Public Transit Advocate Calls for Second Foggy Bottom Metro Entrance

Source: WMATA

Highly influential DC Transit advocate David Alpert, Editor-in-chief of the popular transit blog Greater Greater Washington, has called for a second entrance to the Foggy Bottom Metro station to be built at the corner of 22nd and I Streets.

The construction of GW's new Science and Engineering Complex on the adjacent block provides GWU with an opportunity to begin construction on the potential mezzanine of the new entrance, says Alpert, as plans for the new building already require digging down several stories. In addition, GWU has already agreed to reserve the location of the current women studies building for a second entrance when Square 77 (the block on which Rome, Phillips, and Smith Halls now stand) is eventually redeveloped.

Alpert notes that overcrowding at the Foggy Bottom station is an important issue when considering GWU's continued growth.  The station is the busiest in the system with only a single mezzanine, and plans already exist to add an additional entrance to Rosslyn, the second-busiest in the category.

With a stretched budget and a host of other capital projects on its plate, WMATA is unlikely to find public funding for the additional entrance, a problem that Alpert suggests could be solved by seeking money from the developer, GWU.  Whether or not the university would be open this additional expense, however, has yet to be seen.

More information on WMATA's 2007 study on a second entrance can be found here.

Board of Trustees Approves Science and Engineering Complex Construction

The GW Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to construct a new $275 million Science and Engineering complex on the Foggy Bottom campus.  The decision to build the controversial 8-story, 400,000 sq. ft. building brings to a close a 4-year planning process that often raised questions about the identity of the University, which has traditionally been know for its International Relations, Political Science, and International Business programs.

W. Russell Ramsey, Chairman of the Board of trustees, recognized that the construction of the complex is part of a transformation for the university into a primary hub of research in the nation's capital.  University President Steven Knapp also applauded the decision, describing the expansion of the University's science and engineering programs as a "milestone in the step to becoming a world-class research university."