Friday, February 17, 2012

Roadwork planned near Medical Center in Bethesda/North Chevy Chase in connection with BRAC

Beginning in a few weeks, segments of Rockville Pike and Connecticut Avenue just inside the Capital Beltway in Bethesda and North Chevy Chase will see construction work begin.  This work will be underway for perhaps up to three years.  The projects — mostly adding turn lanes and short segments of lanes to move traffic through intersections more quickly — will help the area accommodate new traffic from the recently expanded Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, under the federal Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC).  The hospital added 2,500 employees, and patient visits are projected to jump from 500,000 to 1 million annually.

Construction is expected to begin on Rockville Pike early in March, 2012, and at Connecticut Avenue and Jones Bridge Road in late March.

The area encompasses major commuter routes into the District, downtown Bethesda, the National Institutes of Health and Walter Reed. Other roads that will be affected — Cedar Lane and Jones Bridge Road — serve Kensington and Silver Spring.  With about 70,000 vehicles already using Connecticut Avenue and Rockville Pike daily, State and County officials are warning motorists to expect delays.  All lanes will remain open in the peak direction during the morning and afternoon rush, officials said.

As the roadwork is underway, County officials will begin a major two-year tunneling project beneath Rockville Pike starting in fall 2013.  That will include excavating a 120-foot deep shaft for a new set of high-speed elevators on the east side of Rockville Pike near the military hospital entrance and a 20-foot-deep pedestrian tunnel.  Both projects are designed to allow people to walk between the hospital campus, the Medical Center Metrorail station and nearby bus stops without having to cross busy Rockville Pike.  The number of pedestrian crossings there was projected to jump from 3,000 to 7,000 daily after Walter Reed’s expansion.

Rockville Pike will probably see orange barrels first, when crews begin moving underground utility lines between the Beltway and Jones Bridge Road in a few weeks.  That utility work will take about a year, State officials said, and will be followed by another two years of construction to add lanes at the intersections with Cedar Lane and Jones Bridge Road.  Later this year, workers will carve out a longer queue area for southbound Rockville Pike traffic waiting to turn left onto eastbound Jones Bridge.  They also will add signs at that intersection to make one of Rockville Pike’s southbound through lanes a second left-turn-only lane during the afternoon rush.

At Connecticut Avenue and Jones Bridge Road, State Highway Administration workers will add a right-turn-only lane on southbound Connecticut to carry traffic that exits the Beltway to head west on Jones Bridge while heading to NIH, Walter Reed and downtown Bethesda.  Part of the Connecticut Avenue median will be carved out to create an additional northbound through lane between Manor Road and the Beltway.  The plan also includes construction of a third left-turn lane from eastbound Jones Bridge to northbound Connecticut, State officials said, but no schedule for that has been set.

For more information on the Base Realignment and Closure program in Montgomery County along with construction updates and commuter tips, visit the County's BRAC website.

(Source: Katherine Shaver, The Washington Post, February 8, 2012.) 

CATEGORIES: News , Traffic , BRAC , Construction
POSTED: 11:13:00 AM |

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Two Parking Lots and One Block of Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda to Close Mid-January for 20 Months

For Immediate Release: 11/10/2011 Two Parking Lots in Bethesda to Close Mid-January For Construction of New Parking Garage that will Triple Number of Parking Spaces; Nearby Parking Alternatives Available

Beginning in mid-January, two surface parking lots in Bethesda (known as Lots 31 and 31A), located at the intersection of Woodmont and Bethesda avenues, will close for about 30 months for the construction of a public-private partnership project that will more than triple the number of public parking spaces available on the site.

One to two months after the project begins, Woodmont Avenue between Bethesda Avenue and Leland Street will also close for about 20 months. The adjacent Capital Crescent Trail will remain open during the entire construction project. Lots 31 and 31A have 279 spaces and are popular with short- and long-term parkers who frequent nearby shops, restaurants and movies, or use the Capital Crescent Trail.

To assist parkers, the County is enhancing other parking options in the area during construction. At the Bethesda-Elm Parking Garage (Garage 57), which has more than 900 parking spaces and is located between Bethesda Avenue and Elm Street, staff will convert 103 long-term spaces to four-hour spaces.

In addition, a new messaging system at the garage’s entrance will show drivers how many parking spaces are available. Drivers who need to park for longer periods of time will be encouraged to use other garages in Bethesda. Long-term parking spaces are available at the Woodmont Corner Garage (Garage 11), at Woodmont and Old Georgetown Road, and the Auburn-Del Ray Garage (Garage 36), as well as at privately operated parking facilities surrounding Lot 31. Long-term parkers can also use the free Bethesda Circulator shuttle bus. Starting in December, and throughout the construction period, the Circulator schedule will expand, and the frequency of service will increase. Additional information on Circulator service is available at www.bethesda.org/lot31.

On Lots 31 and 31A, developers StonebrideCarras of Bethesda and PN Hoffman from Washington, D.C. will construct two residential buildings with 250 units and retail space at ground level. The buildings will include an underground parking garage with 290 private parking spaces for tenants and 940 public spaces. The project should be completed in Summer 2013. For more information on parking in Montgomery County’s public lots and garages, go to www.montgomerycountymd.gov/parking.

# # # Release ID: 11-340 Media Contact: Esther Bowring 240-777-6507

CATEGORIES: News , Transportation , Parking
POSTED: 12:26:00 PM |