For Immediate Release: Monday, May 19, 2014
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett joined Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown to celebrate the start of improvements to the Cedar Lane and MD 355/Rockville Pike intersection -- another Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) project that will help improve traffic flow for vehicles and pedestrians at one of the most congested intersections in Montgomery County. Leggett joined U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards and Deputy Transportation Secretary Wilson H. Parran to highlight the many other BRAC-related improvements that have been made to ease traffic around the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda following the closure of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C.
“One of my first acts as County Executive was to establish the BRAC Implementation Committee and hire a BRAC Coordinator to bring together community leaders and County, State and Federal officials to ensure that our transportation infrastructure would be ready to meet the demands of the new WRNMMC,” said Leggett. “Together with our stakeholders, the State of Maryland and the extraordinary efforts of our Congressional delegation, we got the funding and are making the necessary transportation improvements to accommodate the Medical Center’s million annual visitors and 45 percent increase in staff.”
“From Day One, we’ve worked closely with our partners in both Federal and local government to ensure that we’re supporting communities in Montgomery County and throughout Maryland who have grown as a result of our successful BRAC program,” said Lt. Governor Brown. “With today’s announcement, we’re ensuring that residents in Bethesda and throughout Montgomery County can travel quickly and safely from home to work and back again. By working together, and investing in our infrastructure, we’re going to continue to create jobs and strengthen Maryland’s military readiness.”
Staff at WRNMMC has increased from about 8,000 to nearly 11,600 and the number of visitors, most of who arrive by car, has doubled to nearly one million. In 2007, Montgomery County and State of Maryland officials, together with community leaders and the U.S. Navy, created a comprehensive mobility plan to address the traffic impacts of BRAC through projects that improve traffic flow at key intersections and provide better pedestrian and bicycle access.
Montgomery County and the State of Maryland began implementing the plan, but additional resources were needed to complete it. The County’s Congressional delegation, Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin and Congressman Chris Van Hollen, succeeded in obtaining nearly $120 million from the Federal government to make all the changes needed.
“Traffic congestion and an overwhelmed public transit system threatened to jeopardize the effectiveness of the BRAC process that has brought tens of thousands of new military and civilian jobs to our state,” said Senator Cardin. “As a team, we fought to secure the BRAC-related funding that will directly mitigate the effects of these thousands of new people and their cars visiting the expanded Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. We have a responsibility to make sure that the high quality of life in our Bethesda communities is preserved. And we have a responsibility to our soldiers and wounded warriors; they have been through so much fighting wars that they shouldn’t have to fight traffic too.”
“My promises made to BRAC-impacted communities are promises kept. Our troops who have fought to protect our nation's freedom shouldn't have to fight traffic to get the care they've earned,” said Senator Mikulski, Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Walter Reed is on the frontline in delivering care to our wounded men and women in uniform. I am proud to fight with Team Maryland to make BRAC a success and secure the funds in the federal checkbook needed to meet the increased demands on our communities.”
“I am pleased that another phase of the BRAC-related road improvements we fought hard to fund is beginning at the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a welcome development for our soldiers, veterans and their families who deserve easy access to this world-class facility,” said Congressman Van Hollen. “Commuters in the region will soon benefit from improved traffic flow and safety, one of the many reasons we worked to ensure robust federal investment in BRAC-related transportation projects.”
“I am proud to have played in part in delivering critical BRAC funding to better our bases, improve transportation networks, and benefit our military community,” said Congresswoman Donna Edwards. “As the daughter of a service member and having lived on bases across the country, I know the critical role they play as anchors in local communities. Maryland has delivered the funds necessary to continue the strong relationship we have with Joint Base Andrews, Fort Meade, and the many other military installations across our state. I want to thank the O’Malley/Brown administration for their hard work, and the entire Maryland Delegation for their commitment to much needed transportation improvements.”
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has completed construction of the following new and upgraded hiker-biker paths and sidewalks to serve the Medical Center with the help of a U.S. Department of Defense grant:
• A hiker-biker path along Jones Bridge Road from Rockville Pike to Connecticut Avenue, providing a connection to the Capital Crescent and Rock Creek Trails;
• A hiker-biker path along Cedar Lane, from Rockville Pike to Old Georgetown Road, and a wider Cedar Lane bridge across Rock Creek connecting to the Bethesda Trolley and Rock Creek Trails; and
• New and improved sidewalks and bike paths serving the Medical Center on Rockville Pike and in the Battery Lane neighborhood.
The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) will upgrade the Cedar Lane intersection to:
• Add a southbound left turn lane onto Wilson Drive (at the National Institutes of Health) from westbound Cedar Lane.
• Add a northbound right turn lane onto Cedar Lane from North Wood Drive, Naval Support Activity Bethesda.
• Add a morning rush hour signal for southbound left turns onto North Wood Drive, Naval Support Activity Bethesda.
• Increase space for more vehicles waiting to turn left going southbound at North Wood Drive, Naval Support Activity Bethesda.
• Increase space for more vehicles waiting to turn left going northbound at the National Institutes of Health commercial vehicle inspection facility.
• Replace two culverts beneath Rockville Pike/MD 355 at Cedar Lane.
• Restripe Cedar Lane (but add no additional lanes) to facilitate turns and traffic flow.
SHA is also making improvements to three other major intersections that serve the Medical Center that will enhance traffic flow and promote pedestrian safety. These projects are fully funded with monies from the Federal government and the Maryland Department of Transportation.
• Rockville Pike at Jones Bridge Road
• Connecticut Avenue at Jones Bridge Road
• Old Georgetown Road at Cedar Lane
Next year, MCDOT will begin a $68 million project to construct major upgrades to the Medical Center Metro Station that include a bank of deep elevators to the Metrorail platform on the Naval Support Activity Bethesda side of MD 355/Rockville Pike and a shallow pedestrian underpass to allow thousands of bus and carpool commuters and pedestrians to cross Rockville Pike safely.
More detailed information on the Bethesda area BRAC projects is available on the County’s website.
Release ID: 14-226