BETHESDA ROW CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Here is the latest progress from the construction site at the former Parking Lot 31 at Bethesda Row. The Darcy is beginning to rise well above street level near Barnes and Noble and the Capital Crescent Trail. Developed by StonebridgeCarras and P.N. Hoffman, this project also includes a 900-space underground parking garage, and a second luxury residential building, The Flats. 

THE DARCY LUXURY CONDOS - BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Here's a look at the progress at the construction site of The Darcy luxury condominiums, and a 900-space underground parking garage, on the former site of Parking Lot 31 at Bethesda Row. Clark Construction, whose headquarters is in downtown Bethesda, is in charge of what is arguably the most complex construction project currently underway in town. Click on the photos to enlarge them for more detail:

BETHESDA ROW LOT 31 CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Blasting at the Lot 31 construction site at Bethesda Row is scheduled to conclude tomorrow, says Tom Pogue of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation.  However, given that that assumes good weather - and rain is forecast all day today - there's a chance it could end Thursday instead.

Three construction cranes will be erected in the pit next week, and then concrete-pouring work will begin. Throughout next month, crews will construct foundations, footings and a drainage system.

During this, a new Bethesda Avenue entrance to the site will be utilized. Cement mixers and other trucks will enter and exit there, so be alert for flagmen while driving on Bethesda Avenue or Woodmont Avenue.

All of this work is to build The Darcy, The Flats, and a 900-space public parking garage at Bethesda Row.

WOODMONT PEDESTRIAN DETOUR CLOSED - BETHESDA ROW CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

The Woodmont Avenue pedestrian detour I wrote about last week  has been permanently sealed off now by Clark Construction, according to Jane Mahaffie of Stonebridge Associates.

Mahaffie says the closure took place Monday, September 10.  I cannot dispute that, because I did not physically go up to the path every day last week.  However, I did check it every night from the Barnes and Noble corner to see if lighting had been added, just not close enough to see that it had been fenced off.  The idea that civilians would somehow just know - through ESP? - that the pathway would close at a later date, is naivete on the developer's half at best.  You can't blame citizens, if you fail to inform them.

Overall, the Woodmont Avenue shutdown operation went like clockwork, and was very impressive.  I just think the question about this pathway fell through the cracks.  All along, I've had lists of the many "moving parts" involved in this project - what's to be done, and when.  Nowhere was it mentioned specifically how pedestrians would access buildings south of Bethesda Row via Woodmont.  Then this detour appeared.

I stand by the points made in my post.  If you examine the photos, you can clearly see that the fencing - and the fact this was left open - very neatly defined a detour.  Many people were using it that weekend.  So many, that it took time to get the photos, waiting for pedestrians to get out of the way for clear photo shots.  And while it was open, it was unsafe at night.  If the pathway was really not a pathway, it should not have been made to resemble one, and never should have been left open.  That was an invitation for trouble, and it's just fortunate nothing happened along there.

The other issue is, this closure really places a burden on those trying to live a car-free lifestyle around Bethesda Row.  One must take the long way via Wisconsin Avenue.  This minor point was not really emphasized in the pre-closure public relations.

On the bright side, we are two weeks closer to getting our 900-space parking garage!

WOODMONT AVENUE CLOSURE PHOTO GALLERY EXCLUSIVE! BETHESDA ROW STREET CLOSED

SEE HOW THEY

DID IT!

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

The hour finally arrived Friday night, and a small army of construction workers, police and heavy machines began closing a section of Woodmont Avenue between Bethesda and Miller Avenues.  It wasn't immediate, however, and even after midnight, Woodmont hadn't yet been entirely walled off at Bethesda Avenue.

As planned, a new traffic signal arm was brought to life at the famous Barnes and Noble intersection.  Then the northbound side of the Woodmont stretch was shut down, with inbound traffic from 355 diverted down Leland Street.  Interestingly, while Miller Avenue will be an important relief artery during the 2-year street closure, last night its intersection with Woodmont was barricaded, and inbound drivers waved back to Wisconsin Avenue.

Watch how it all happened with this exclusive on-scene photo gallery:

Barnes and Noble corner, facing SE towards The Seasons

Flagmen and police began slowing traffic so workers could
start activating the new traffic signal arm at Bethesda and Woodmont

Some of the last cars to ever drive on this stretch of
Woodmont wait for the flagman's signal, as utility
workers get set up at the intersection with Bethesda Avenue

There he goes!  And we're underway ahead of
schedule at Bethesda Row

The arm swings him out and over to the new
signal arm, as cars rush by beneath him

Activating the new signal requires opening
this box on the corner of Woodmont and Bethesda

By now, the doomed section of Woodmont was
 open to southbound traffic only

Enter the Caterpillar from stage left.  This hard-working
vehicle stole the show for the rest of the evening

Here's how it works:  The crane lifts these barricades off the
flatbed, and sets them onto the pavement where the
Caterpillar can reach them

Then the Caterpillar uses two long fork
tines on its front to grab the barricade...

...and moves it into place

Caterpillar fans watch from an upper floor
balcony at The Seasons

It's now after midnight.  Police have closed the Barnes and
Noble intersection, and work continues full steam.  But
Woodmont still isn't fully sealed off yet at that hour

It's official:  This segment of Woodmont Avenue
 is now closed, and the new traffic signal is active

This is the barricade at the other end of the
closed segment of Woodmont.  You're facing
towards Bethesda Row

New setup and crosswalk on Miller Avenue

Need to walk from Bethesda Avenue to
points further south on Woodmont like
Leland Street or the Bentley dealership?
Take this new pedestrian walkway
between The Seasons and the
construction site of The Flats [straight
ahead, where the lamp post is]

The new traffic signal arm makes its daytime debut at
the intersection of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues

Wooodmont Avenue is officially barricaded

CAPITAL CRESCENT TRAIL - BETHESDA ROW CONSTRUCTION UPDATE - PHOTOS

TRAIL ON SCHEDULE

TO REOPEN

NEXT WEEK

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

Patience continues to be a virtue around Bethesda Row, as work on the massive Lot 31 construction project continues.

The good news for Capital Crescent Trail users, is that the path is on-schedule to reopen next week.  While the WSSC work was being done, the trail got a fresh paving.  If you've walked by, you've noticed the smell of fresh asphalt in the air.

This week, crews are installing the overhead protection to ensure joggers and cyclists don't get hit by a falling Acme anvil, or meet some other Wile E. Coyote-esque fate, while trying to excercise during the 2-year construction project.

This cagelike superstructure will protect
trail users from falling objects when the CCT reopens

WHY THE PANIC? WOODMONT AVE. CLOSURE DELAYED UNTIL FRIDAY - BETHESDA ROW CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

The TV stations are hyping the closure of part of Woodmont Avenue as an end-of-summer Apocalypse.  But even worse, they got the date wrong.

Many outlets are reporting that Woodmont Avenue between Bethesda and Miller Avenues will close today.  But last Friday, Ken Hartman of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center said the closure would actually be September 7, which is this Friday.  Hartman is "The Man" when it comes to county government-related actions in downtown Bethesda -  if he doesn't know about it, it's not likely to be happening.  Since the county is a partner in the subterranean public parking garage that will be built during the street closure, Hartman's schedule is as close to official as it gets.

Plus, I was around that intersection last night, and nothing was in place for a closure.  Now, maybe some hard hat guy will blow a whistle, and run across Woodmont with a roll of police tape during rush hour.  But barring some rush job like that, I think it's safe to say it's not closing today.

Beyond that, the effects of the closure are being blown out of proportion.  The worst thing - closure of Lot 31 and 31A - has already happened.  Compared to Parkmageddon, the Woodmont closure is going to have far less impact on Bethesda Row businesses.  It's also not going to affect traffic on the Beltway or around the county, although you might think otherwise from the hype we're hearing.

There are three main impacts that are worth monitoring during the closure.  First, it is certainly going to slow traffic around the "block" of Bethesda Row.  But then, traffic already is slow around Bethesda Row.  The difference is that people used to "split the difference" when heading to 355:  some used Bethesda Avenue, and some used Woodmont.  Now 100% of those drivers are going to use Bethesda.  Combined with the impact of that on the already-frustrating Barnes and Noble intersection, that is going to lengthen travel times around the Row.

Second, the impact on Wisconsin Avenue will be that same issue; there could be backups during rush hours at the Bethesda-Wisconsin intersection.  Whether that slows traffic flow along 355 is going to be interesting (can it get any slower?  It's faster to walk during rush hour).  Conversely, no one will be making a left turn onto Woodmont from westbound Bethesda Avenue.

Third, there is a minor public safety issue, in that firetrucks answering calls will have to take an additional 10-20 seconds to turn down Bethesda Avenue, rather than using Woodmont.  They will also have to pause for oncoming traffic at one additional intersection of 355.  I'm sure these sorts of things have been coordinated with public safety officials in advance.

So, delays won't be surprising, but this is not going to be the end of the world.  The main thing is, with the closure being later this week, everyone will have a few days to readjust to the post-summer traffic congestion, before this monkey wrench hits the works.

Frankly, closing Woodmont for 2 years is one of the craziest ideas I've ever heard of.  But as they say in business school, "It is what it is."

WOODMONT AVENUE CLOSURE SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 4 - BETHESDA ROW CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

CLOSURE NOW

3 MONTHS 

BEHIND SCHEDULE

An electronic sign on Woodmont Avenue has been activated, and is warning drivers of the imminent closing of a section of that road.

An electronic sign, north of Bethesda Row on
Woodmont Ave., makes a dramatic announcement

The portion of Woodmont between Bethesda Avenue and Miller will close "on or about" September 4, to allow for construction of two luxury residential buildings.  In addition to building The Darcy and The Flats, workers will also be realigning Woodmont and reconfiguring the "Barnes and Noble" intersection.

It should be noted that this is only the latest of many delays; the Woodmont closure was supposed to happen in mid-June(!).

Other parts of the project are behind schedule, as well.  Something as simple as seeding and mulching by the Capital Crescent Trail is two weeks behind the original completion date.

So when they say Woodmont will fully reopen in 20 months, we can justifiably be skeptical.

BETHESDA ROW LOT 31 CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

One question on many people's minds is, "What the heck is going on with all the construction across from Barnes and Noble?"

(pile driving sounds)

Huh?  Can't hear you!

Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row here with the answers.

WHAT'S BEEN DONE

• Stormwater management construction along the site's border with the Capital Crescent Trail
• 
  
• WSSC water line installed
• 
  
• 70' long traffic signal arm is in place and wired on Woodmont Avenue.  Now Pepco must connect it to electricity.  It will be activated by September 1
• 
  
• Pile driving on south side of former Lot 31 (delightful for adjacent residents, I'm sure)
• 
  
• Restoration of Bethesda Avenue (Barnes and Noble) crosswalk is underway, and will be complete by August 8

WHAT'S NEXT

• Seeding and mulching work to begin Wednesday, August 1, and will last for 2 weeks.  The developer advises CCT users to use caution
• 
  
• Final WSSC water connections to be made by August 15
• 
  
• Reconnection of Weiner Memorial water fountain
• 
  
• Installation of overhead protection for CCT will occur between August 1-20
• 
  
• Pile driving on western area of site, starting next week

Patience is a virtue at this time.  Just remember, a 900 space garage will be part of the completed Darcy/Flats development.