Clark Construction calls DC Metro upgrades 'a unique puzzle'

Clark Construction completed major structural upgrades at two Washington, D.C., Metro stations in a 56-day sprint last summer — on time and on budget, according to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based contractor detailed the work in an Oct. 29 news release, describing the Bethesda and Grosvenor-Strathmore station projects as "a unique puzzle." The civil arm of the firm has a 50-year history working on WMATA's Metro network.

At Bethesda, crews demolished, removed materials and replaced tracks. They also built a new mezzanine designed to connect the Red Line with the Maryland Transit Administration's future Purple Line light rail, slated to open next year.

What did the work involve?

Following a 44-hour demolition in November 2025 at the Bethesda station, Clark Civil's teams erected heavy steel, applied fireproofing and placed structural concrete within the station, the company said.

Three miles away, Clark performed the first major overhaul of the Grosvenor-Strathmore station since it opened in 1984. Using specialized remote-demolition robots, crews removed over 18,000 square feet of platform tile and concrete topping slab. They replaced 1,200 linear feet of track edge along the 600-foot platform.

The costs have shifted over time. In December 2024, the Washington Post reported that the price of the Bethesda mezzanine had grown from an estimated $2.4 million in 2016 to $52 million. Neither WMATA nor Clark Construction responded to Construction Dive's request for comment on current construction costs.

How did crews hit the deadline?

Preparation started months before the shutdown. "Months of preparatory work between project partners took place during non-revenue nights before the shutdown to ensure absolute team alignment," Scott Betteker, project executive for Clark Civil, told Construction Dive via email.

Field conditions frequently diverged from historical records, Betteker said, because the original site plans relied on hand-drawn schematics from the 1970s and '80s. The tight deadline and confined space forced the team to resolve discrepancies and adapt structural connections within hours to meet WMATA's opening deadline.

"Inspectors were on call to ensure work could be reviewed at any time during 24/7 activities. In addition, site constraints necessitated just-in-time material deliveries, with one rail access yard and a single crane continuously feeding both projects," Betteker said.

Cutting the rail power meant all machinery arrived via diesel locomotives and flatbed cars. At Bethesda, the team deployed ultra-compact spider cranes to pass through narrow access corridors and maneuver inside the station's curved vault.

Concrete posed its own problems. Record summer heat pushed pours to 4 a.m. so mix temperatures stayed below 95 degrees. At Bethesda, no direct vertical pumping route existed, so the team routed a 500-foot "slick line" pipe from an above-ground vent shaft, winding it through access tunnels to reach the mezzanine. Clark used a custom mix that wouldn't clog over long distances, per the release.

Modernizations at Grosvenor-Strathmore are complete, the contractor said, and work at Bethesda is progressing toward a 2027 completion — the same year the mezzanine's Purple Line connection is set to reshape how riders move between systems.

By Grace Kim