History Glenmont station

1 history

1.1 planning
1.2 1977 plans
1.3 delays

history
early planning

glenmont planned location of end of line in original layout of metrorail system approved in 1968. 2 months later, glenmont vicinity citizens association , several other citizens groups attempted have line end @ silver spring instead because did not want added development , thought extended lines expensive. there concerns line extended olney, change rural character. house interior appropriates subcommittee not convinced, , plan went along unchanged. @ time, station planned open in 1979.

as of 1970, site building station vacant land zoned residential use , owned georgia avenue baptist church. safeway wanted build supermarket on site, , petitioned county change site residential commercial zoning in 1970. washington metropolitan area transit authority had not planned purchase land until 1975. wmata protested, saying rezoning add $750,000 value of land, increase costs when later needed purchase land. wmata not purchase land @ time because engineering studies determining exact placement of station had not yet been completed and, regardless, had not appropriated funds purchase land yet. metro asked montgomery county purchase land hold eventual use, county declined when wmata not guarantee engineering studies later find site suitable station. because surrounding land classified commercial , because wmata not need land station @ least 8 more years, montgomery county council said had no authority decline rezoning request. days later, deal struck, whereas wmata pledged purchase land within 3 years, montgomery county reserve land wmata, , georgia avenue baptist church not required pay property tax on land.

1977 plans

in may 1977, secretary of transportation brock adams questioned extending red line glenmont, citing increased costs projected after engineers determined bedrock required building tracks deeper had been anticipated. under pressure office of management , budget , president jimmy carter s administration, adams requested line studied again determine whether bus, trolley, or highway alternative extending red line glenmont. montgomery county executive james p. gleason responded, saying line had been studied extensively already, , considered pulling county funding building metrorail system if glenmont extension did not go forward.

by june, compromise had been reached; cost-cutting measures studied, red line indeed extended glenmont. following month, gleason decided withhold funding wmata until department of transportation guaranteed in writing metrorail extension glenmont built. montgomery county council voted in disagreement gleason s decision, thinking action might jeopardize metrorail extension shady grove, council did not have power force him send money wmata. maryland secretary of transportation hermann intemann decided withhold state funding wmata until adams guaranteed line built.

in october, consultants suggested building forest glen , wheaton stations 2 small, separated tubes, rather using 1 large cavernous design had been used every other underground station. consultants said changing design of 2 stations save $352.6 million. glenmont station still built cavernous underground design. gleason praised study because saved significant money without sacrificing stations, , decided release montgomery county s construction funding after plans surfaced study region-wide task force. in february 1978, department of transportation approved engineering studies of glenmont line extension, suggesting warming building line after all. study regionwide task force ended approving routing of stations on other metrorail lines did not review routing of red line @ all. in august, wmata board members approved metrorail plan included building glenmont extension latter phase of two-phase construction schedule. wmata released plan department of transportation.

delays

in july 1979, adams released held-up federal funding of metrorail s lines. federal construction delays resolved, glenmont metro station scheduled open in 1986. 1982, station s opening rescheduled 1991.

in 1984, president reagan s administration limited number of miles of track built, preventing extending red line wheaton glenmont. later year, senate appropriations committee voted lift construction limitation. reagan administration continued block federal funding, , opening of glenmont station pushed 1994. in 1985, office of management , budget recommended halting federal funding of construction, further jeopardizing glenmont extension. in 1991, congress approved construction funding, , wmata said glenmont station scheduled open in 1998.

president bill clinton s administration approved funding of glenmont extension in 1993. wmata broke ground on construction of station in 1993, , workers began laying rail lines in 1996. station opened on july 25, 1998.