Not only does the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority operate the second largest rail transit system and the fifth largest bus network in the United States, it also transports more than a third of the federal government to work and millions of other people to the nation’s capitol. Construction of the Metrorail system began in 1969, with the first phase beginning operation in 1976. The final leg of the original 103-mile rail network was completed in early 2001. Today, there are 86 Metro stations in service within a 106.3 mile network.
In September 2002, the WMATA board of directors awarded a $92.8 million contract for construction of the Largo Town Center station and 2,100-space garage along with the Morgan Boulevard station and its 596-space parking lot. Late in 2004, the Blue Line Extension and the two new stations - Morgan Boulevard and Largo Town Center - opened on the east end of the Blue Line. This marked the first construction beyond Metro’s original 103-mile planned system and the first Metrorail service beyond the Capital Beltway in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
When choosing coating systems to protect the stations’ platform areas, cost and durability were of utmost importance to WMATA. Series 1071 Fluoronar and Series 1075 Endura-Shield II were chosen because they are low-maintenance, highly-corrosion resistant topcoats that provide long-term color and gloss retention. Guntner reports, “Tnemec coating systems were one of the few items not value-engineered on this project because the owner really stressed the importance of low maintenance for the coatings due to the limited maintenance budget.”
Following commercial blast cleaning in accordance with SSPC-SP6/NACE No. 3, the exposed steel structure and canopy received a shop-applied coat of Series 90-97 Tnemec-Zinc, a zinc-rich, moisture-cured urethane primer, followed by field-applied coats of Series 1075 Endura-Shield II, a semi-gloss acrylic polyurethane, and Series 1071 Fluoronar, a semi-gloss fluoropolymer.
The galvanized decking was prepared by abrasive blast cleaning, followed by a shop-applied prime coat of Series 161 Tneme-Fascure, a polyamide epoxy. A second coat of Series 161 was then applied in the field and topcoated with Series 1071 Fluoronar. An air-dried fluoropolymer, Series 1071 provides an ultra-durable finish and outstanding color and gloss retention even in the most severe exposures.
Tnemec filled the Metro’s request for custom colors and created Wickham Gray for the Morgan station and Chantilly Lace for both stations. According to Tnemec coating consultant Todd Guntner, WMATA is thrilled with the products’ performance to date.