I AM SHOCKED, SHOCKED WOODMONT AVE. WON'T REOPEN UNTIL 2015 (PHOTOS)

I think the biggest question about the briefly-promised reopening of Woodmont Avenue south of Bethesda Avenue is, why was it proposed to begin with? By my recollection, it was not originally planned to reopen at this stage of the Lot 31 development, anyway. The garage isn't ready, and neither building is near completion. Would it have been great to get it open? Sure.

But I was rightly skeptical when a mid-August reopening was first floated. How could a road be brought up to code with ADA and Bethesda Streetscape requirements from scratch in a couple of weeks? Then we found out how - with no such requirements or pedestrian access. Simply a two-lane cut-through for cars only. This did not seem to mesh with all of the trendy talk about walkable communities, pedestrian safety, "people over cars," bike lanes, and "complete streets" we hear so often in Montgomery County.

Then there were the confusing signs. No Pedestrian Access. Which worked so well on Fairmont Avenue, and still does along the former post office site on Arlington Road, right? Ask any driver who rounds the curve on Arlington, to find a couple of pedestrians' backs facing them in the roadway, how well it worked. Extremely unsafe, and the proposed Woodmont Driveway (to use a more accurate term) would have been dangerous as well, knowing that people were going to save a couple of minutes by plunging into oncoming traffic. One commenter on this blog made a good point about the very winding, bending nature of the road, too. Somehow, I doubt that's what the final road will be like - for safety purposes, if nothing else.

And no one ever explained the full implications (legal or otherwise) of the sign announcing that segment of Woodmont was not a publicly-maintained street. I had always assumed Woodmont would reopen as a finished street, maintained by the County.

Keeping Woodmont closed is hardly convenient for the general public. But inquiring minds want to know a couple of answers. What was the sudden rush to reopen, when nobody was expecting it anyway? And what specifically came to light regarding safety, that wasn't known when the original mid-August reopening date was given? It sounded unsafe from the beginning. And it didn't seem to make sense to have the developer and construction contractors spend the time and money on this, and then call it off.

WOODMONT WATCH: RESTART T-MINUS 24 HOURS IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Here's how Woodmont Avenue looks south of Bethesda Avenue, just one day before it is scheduled to reopen (although the official language has been "on or about August 22." New signage again confirms that pedestrians will not be accommodated on the temporary 2-lane road. There are no bike lanes. There is also a sign stating that Woodmont Avenue is not a government-maintained road. Does anyone know what the implications of that are? Does it relate to liability issues if someone's car is damaged while driving on the road, or has an accident?

WOODMONT AVENUE REOPENING PUSHED BACK A WEEK IN BETHESDA

Woodmont Avenue south of Bethesda Avenue will now reopen a week later than expected, Montgomery County Department of Transportation Community Relations Manager Tom Pogue said in MyMCMedia report Friday. Pogue said August 22 is the new target date, but gave the standard "on or about" qualification. The street will be only 2 lanes. Lane striping was added Friday, but no bike lanes are yet designated. 

Pogue also confirmed that this segment of Woodmont will remain closed to pedestrians, despite a county law requiring sidewalks to remain open along construction sites.

WOODMONT WATCH: T-MINUS 5 DAYS - WOODMONT AVE. CLOSED SECTION IS PAVED IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

The reconstruction of Woodmont Avenue south of Bethesda Avenue took a major step forward Saturday, as the closed roadway bed received at least one level of pavement. I'm wondering if the reason the reopening is scheduled for August 15 (although newer electronic sign messages are slightly less confident, giving a qualifying "on or about"), is that there will be no sidewalks? It's the sidewalks and streetscaping that are among the features that would add significant time to the project. I have not heard what the plans are in that regard. Will the street be accessible to pedestrians when it opens, or just cars? Will there be bike lanes?

WOODMONT WATCH: T-MINUS 7 DAYS TO REOPENING IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

The promised reopening date of Woodmont Avenue south of Bethesda Avenue is a week away. You can see that there has been a lot of activity since my last update. Virtually all of the junk that was in the right-of-way has been cleared out. But it still seems unlikely the August 15 date promised on the electronic signs will be met, given the tremendous number of features and standards a street in 2014 Bethesda is required to provide and meet.

WOODMONT AVENUE REOPENING PROMISED FOR AUGUST 15. REALLY? (PHOTOS)

For several months, word has been that the currently-closed section of Woodmont Avenue east of Bethesda Row would be reopening to traffic this month. Yesterday, an electronic sign near Bethesda Metro Center officially touted an August 15 reopening date. It certainly is in the realm of possibility to complete this task by then, but... is this new road subject to current standards, or not?

If you look at the current condition of Woodmont Avenue between The Darcy and The Flats, it doesn't look close to being finished. Then if you consider the standards of 2014 - sidewalk specifications and construction, bike lanes, Bethesda Streetscape standards, traffic signals, etc., this would require a Herculean effort to reopen to traffic on August 15.

Of course, the shutdown of Woodmont was impressively completed like clockwork when the project began. I'm still a bit skeptical that all of this can be done in 13 days.

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