Project Expected to Improve Traffic Flow and Promote Pedestrian Safety
along Congested Corridor
Montgomery County Department of
Transportation (MCDOT) Acting Director Al Roshdieh announced the release of a
Request for Proposals (RFP) to design and build the Maryland (MD) Route
355/Rockville Pike Crossing Project, which will relieve traffic congestion and
promote pedestrian safety at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centerin Bethesda. The Crossing Project was
conceived by MCDOT to address BRAC-mandated growth at Walter Reed, which
brought a 45 percent increase in personnel and a doubling of visits to the
Bethesda campus.
The project will construct a
shallow underpass serving pedestrians, cyclists and bus commuters to enable
safe and efficient passage under Rockville Pike between the east side at the
Navy entrance and the west side Transit Center near the entrance to the National
Institutes of Health. To facilitate Metrorail access on both sides of Rockville
Pike, the project includes high-speed elevators on the east side of the road
that will descend 135 feet to the Metrorail mezzanine.
In May of 2013, MCDOT held a
public meeting for contracting firms and issued a Request for Expressions of
Interest for the Crossing Project. Nine firms responded and in September 2013,
MCDOT selected two prime contractor finalists who will receive the RFP: Clark Construction and a joint venture of
Corman-Bradshaw Construction. Formal
proposals from the two firms are due later this spring and a contractor will be
selected by the summer. The entire
project is expected to be completed in fall 2018.
Funding for the project became
available in June 2013 when, after lengthy negotiations, stakeholder agencies
signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that enabled the Department of Defense
to release the funds designated for the BRAC-related project. The signed MOA set in motion the process of selecting
a design-build contractor and moving forward to construction. Stakeholders that signed the MOA and
contributed to the RFP included: MCDOT, Department of Defense (DoD)/United
States Navy, Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA), the Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Federal Highway Administration and the
National Institutes of Health.
In addition to the Crossing
Project, the contracted work will include SHA-designed improvements for traffic
and pedestrians at the nearby intersection of Rockville Pike, Jones Bridge
Road, Center Drive and Woodmont Avenue. This intersection project has been
funded by a separate DoD grant of $4.3 million, and will be built in
conjunction with the Crossing Project to avoid duplication of effort and reduce
disruption to the community. MCDOT will oversee the construction of both
projects under a single contract.
