Controversial, delayed Bethesda street closure now scheduled for July 20, utility says

A controversial extended closure of a segment of Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda that was delayed earlier this summer is now back on for July 20, 2026. Water utility WSSC announced today that the portion of Woodmont between Strathmore Street and Wisconsin Avenue will remain closed through early November. The closure was deemed necessary to replace a 54" large valve vault below the street. Vehicular and delivery access will be maintained for the Solaire Bethesda apartments, and the Prenuvo Bethesda medical imaging facility. 

Detour signs will be posted to guide drivers around the closure. The blockading of the secondary north-south route through downtown Bethesda will have a significant impact on traffic during July and August, due to the loss of two travel lanes on Wisconsin that are restricted to buses during the closure of three Red Line Metro stations this summer. WSSC notes that the closure could extend beyond early November if the area should experience long periods of disruptive weather.

Woodmont Ave. to close between Strathmore St. & Wisconsin Ave. June 8 - August 31 in Bethesda

There's finally an explanation for those cryptic "Woodmont to close" signs placed at Bethesda Row recently. Several commenters had suggested it might be for an upcoming WSSC water utility project, and it turns out that this is indeed the case. It's a major project to replace a 54" large-valve vault under Leland Street, a project so big it will take from June until October 2026 to complete. The work will require Woodmont Avenue to close between Strathmore Street and Wisconsin Avenue from June 8 to August 31.

Street access will be for residents and affected businesses only during that period. WSSC expects all work to be completed during business hours on weekdays, and between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM on weekends. Nighttime work will be performed only if determined to be necessary, and, of course, dates could move if there are extended periods of bad weather between now and October. WSSC promises to restore pavement conditions to what they were or better, after the project is completed. Needless to say, along with the loss of two lanes of Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda through the end of August, our traffic nightmares will soon be reaching Freddy Krueger proportions.

Bethesda neighborhood sealed off due to gas leak (Photos)

Another major gas leak has been detected in Bethesda, this time in a residential neighborhood bordering downtown Bethesda. The Sacks subdivision on Leland Street has been entirely sealed off between Woodmont Avenue and Bradley Boulevard. A Washington Gas crew is on-site digging under the street to locate and repair the leak. There is a strong odor of natural gas in the air in that vicinity.

Washington Gas still working after major leak in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

Washington Gas continues to work on multiple sites within an area of downtown Bethesda that Montgomery County police cordoned off during a major gas leak last Monday night. While Montgomery County officials publicly pinpointed a valve box as the source of the leak near the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and St. Elmo Avenue Tuesday morning, a Washington Gas crew was seen working on Cordell Avenue two days later. Yesterday, another team from the utility was performing extensive work on gas infrastructure underneath Old Georgetown Road, again within the boundaries of the area impacted by Monday's leak, and reducing Old Georgetown to one lane in each direction. Neither the County, nor the utility, has commented on the extended work since the initial incident.

Washington Gas continues work following major Bethesda gas leak

A Washington Gas utility crew continued working in the area of downtown Bethesda impacted by Monday night's gas leak yesterday. While Montgomery County officials stated that the leak had been located near the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and St. Elmo Avenue, work yesterday was focused a block away from there, on Cordell Avenue between Old Georgetown and Norfolk Avenue. That block had been part of the sizeable area ultimately cordoned off by County police by early Tuesday morning. Washington Gas has not yet commented publicly on the leak, which is in the same general area where other significant gas leaks have occurred in recent years, with the largest taking place in June of 2024 on Norfolk Avenue.

Power outage in downtown Bethesda

Hundreds of Pepco customers are without power in downtown Bethesda after an apparent transformer explosion in the Woodmont Triangle area overnight. Residents report hearing multiple explosions around 3:15 AM this morning. Pepco crews have been working in the area all morning. The utility hopes to have power restored by 2:00 PM. Frequent transformer explosions and outages downtown continue to highlight the question of whether Montgomery County's adequate infrastructure laws regarding growth are, well, adequate. The empirical evidence would suggest not.

The Big Dig, Part II in Bethesda's Veterans Park (Photos)

Another utility crew ventured into Veterans Park in downtown Bethesda yesterday. A couple of weeks ago, a Washington Gas-related project created a trench in front of Jetties. On Tuesday, contractor AUI Group of Harman, Maryland was on the scene digging in a different spot. This one was closer to the Starbucks-facing side of the park, which is located at the intersection of Woodmont and Norfolk Avenues.

Washington Gas on-scene for Day 2 of the Big Dig in Bethesda's Veterans Park (Photos)

Day 2 brought confirmation that the "Big Dig" taking place in downtown Bethesda's Veterans Park is related to a natural gas line. Washington Gas had a crew at the scene Friday, joining the teams from NPL Construction and Badger Infrastructure Solutions. Badger is a firm that specializes in hydrovac excavation to daylight underground utilities, and for trenching, both of which have been performed in Veterans Park over the last two days. 

The big dig in Veterans Park in Bethesda (Photos)

What the heck is going on in Veterans Park in downtown Bethesda? Heavy equipment and a crew of men converged upon the park, which is located at the intersection of Norfolk and Woodmont Avenues, yesterday. They proceeded to tear up a portion of the hardscape, and dig a hole or trench in front of Jetties, with one man also doing something at the front wall of Jetties. Traffic was backed up on Woodmont at times, as some of the construction vehicles traveled between the park and Fairmont Avenue. The contractor, NPL of Landover, specializes in natural gas and electric utility work. 

Working on something at the front
wall of Jetties

The trench in front of Jetties

Debris pile on Woodmont Avenue

Woodmont sidewalk closed

Vehicles staging on Fairmont Avenue...

...caused traffic to back up on 
Woodmont at times

Overnight utility work on Cordell Ave. in Bethesda

Cordell Avenue was closed to traffic at Norfolk Avenue in downtown Bethesda overnight. A utility crew was digging up the road near Pines of Rome. It was unclear which utility's contractor this was, or whether the work was planned or the result of an emergency. The block in question is between Norfolk and Old Georgetown Road.

WSSC finally addresses water main break at Old Georgetown Rd. & Woodmont Ave. in Bethesda

A water main break in the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Woodmont Avenue was finally tackled by a crew from the WSSC water utility last night. The leak was now being measured in weeks rather than hours or days, and had caused persistent pooling of water in the intersection. WSSC repaired a significant water main break only a couple of blocks away on Wisconsin Avenue last week, where the roadway was in such bad shape that the utility had to resurface the street in the affected area.

WSSC is aware of ongoing water main break on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda

Water continued to flow in the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda on Wednesday. But water utility WSSC says it is aware of the leak, and has put the location on its list of repairs. "We're coordinating with nearby businesses and apartment buildings to help minimize any water service interruptions," WSSC told me via Twitter. A WSSC crew completed repairs to a major pipe break about a block away on Tuesday, which required a full resurfacing of the block of Wisconsin Avenue in question.

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.