of Inspector General found. The audit of Metro’s Buy America contract award and oversight process found $68 million in bus, paratransit or rail car vehicle and parts purchases did not meet federal contracting requirements, and $517 million of the $1.4 billion in contracts reviewed did not follow the Federal Transit Administration’s nonbinding suggested best practices.
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