MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
This page has chronological updates about the BRAC process, including summaries of discussions and presentations at community meetings.
Overview of BRAC in Bethesda:
- Map of impacted communities and intersections near Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (pdf)
- Naval Support Activity-Bethesda home page
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center-Bethesda (WRNMMC) home page
- Go to the Response Page for updates on proposed road, transit and infrastructure improvements to address BRAC impacts, and the Studies & Reports Page for detailed histories of these projects.
COMMUNITY MEETINGS:
- The BRAC Integration Committee ("BIC") meets Quarterly or as needed, generally on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at the BCC Regional Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda MD 20814. WEATHER POLICY: If County schools or public facilities are closed due to weather, then a BIC Meeting scheduled for that evening will be cancelled. NOTE: Please contact the County's BRAC Coordinator if you are having specific issues with BRAC-related construction.
- Summaries of BRAC Integration Committee Meetings
2015 Committee Meetings:
- September, 15, 2015 meeting summary, including transportation project updates (4 pp)
- Summary of BRAC Transportation Projects and Commuting Options
- Printable Timeline: Project Schedule and Anticipated Completion (as of September 15, 2015)
- Follow Twitter for up-to-the-minute Traffic, Roadwork and Transit U[pdates:
- RideOn: @RideOnMCT
- Metro: @WMATA
- Montgomery County Dept. of Transportation: @MCDOTNow
- SHA: @MDSHA
- SHA CONTACT FORMS REGARDING:
- Rockville Pike (MD 355) / Cedar Lane Intersection Improvement Project.
- Old Georgetown Road (MD 187) / West Cedar Lane / Oakmont Avenue Intersection Improvement Project.
- Any State-managed Road (generally, roads identified with numbers, i.e. MD 355 or I-270).
- Subscribtion to SHA RSS News Feeds for tailored up-to-the-minute info
- 8-12-15 Washington Post: Dr. Gridlock -- What’s new with summer road work in Maryland
- 8-26-15 Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA): Overnight Work August 26 from 7 PM to 5 AM -- SHA Shifts Lanes on Westbound Cedar Lane in Bethesda. Current traffic pattern of one through lane on westbound Cedar Lane from Elmhirst Parkway to MD 355 will be replaced with a new traffic pattern of two through lanes on westbound Cedar Lane from Elmhirst Parkway to MD 355.
- 8-5-15 Bethesda Magazine: Lane Closure Starts Thursday at Bethesda Intersection -- State Highway Administration will close part of West Cedar Lane to build new sidewalk
- 8-14-15 NIH Record: New NIH Northeast Bridge Construction Complete
- 7-17-16 Bethesda Magazine: Street to Close this Month for Suburban Hospital Expansion Project -- Block of Lincoln Street will make way for interim parking lot, then new clinical center
- 7-10-15 Washington Post: Where We Live: East Bethesda is miles from the ‘starter’ line -- What was once an affordable spot for young families is now a pricey haven dotted with new mansions
- 8-25-15 ABC News: Today in History -- Ten years ago: The base closing commission voted to shut down the Army's historic Walter Reed hospital and move much of its staff and services to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
- 7-13-15 Health Affairs Blog: Lessons In Transformation From The Walter Reed Bethesda Merger
- 7-6-15 Bethesda Magazine: UPDATED: Police Find No Evidence of Shots Fired at Walter Reed Medical Center -- Police have not found any evidence of a shooting in historic central building
- 8-10-15 Bethesda Magazine: Bethesda Navy Base Leaders Warn of Noisy Combat Drills August 11-12, 17-18 -- Training exercises will use paintball guns, actors to simulate battlefield situations for medical students
- 9-8-15 United States Army: Warriors receive therapy through service dog training program -- The Walter Reed Wounded Warrior Service Dog Training Program, or WWSDTP, internship provides therapy while allowing military service members on Naval Support Activity Bethesda, or NSAB, and Fort Belvoir, Virginia, to train dogs, which will later be given to other disabled warriors.
- 7-23-15 Naval Support Activity Bethesda (NSAB) Journal: Commander’s Column -- Greetings!
- 7-16-15 Naval Support Activity Bethesda (NSAB) Journal: Commander’s Column, Capt. David A. Bitonti -- This is my last column as Commanding Officer, Naval Support Activity Bethesda, and I want to take this opportunity to say “Thank you”.
- 7-15-15 Summerville (SC) Gazette: Command changed at Naval Health Clinic -- Capt. Marvin L. Jones, commanding officer of Naval Health Clinic Charleston, has relinquished command to Capt. Elizabeth A. Maley during a change of command ceremony June 26 at NHCC.... Jones, a Navy healthcare administrator, is leaving NHCC to be the base commanding officer at Naval Support Activity in Bethesda, Maryland.
- 7-15-15 El Paso Times: Beaumont Army hospital: Commander, senior enlisted leader say leaving is 'bittersweet' -- Fort Bliss' William Beaumont Army Medical Center is about to enter a new era -- Col. Michael S. Heimall, who has commanded the Army hospital in Central El Paso for nearly three years, will relinquish command Friday.... He will be leaving to become the chief of staff for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
- 8-27-15 Naval Support Activity Bethesda (NSAB)/Walter Reed NMMC Journal: Construction Presents ‘Growing Pains, A Vision For The Future’ As WRNMMC Evolves
- 7-27-15 Bethesda Magazine: Red Line Waterproofing Work Moved to 2017, and Could Move Again -- Metro hopes to do Red Line tunnel repairs at same time as Bethesda Station Purple Line improvements
- 6-28-15 Associated Press: Commuting Drives Highway Policies -- Fear of longer commutes puts pressure on US cities to act
- 6-27-15 Washington Post: How Republican Gov. Larry Hogan made his first big mass transit decision
- 7-1-15 Montgomery Community Media: Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) Update Shows Alignment Changes and Cost Escalation
- 6-17-15 Washington Post: Editorial: A promising plan for bike lanes in Montgomery County -- If done well, the project could yield a dividend of benefits
- 7-31-15 U.S. Department of Defense: Third-party acquisition tools allow agencies to do more with reduced budgets -- Using a Utility Energy Services Contract to leverage third-party financing for energy conservation infrastructure upgrades is paying big dividends for the Intelligence Community Campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
- 8-31-15 Washington Post Legal Notices: NOTICE OF PUBLIC AVAILABILITY AND INFORMATION SESSION -- Action Memorandum for a Non-Time Critical Removal Action at the Ball Field Landfill/ Helipad / Rubble Dump Site, located at Forest Glen Annex (FGA) of Fort Detrick, Silver Spring, Maryland
- 7-24-15 Fort Detrick Standard: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) in Silver Spring Welcomes New Commander
- 8-20-15 U.S. Department of Defense: Three Organizations Set to Join the Defense Health Agency -- The National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) was founded as the Army Medical Museum in 1862 and is home to a National Historic Landmark collection of more than 25 million objects. Its one-time curator, Army Maj. Walter Reed, led the team that determined how yellow fever spread and founded the Army Medical School.
- 9-3-15 Frederick News-Post: Fort Detrick's Rosemont gate to close -- Fort Detrick will permanently close its Rosemont Avenue gate, effective Oct. 1
- 8-6-15 Belvoir Eagle: Work continues on U.S. 1 near Fort Belvoir
- 8-21-15 Maryland Capital Gazette: West Anne Arundel County at a glance -- The western part of Anne Arundel has experienced the most growth in recent years, particularly with relocation of several military agencies to Fort George G. Meade in the last decade.
- 7-7-15 Washington Post: The biggest and most disruptive layoffs in America are coming from the military -- The Army has already discharged 80,000 troops. The next 40,000 will be harder, especially for the communities that depend on them.
- 7-9-15 U.S. Department of Defense: Army Announces Force Structure and Stationing Decisions
- 7-9-15 Baltimore Sun: Maryland largely spared in major Army troop cuts -- Aberdeen Proving Ground's 2,614 troops will be cut by 126, but Fort Meade's 4,924 soldiers will grow by 99.
- 7-9-15 Washington Post: Army details how it will cut to its smallest size since before World War II -- An additional 17,000 civilian jobs also will be cut across the Army by fall 2018. The service is still determining from where they will come.
- June 16, 2015 meeting cancelled -- Bethesda BRAC project updates through June 10, 2015 (2 pp)
- Summary of BRAC Transportation Projects and Commuting Options
- Printable Timeline: Project Schedule and Anticipated Completion (as of June 9, 2015)
- SHA CONTACT FORMS REGARDING:
- Rockville Pike (MD 355) / Cedar Lane Intersection Improvement Project.
- Old Georgetown Road (MD 187) / West Cedar Lane / Oakmont Avenue Intersection Improvement Project.
- Any State-managed Road (generally, roads identified with numbers, i.e. MD 355 or I-270).
- Subscribtion to SHA RSS News Feeds for tailored up-to-the-minute info
- 3-31-15 Washington Post: About those orange barrels near NIH and Walter Reed in Bethesda -- As the spring road work season begins, commuters along Rockville Pike in Bethesda are noticing many more orange barrels in the vicinity of the National Institutes of Health and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. This is yet another of the efforts, spanning many years, to address congested problems created by the federal Base Realignment and Closure program.
- 5-1-15 Bethesda Now: Cedar Lane Sidewalk To Close Near Intersection Project -- Crews working on an intersection project in Bethesda will close a sidewalk for approximately two weeks starting on Sunday
- 3-26-15 Gazette.Net: Work begins on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda -- Widening, realignment project near NIH to run about 17 months
- 4-7-15 Bethesda-Chevy Chase Patch: RideOn Route 34 Bus Service Restored Between Kensington, Friendship Heights -- Montgomery County officials say RideOn Bus 34 will resume full service on April 8 after state highway work cut the route short
- 3-28-15 WTOP 103.5 FM: Montgomery Co. transportation director: 'We're not pro-car' -- At the first annual Greenfest in Silver Spring, Montgomery County’s top transportation leader wanted to dispel the notion that his agency is pro-car, anti-transit and anti-pedestrian
- 4-3-15 Utne Reader: What America's Most Walkable Suburb Can Teach Towns Everywhere -- Real estate developer and business professor Christopher Leinberger calls the DC region the most walkable metropolitan area in the US, edging out New York City on the strength of its suburban areas. Indeed, Silver Spring, White Flint and Bethesda may someday challenge Arlington for the title of America’s most walkable suburb.
- 5-13-15 Gazette.Net: Getting safely from here to there in Bethesda -- State, responding to ‘citizen requests,’ to install Wisconsin Avenue stoplight
- 5-26-15 Maryland State Highway Administration: SHA Improves Two Miles of East-West Highway in Montgomery County -- Nighttime Work and Daytime Single Lane Closures Scheduled; Motorists Should Plan Extra Travel Time and Remain Alert for Work Crews; Project includes MD 410 between MD 355 (Wisconsin Avenue) and MD 185 (Connecticut Avenue) in Bethesda
- 3-20-15 Bethesda Now: Construction Activity To Pick Up This Spring At Suburban Hospital Project
- 4-1-15 USO of Metropolitan Washington: USO’s Warrior and Family Center at Bethesda Marks First Anniversary and More than 100,000 Servicemen and Women Served -- Celebration highlights one-year of providing continuous care and support to troops, their families and caregivers on campus
- 3-24-15 Washington Business Journal: So what’s going on with NIH’s Clinical Center, anyway? -- This is the same facility thrust into the spotlight for treating patients with Ebola, including Texas nurse Nina Pham
- 4-3-15 Bethesda Magazine: Federal Commission Advises Against NIH Parking Plan -- The National Capital Planning Commission asked the research facility to adhere to a 1:3 parking spot-to-employee ratio for its master plan
- 4-15-15 Federal Times: Traffic clash: NIH, locals spar over parking spots -- The National Institutes of Health, Montgomery County officials and a federal advisory board are clashing over the parking spots on its Bethesda campus
- 4-14-15 Bethesda Now: NIH Director Defends Decision To Add More Employee Parking
- 4-14-15 Bethesda Magazine: NIH Says Metro Problems, 24/7 Schedule Create Need for More Parking -- The research center’s director responded to concerns over NIH’s parking ratio in a letter to elected officials
- 4-14-15 Washington Business Journal: Metro's no answer: National Institutes of Health stands pat on parking needs in Bethesda -- The NIH has responded to local leaders calling for less parking on the 310-acre campus
- 3-31-15 Bethesda Now: Westbard Developer Says Traffic Study Proves Congestion Won’t Get Much Worse
- 5-11-15 Baltimore Sun: New study highlights military's role in Maryland economy -- Maryland's military installations represented about 15 percent of the state's total economic output in 2012, according to a report released Monday by the state, which showcased the close ties between Maryland's economy and the military
- 5-14-15 National Defense Industrial Association: Defense Technologists: We Do Things the Private Sector Does Not
- 5-28-15 WUSA9-TV: Safety issues and 26 biohazard labs identified in DC area -- A USA Today/WUSA9 investigation has identified 26 biolabs across Virginia, DC, and Maryland - and many have self-identified safety risk that have not previously been publicly disclosed
- 6-8-15 Congressional Quarterly: Battle Plans: Preemptive Strikes -- Preparing for the Next BRAC (9 pp)
- 4-28-15 Gazette.Net: Army research building in Silver Spring targeted for renovations -- Project to include modernizing animal research facility
- 3-20-15 Fort Detrick Standard: Who Was the Ireland Trail at the Forest Glen Annex in Silver Spring Named After?
- 4-3-15 Fort Detrick Standard: Military Medical Research Conference Reminds Partners Why ‘Business is Personal’
- 5-7-15 WHAG-TV4: Scientists showcase research efforts at Fort Detrick -- Some of the brightest minds in the science world came together at the 2015 Spring Research Festival to showcase what they've been working on in the past year
- 5-18-15 Frederick News-Post: Fort Detrick's rapid economic growth to subside -- State officials expect job growth and economic output at military installations like Fort Detrick to fall in the near future
- 5-26-15 Hagerstown Herald-Mail: Fort Detrick to hold ceremony for garrison commander change
- 4-14-15 Bethesda Now: Neighbors Complain Of Disruptive Construction Workers Near Bethesda Intelligence Site
- 6-15-15 Military.com: Army Could Cut 3,400 Contractor Jobs at Three Bases -- In a statement issued late last Friday, the Army said the impact of the job losses at base Logistical Readiness Centers (LRCs) would be felt first at Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Stewart, Ga.; and Fort Meade, Md.
- 3-27-15 Southern Maryland News: St. Mary’s County population hits 110,000: St. Mary’s fifth-fastest growing in state since 2010 -- St. Mary’s County Commissioner Tom Jarboe (R) said of the new population figures, “It definitely appears that our growth rate has slowed over the last few years. I think that is due to no BRAC movement for sometime and no Navy growth. The Navy, and DoD as a whole, remains in a contraction status due to sequestration, further emphasizing our need to diversify our local economy.”
- 4-16-15 Association of Defense Communities: Funding Needed to Alleviate Gridlock outside Bases, Washington State Lawmaker Testifies
- Summary of BRAC Transportation Projects and Commuting Options
- March 17, 2015 meeting summary, including transportation project updates (6 pp)
- Summary of BRAC Transportation Projects and Commuting Options
- Printable Timeline: Project Schedule and Anticipated Completion (as of March 17, 2015)
- SHA CONTACT FORMS REGARDING:
- Rockville Pike (MD 355) / Cedar Lane Intersection Improvement Project.
- Old Georgetown Road (MD 187) / West Cedar Lane / Oakmont Avenue Intersection Improvement Project.
- Any State-managed Road (generally, roads identified with numbers, i.e. MD 355 or I-270).
- Subscribtion to SHA RSS News Feeds for tailored up-to-the-minute info
- 3-18-15 Bethesda Now: Rockville Pike Lane Shift Now In Effect -- Just as a new traffic pattern goes into effect at Cedar Lane and Rockville Pike, local commuters can expect new construction to start soon at nearby West Cedar Lane and Old Georgetown Road
- 3-18-15 SHA New Traffic Pattern Notice
- 2-3-15 SHA Public Information Notice: New Traffic Patterns Begin on or aboutTuesday, February 17
- 2-10-15 WMATA detours for J2/J3 buses from westbound West Cedar Lane to Battery Lane
- 3-18-15 Bethesda Magazine: Traffic Lanes Shift on Rockville Pike in Bethesda -- Workers installed traffic control measures Tuesday afternoon near National Institutes of Health and Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
- 3-4-15 Bethesda Now: Rockville Pike Lane Shift Now Set For Next Week, MARCH 10 -- The Rockville Pike lane shift that's been delayed four times because of winter weather is now scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, with an inclement weather date of March 11.
- WSSC Pipe Replacement Project on Cedar Lane between Rockville Pike and Beach Drive, late 2015 - early 2016 (2 pp with map)
- 11-25-14 BIC letter to SHA and MCDOT regarding Pedestrian Safety during and after BRAC-related construction (2 pp)
- 12-24-14 Bethesda Now: NIH To Close Rockville Pike Entrance Starting In January -- One of six Rockville Pike entrances to the National Institutes of Health's Bethesda campus will be closed for much of 2015 starting in January
- 2-12-15 NSAB Journal: WRNMMC to Hold Code White (active shooter) Exercise Through February
- 2-19-15 Bethesda Now: Why The Bethesda Metro Will Close This Weekend
- 1-8-15 Bethesda Now: MoCo Moves To Next Stage Of Rockville Pike Pedestrian Tunnel Project
- 1-8-15 Montgomery County Gpvernment: MCDOT Issues Request for Proposals to Two Finalists for MD 355/Rockville Pike Crossing Project at Medical Center Metro Station; Project Expected to Improve Traffic Flow and Promote Pedestrian Safety along Congested Corridor
- 12-5-14 Gazette.Net: Pedestrian tunnel under Rockville Pike in Bethesda expected to begin construction next year -- Project would link Medical Center Metro station and Walter Reed in Bethesda
- 2-13-15 Bethesda Now: 3,000 More Employees Could Be Headed To Bethesda NIH Campus -- The National Institutes of Health has formally approved a master plan
- 3-13-15 Bethesda Now: Elected Officials Ask NIH To Reconsider Parking Spaces On Bethesda Campus -- A group of elected officials this week asked the NIH "to be an even better neighbor" by reducing the amount of parking spaces on its 310-acre campus
- 2-13-15 Bethesda Magazine: NIH Selects Master Plan that Could Bring 3,000 More Employees to Bethesda -- Plan guides development of Bethesda campus for the next 20 years
- 12-1-14 Gazette.Net: NIH open to comments on major expansion in Bethesda -- Agency wants to move 3,000 workers to Bethesda campus
- 1-20-15 Bethesda Now: Woodmont Avenue, New Garage Open In Bethesda -- A section of Woodmont Avenue that’s been closed for more than two years reopened on Tuesday morning near Bethesda Row
- 3-2-15 Bethesda Now: Residents Start Talking Unfunded Rapid Transit System For Rockville Pike
- Montgomery County Rapid Transit System (RTS) Project
- 2-3-15 Bethesda Now: Leggett Says Transit Authority, Property Tax Raise Still On The Table
- 1-27-15 Washington Post: Leggett seeks to create Montgomery transit authority for bus lanes, other projects -- The county executive is seeking the ability to fund mass transit projects without relying so much on the state
- 12-1-14 Bethesda Now: Leggett Promises More Transit, Faster Approvals For Development
- 1-23-15 Montgomery County Government: Independent Transit Authority web site
- 1-23-15 Montgomery County,Government: Fact sheet on Independent Transit Authority
- 2-3-15 Bethesda Now: Leggett Says Transit Authority, Property Tax Raise Still On The Table
- Montgomery County Rapid Transit System (RTS) Project
- 3-5-15 Walter Reed NMMC Journal: Joint Commission Awards Full Accreditation to the Nation’s Medical Center
- 1-21-15 Military Times: National Geographic looks at 'invisible' war wounds
- 2-5-15 Naval Support Activity Bethesda Journal: ‘Putting the Patient at the Center of All That We Do’ Walter Reed Bethesda Leadership Rolls Out New Strategic Plan, Icon
- 3-7-15 Washington Post: Haunted by their decisions in war: Some combat veterans are returning with moral injuries -- Commentary by Thomas Gibbons-Neff, a senior at Georgetown University, who served as a rifleman in the 1st battalion, 6th Marines in Afghanistan in 2008 and 2010
- 1-22-15 Frederick News-Post: 26 turned away from Fort Detrick gate after criminal background check -- About 25 people have also been turned away from the gate at Fort Detrick’s Forest Glen Annex in Silver Spring since the criminal background checks began.
- 2-4-15 Washington Post: New I-395 lane should ease morning commute -- This new lane on the right side of the highway stretches eight-tenths of a mile from the I-395 on-ramp at Duke Street to the off-ramp at Seminary Road. This should help with traffic heading for the Mark Center at Seminary Road, one of the Northern Virginia facilities that added personnel because of the federal Base Realignment and Closing program.
- 1-22-15 Belvoir Eagle: Belvoir commuters can get cash for trying out carpooling
Please report any bad links
- Summary of BRAC Transportation Projects and Commuting Options