The following is an update from our neighborhood’s PYMIG liaison, Steve Crime.
The PYMIG held a meeting at the Charles Houston Rec Center on February 24, 2020, at 7 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to review of the status of the Southwest Access (Potomac Yard side), to review the latest decisions on Station design by the City’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR), and to provide a construction update from the builder (Potomac Yard Constructors or PYC). The agenda, presentation materials, and video of the meeting can be found at www.alexandriava.gov/PotomacMetroWorkGroup and should be posted within the next 24-48 hours. (Note: The presentation material slides will aid in understanding the synopsis of the various change options.)
- Southwest Access – The City, WMATA, and PYC will finalize negotiations on those costs in the next two weeks and present the results at the next PYMIG meeting. A decision will be made at that time whether to accept the PYC proposal or solicit offers for the Southwest Access from other contractors.
- BAR Updates – At its meeting on February 19, 2020, the BAR approved glass handrail details, metal louver details, and made changes to the design of the North pavilion building. The BAR modified the North pavilion building entrance to provide a more ‘welcoming approach’ to the Station (slides 6 and 7).
- PYC Construction Updates:
- Slide 9 contains the latest summary of construction for the period February-May 2020.
- PYC will begin to install the cement columns that will support the weight of the Station this week. As mentioned before, those supports will be ’Controlled Modulus Columns’ or CMCs. These are NOT driven piles; therefore, there should be little noise and no vibration associated with their installation. You can find a video showing how PYC will install these columns at www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GXDK24rbck. There will be approximately 1400 CMCs installed over two months. Since one cement truck can fill four columns, PYC will need to use a total of 350 truckloads of cement over two months, an average of 6-7 cement trucks each workday (slides 13 and 14).
- Pile driving for the North Pavilion entrance building located in Potomac Yards using the more conventional driven piles continues. PYC has already installed approximately 1/3 of the piles (slide 12).
- PYC intends to create an additional access entrance to the Potomac Greens North Park using the sliding gate located at the old Metro reservation area on the west side of Potomac Greens Drive, slightly south of the current North Park construction gate. Several parking spaces in front of the new access gate will be lost. The start date for the new entrance is TBD. PYC anticipates it will occur when actual station construction, versus site preparation, begins.
- Construction of the pocket park will begin in the next two weeks with the installation of the planters that will form a barrier along the east side of the park. Plants are expected to be installed in the Spring planting season in April.
The next two meetings of the PYMIG are scheduled to be held at the Charles Houston Recreation Center at 901 Wythe Street, at 7 pm on March 31, 2020, and April 27, 2020.