Traffic on Ridgefield Road in the Springfield neighborhood of Bethesda was well above normal during this morning's rush hour, after Montgomery County approved a 16-month shutdown of the main feeder route to the Westbard Avenue commercial area, the block of Ridgefield between Westbard and River Road. Entry to Westbard Avenue from River Road was also shut off by the County Department of Transportation, shifting all cut-through traffic onto Ridgefield and Springfield Drive.
The volume of traffic has increased as the days go on, as drivers surprised by the closure have time to figure out their own unofficial detours. As predicted, the official detours are not being used, as they take most drivers miles out of their way. Truck traffic has also been higher on the residential blocks of Ridgefield; trucks cannot use the Little Falls Parkway detour. All of this was predictable, but the County Department of Transportation and County Council approved the closures anyway.
Here's a video of the road work on the closed section of Ridgefield, and of the barricades on Westbard between Ridgefield and River Road:
5 comments:
Drivers should be able to use Westbard Ave between Ridgefield and River Road during construction. There is no immediate need for a complete shut-down of this alternate route to the shopping center and it is forcing traffic on to Ridgefield Road from the Ogden and Springfield entrances. Westbard Avenue is a public road which should be open for public use.
What else are they gonna do if they don't close the road?
Great article;)
They should work around it and not inconvenience the public willy nilly as they always, always do. This council doesn't care about you. Once you realize that, you will become a new person.
Everyone interested should watch
https://montgomerycountymd.gov/dot-dte/projects/ROWAB/AB773/WestbardAve.html
the leaders of complaining neighborhoods advocating for this abandonment and the consequences we're now getting. It's all very simple. When you make deals with the devil...
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