Clark's Overhaul of WMATA's Blue and Orange Lines Continues

Bethesda, Md. – Clark is currently four years into a six-year contract with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to enhance the Metro's Orange and Blue lines. The project encompasses work from the Stadium-Armory station in Washington, D.C., to the Reagan National Airport station, in Arlington, Va. Clark's contract includes standard bid-build construction elements where designs currently exist, design-build construction elements where designs need to be prepared, and a job order contract approach, where a standardized unit price schedule can be applied to the work required.

Clark's work is spread over 20 stations. Currently, the project team is replacing elevators, escalators, and switchgears, as well as repairing station domes at four separate locations. In addition, the team is adding new mechanical ductwork, installing vent fans, repairing tunnels, and replacing two station platforms.

The majority of work takes place during non-peak hours in order to provide minimal disruption to passengers. This limited access requires a tremendous amount of pre-planning on the part of the team. Work is planned one to three months in advance; constant communication with WMATA about upcoming work is imperative. In addition, the majority of work takes place on an active railroad with various physical constraints. Given the hurdles, the project remains on schedule.

The team's outstanding project performance has earned Clark an additional $30 million worth of electrical substation work to the project's scope.

Clark's partnership with WMATA began in 1971. Since then, the company has completed more than three dozen projects for the organization.

Project completion is scheduled for December 2016.