State Highway Administration Begins Project on River Road Designed to Improve Safety; Drivers Should Expect Traffic Delays

For Immediate Release: Monday, August 10, 2020

Drivers are advised that they may encounter traffic delays on River Road (MD 190) as the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) constructs a $1.9 million roadway safety improvement project between Braeburn Parkway and Pyle Road in Bethesda. 

The project, which is underway, is scheduled for completion in Spring 2021. To perform all phases of work, crews will use temporary single-lane closures weekdays from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and multiple-lane closures overnight from 9 p.m.-5 a.m.

The project is a continuation of collaboration between MDOT SHA and the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), which has urged the State to consider safety projects in that area of River Road where a crash resulted in multiple fatalities in 2016. The completed project aims to improve traffic operations and safety for pedestrians and motorists in alignment with the County’s Vision Zero program, which seeks to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries along roadways in the County. 

Some of the improvements include construction of a new traffic signal on River Road at Braeburn Parkway and installation of concrete channelized islands to prohibit through- and left-hand turns from Braeburn Parkway onto River road. See the MDOT SHA notice for the other improvements, including pedestrian access to Walt Whitman High School.

For more on MDOT SHA projects: roads.maryland.gov/pages/home.aspx .

For other local transportation information, follow @MCDOTNow on Twitter, visit the department website at montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot, subscribe to MCDOT news releases or subscribe to MCDOT’s ‘Go Montgomery!’ biweekly newsletter.

For the transportation updates related to COVID-19 health crisis, visit MCDOT’s transportation resource page for COVID-19.

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Release ID: 20-151
Media Contact: Hannah Henn 240-777-8389