Bethesda bus lane removal underway

A Maryland State Highway Administration crew was working overnight to remove bus lanes on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. They were using equipment to erase pavement markings that restricted the use of the right lane in both directions to buses only, during the closure of several Red Line Metro stations this summer. MDSHA vetoed the demand of several Montgomery County elected officials to make the temporary lanes permanent. Those officials - who had hoped to replicate a previous Trojan horse bait-and-switch scheme that saw "temporary" bus lanes on Georgia Avenue become permanent - were browbeating the state agency as late as last week. But MDSHA said the data verdict on the bus lanes was so bad that there was no justification to make them permanent, and actually stuck to their guns this time.

Bethesda bus lanes on MD 355 to be removed next week

Temporary bus-only lanes along Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, and along Rockville Pike in North Bethesda and White Flint, will be removed next week, the Maryland State Highway Administration announced yesterday. Starting Monday, September 7, all vehicles will again be able to use the lanes. MDSHA crews will work overnight between September 7 and September 11 to remove the bus lane markings, and restore painted lines destroyed by the project.

Montgomery County elected officials were applying heavy pressure to MDSHA behind the scenes to make the temporary bus lanes permanent as late as this week. When ABC 7 News reporter Tom Roussey asked MDSHA on Tuesday if the lanes would be left in place after the Metro station shutdown ended next week, the MDSHA spokesperson was unable to answer his question. This shows just how intense the pressure from County politicians was, as MDSHA had sworn up and down that these lanes were temporary, and would not typically be waiting until the last minute to schedule overnight road work.

By Thursday, MDSHA - in a rare return to professionalism in an agency that has become increasingly politicized over the last decade - declared that it would indeed be removing the lanes, as promised. MDSHA further told Roussey in a follow-up interview Thursday that the data the agency collected during the lane closures this summer "showed the best decision was to remove all bus-only lanes along Route 355." In other words, giving buses their own lanes does not generate more commuter throughput than automobiles can, no matter how many explainer graphics anti-highway radicals post on X. Of course, residents of Staten Island could have told them that ten years ago.

One of many Metro shuttles seen
traveling in the center or left lanes of MD 355,
despite having been given its own exclusive bus lane

Montgomery County's War-on-cars elected officials - all of whom hypocritically drive to "work" at their very-part-time Council "jobs" - must be furious with MDSHA at this hour. The agency not only vetoed their wishes, and foiled their Trojan horse scheme to achieve a permanent 33% in reduction of vehicular capacity on a major commuter route for two counties, but also made public that the data shows County officials are dead wrong in their claims regarding bus lanes and BRT. Again, this is how MDSHA and the Montgomery County Department of Transportation used to function up until the last decade. They would regularly veto and reject the wishes and whims of rabid, radical politicians when they conflicted with traffic engineering best practices. I would strongly encourage MDSHA to use Thursday's decision as a turning point to restore the agency's previously sterling reputation for professionalism and independence.

We've also got to credit the public for being more engaged this time, compared to when the County successfully browbeat MDSHA into making similar "temporary" lanes - in similar "Metro stations are closed!" Trojan horse fashion - permanent in Silver Spring a few years ago. MDSHA and WMATA heard loud and clear the outrage from drivers on the already-congested MD 355, on which MCDOT still does not synchronize the traffic signals during rush hour to not turn red at every block. Stay engaged, and make your displeasure effective by voting these bums out in November.

Vehicle capacity reduced by 33% overnight on Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda with bus lanes

Hiding behind Maryland and WMATA transit agency officials, the Montgomery County Council implemented a 33% reduction in vehicle capacity on Wisconsin Avenue (MD 355) in downtown Bethesda overnight. Trucks loudly roared up and down Wisconsin all night long, applying striping and lettering for bus-only lanes in both directions. The Trojan horse plan mimics the one utilized to get similar bus lanes long-sought by the Council on Georgia Avenue a few years ago. Using the identical gimmick of an insane, long-term closure of multiple Red Line subway stations between Glenmont and downtown Silver Spring in 2024, the Council stiff-armed Maryland Department of Transportation officials into suddenly declaring the bus lanes permanent. The Trojan horse is rolling down the west side of the Red Line this summer, as the Bethesda, Medical Center, and Grosvenor Metro stations will be closed from July 6 to September 6, 2026.

You can be sure that a similar announcement will be made by County, Maryland, and WMATA officials as the station reopening date approaches. The bus lanes plan is publicly sold - minus any public input - as a way to speed shuttle buses between the White Flint and Friendship Heights stations during the closure. In reality, it is a devious scheme to implement by fiat the Council's radical War-on-Cars agenda. Once again, our Marxist totalitarian-left Council is incapable of controlling its dictatorial impulses - but it is very capable of controlling your commute to work. And once again, we see the politicization of MDOT that began during the Larry Hogan administration. Twenty years ago, MDOT would have laughed about the idea of reducing Wisconsin Avenue - the most heavily traveled commuter route in the state - to two lanes in each direction, and dismissed such a proposal outright as total insanity. Post-Martin O'Malley administration, MDOT is amenable to any wacky scheme to advance a local political agenda or developer profit, no matter how contrary to engineering best practices it may be. Heckuva job, Brownie!

New traffic signal being installed at Old Georgetown Rd. intersection in Bethesda

A Montgomery County Department of Transportation contractor is installing a traffic signal at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road with Cordell Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Let's give a shout-out to the reader who correctly surmised this was the reason for the recent upgrades at this intersection. Access to Cordell Avenue is currently blocked off at Old Georgetown, as the crew is using Cordell as a staging area. This was actually pretty good timing by the agencies involved, as Cordell is already blocked off at Norfolk Avenue for the first summer concert tonight (6-8 PM, but closed for set-up already this afternoon), sponsored by the Bethesda Urban Partnership. A few weeks back, another crew was adding a new refuge median to the intersection, as you can see in the photos below from April 23 and today, May 15:

WSSC repairs damage to Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda (Video + Photos)

Water utility WSSC led a major repair effort overnight in Bethesda, to get Wisconsin Avenue back into shape between Old Georgetown Road and Montgomery Avenue. The roadway was damaged by a water main break on Monday. WSSC removed the damaged section of 8' pipe from below the street yesterday, and then made preparations to resurface the road. A WSSC crew, contractors, and the Maryland State Highway Administration were all on the scene Tuesday night into this morning, resurfacing the street in front of the Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel. 

Resurfacing project begins on Bradley Boulevard in Bethesda (Photos)

A Maryland State Highway Administration contractor has begun a resurfacing project on Bradley Boulevard (MD 191) in Bethesda. The work area will run from 6421 Bradley Boulevard to Bradmoor Drive, and resurface both directions of the road. Work hours will be 8:00 PM to 5:00 AM, Monday through Friday. The project is expected to be completed by mid-September, if the weather cooperates.

New Wisconsin Avenue traffic signals fully-operational in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

The new traffic signals at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue (MD 355) and Middleton Lane are now fully-operational, the culmination of a years-long advocacy effort by residents in East Bethesda. Pedestrian button controls have been uncovered, and are functioning. The new signals were installed by the Maryland State Highway Administration with the primary goal of making it safer for pedestrians to cross in this area. Pedestrians attempting to cross MD 355 can activate a red signal for Wisconsin; the lights otherwise function like any standard traffic signal, with a green, yellow and red cycle governing traffic entering the intersection from both streets.

Early morning snow sticks to untreated roads in Bethesda (Photos)

A minor snowstorm that was only to be the prelude to a larger storm tonight showed surprising tenacity in Bethesda early this morning. Montgomery County did not pretreat its roads in downtown Bethesda, and the results speak for themselves. With temperatures dropping into the mid-twenties overnight, snow has stuck to hard surfaces as much as to grass. By contrast, the Maryland State Highway Administration prepared for the snow event. An SHA contractor was seen driving a full-size tanker truck labeled "BRINE" along Wisconsin Avenue early Sunday evening. As you can see here, the treatment was quite effective on Wisconsin, which has bare pavement unlike County roads right next to it. 

Precipitation and temperature forecasts have fluctuated over the weekend. The timing has changed frequently hour by hour. Google is now showing more snow possible during this evening's rush hour, rather than later tonight or early tomorrow morning. And whereas a high of 37 degrees had been forecast for this afternoon as late as Saturday night, many forecasts now show freezing temperatures instead remaining in effect throughout the day. As a result, take care on the roads today and tonight, and watch for black ice even where the roadway looks clear. Conditions are currently hazardous on many County streets, as well as on trails, paths, and sidewalks.