WASHINGTON (AP) — Metro is planning to close the south entrance of the Dupont Circle station in northwest Washington in order to replace three escalators.

The transit agency says the entrance at 19th Street will close on Feb. 1 and that the work will take about eight months. Metro chief spokesman Dan Stessel says crews will work days, nights and weekends to complete the work as fast as possible.

Metro is contracting the work to Switzerland-based Schindler Group as part of a contract worth about $12 million.

Officials have said the south escalators at Dupont Circle are among the least reliable in the system.

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