Metro maintenance crews are rushing to repair the 105 escalators and elevators damaged by this week’s torrential rains before the arrival of an expected onslaught of visitors during the holiday weekend, officials said.
David Lacosse, director of elevator and escalator maintenance, said that, if there was one truth in his job, it’s that “water and electricity simply don’t mix.”
Crews working around the clock have been able to repair motors and replace switches and fuses on 46 units this week.
Metro officials expect about 20 of the system’s 851 units — 588 escalators and 263 elevators — will still be down because of water damage by Monday, Lacosse said.
A dozen escalators and five elevators were already down for major overhauls before the storms hit, officials said.
Metro has been installing “kite-like” canopies over dozens of escalators at stations more susceptible to the elements.
However, Lacosse said the canopies did little to stop water damage.
“The water we had wasn’t coming from the sky,” LaCosse said. “It was rolling like rivers down the street, across sidewalks and curbs and straight down the escalators like a waterfall. It was unbelievable.”
While the Fourth of July doesn’t rank among the busiest days on the Metro calendar, the huge surge of people in the late afternoon and evening is one of the most intense few hours for the system during the year, officials said.
LaCosse said routine maintenance and inspections — which take about 40 escalators and elevators out of service daily — will be put on hold during the holiday.
“We feel we have the situation mainly under control,” he said.
