The curved stainless steel canopies that cover the entrances to underground stations are familiar to anyone who has ridden on Washington DC’s Metrorail. Over the years Williams Steel Erection Co., Inc. has erected many of these canopies including the one pictured below at the Shady Grove station. This canopy is one of ten canopies the company has been contracted to erect recently.
These canopies are erected at night to avoid interruptions to Metrorail service and are often located in tight quarters. To ensure that erection can be completed in these conditions, the roof sections are made into large panels in the shop and shipped whole to the site. Their complex shape requires special attention to how the sections are rigged and erected.
The canopies were fabricated by Chattanooga Boiler and Tank Co. in Chattanooga, TN.