Medical Center station (Washington Metro)

The station opened on August 25, 1984.{{Citation |last =Staff Reporters |title =Red Line adds 6.8 miles; Opening ceremony for new segment set for today at Friendship Heights |newspaper =The Washington Post |page =B1 |date =August 25, 1984}}{{Citation |last =Brisbane |first =Arthur S. |title =All aboard; Metro festivities welcome latest Red Line extension |newspaper =The Washington Post |page =A1 |date =August 26, 1984}} Its opening coincided with the completion of {{convert|6.8|mi|km}} of rail northwest of the Van Ness–UDC station and the opening of the Bethesda, Friendship Heights, Grosvenor, and Tenleytown stations.{{cite web|url=https://www.wmata.com/about/upload/Metro-Facts-2017-FINAL.pdf|title=Sequence of Metrorail openings|date=2017|publisher=Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority|page=3|accessdate=February 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702201723/https://www.wmata.com/about/upload/Metro-Facts-2017-FINAL.pdf|archive-date=July 2, 2018|url-status=dead}}

In September 2009, Montgomery County submitted a $20 million federal grant application to build a pedestrian tunnel under Rockville Pike to improve access to the Medical Center stop from Walter Reed Medical Center. Currently, there is only a crosswalk here, with many passengers crossing the heavily travelled street from Walter Reed on the east side of MD 355 to get to the station on the west side. Construction would have originally occurred in 2011,{{cite news|url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/09162009/montnew170358_32544.shtml|title=County proposes underpass for Medical Center Metro station|first=Andrew |last=Ujifusa|date=September 16, 2009|accessdate=December 10, 2010|work=Montgomery County Gazette}} but the project was not approved until 2013.{{Cite web|url=http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/brac/projects/metro_mc.html|title=Medical Center Metro Crossing Project|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=Montgomery County Government|access-date=February 11, 2018}} The project is fully funded at $68 million, mostly through the Department of Defense, and includes installation of new deep elevators, improvement of surface bicycle and pedestrian facilities, as well as an extension of the left turn lane on southbound MD 355. The project began construction in 2017. The elevators and staircases of the MD 355 crossing underpass opened in late 2021 and the east side elevators to mezzanine, another elevator to platform, and a new staircase opened on February 25, 2022.{{Cite news|url=http://www.dcmilitary.com/journal/features/tunnel-to-be-built-for-pedestrian-use/article_070c66cd-a6d7-51dc-b272-06a7b8202ca5.html|title=Tunnel to be Built for Pedestrian Use|last=Martinez|first=Julio|date=January 11, 2018|work=DC Military|access-date=February 11, 2018}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.dcmilitary.com/journal/features/progress-to-continue-on-md-crossing-project-through/article_30ff0591-90aa-5928-ad6a-a61aea69a81a.html|title=Progress to Continue on MD 355 Crossing Project through 2018|last=Brooks|first=Jeremy|date=January 11, 2018|work=DC Military|access-date=February 11, 2018|language=en}}

Medical Center is the last underground station heading towards {{wmata|Shady Grove}}, as north of this station, it emerges from the tunnel onto a brief elevated section, crossing the Capital Beltway.

The station is one of 11 stations in the system constructed with rock tunneling and is accordingly deeper underground than most stations in the system.{{cite news |title=See some of the reasons why Metrorail is hard to maintain |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/local/wmata-metro-design-maintenance/ |access-date=6 February 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}} Its platform is located {{convert|114|ft}} below its west entrance and more than {{convert|120|ft}} below street level.{{cite news |last1=Kraut |first1=Aaron |title=Cost of Rockville Pike Tunnel, Metro Elevators Project Increasing by $36 Million |url=https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/news/cost-of-rockville-pike-tunnel-metro-elevators-project-increasing-by-36-million/ |work=Bethesda Magazine |date=13 June 2016}}{{cite web |last1=Montgomery County Department of Transportation |title=MD 355 Crossing (BRAC) South of Jones Bridge Road/Center Drive to North of South Wood Road/South Drive Geotechnical Baseline Report for Proposal |url=http://www.bidnet.com/bneattachments?/339338963.pdf |access-date=10 February 2021}}

Unlike most other Red Line stations, the escalator bank emerges above ground outside, rather than in a subterranean landing.{{Cite news|url=https://ggwash.org/view/34875/what-are-the-10-longest-metro-escalators|title=What are the 10 longest Metro escalators?|last=Johnson|first=Matt|date=July 8, 2014|work=Greater Greater Washington|access-date=February 11, 2018}} These escalators are located at the southwest corner of Rockville Pike and South Drive, where bus bays and a kiss and ride lot are also located. The escalators are {{convert|202|feet|m}} long and rise {{convert|101|feet|m}} from the mezzanine to the entrance landing.{{cite web |title=Medical Center Entrance Escalator Replacement {{!}} WMATA |url=https://www.wmata.com/service/status/details/medical-center-escalator-replacement.cfm |website=www.wmata.com}}

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{{WMATA links}}

• The Schumin Web Transit Center: [https://web.archive.org/web/20090329053145/http://transit.schuminweb.com/transit/wmata/red-line.php?station=A10 Medical Center Station]
• NIH Gateway Center construction map: [https://web.archive.org/web/20061006072230/http://dtts.ors.od.nih.gov/gateway_map.htm]
• [https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.999634,-77.097427&spn=0.004144,0.01369&z=17&layer=c&cbll=38.999487,-77.097621&panoid=FJfrOEXKjxT9zDY5Sm-zLg&cbp=12,193.76,,0,0.91 South Drive entrance from Google Maps Street View]

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Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1984

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