County, State Want $90 Million for Bethesda BRAC Improvements

County and state transportation officials applied Friday for about $90 million in federal funds for transportation projects aimed to ease traffic around Bethesda’s

Three other communities with military hospitals impacted by the federally-mandated Base Realignment and Closure process have applied for a portion of the by the Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment, the Washington Examiner reported. The funds are intended for transportation projects to help calm traffic in communities with BRAC-impacted military hospitals.

Patients and 2,500 employees from the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. are now based in Bethesda, and yearly visitors are expected to nearly double to one million, inciting a host of traffic concerns. The traffic crunch is already ramping up around the hospital, and officials are hoping federal funds can help pay for some of the planned transportation projects there.

Montgomery County is requesting $40 million for Bethesda’s top-priority project – a pedestrian tunnel to connect the military hospital with the Medical Center Metro, along with deep elevators on the east side of Rockville Pike.

That’s in addition to $28 million already set aside for the project through the Department of Defense’s Defense Access Roads program.

State transportation officials are requesting funds for five additional projects. Listed in order of priority, they are:

• $19 million for the unfunded portions of the partially-funded intersection improvement project at Rockville Pike and Cedar Lane;
• $18.3 million for the unfunded portions of the partially-funded intersection improvement project at Connecticut Avenue and Jones Bridge Road;
• $7.3 million for the entirety of the intersection improvement project at Old Georgetown Road and Cedar Lane, for which no funds have yet been identified;
• $1.1 million to extend the Bethesda Trolley Trail south on Old Georgetown Road to add bike path connectivity from Montrose Parkway in Rockville south to Lincoln Street in Bethesda;
• $4.3 million for the unfunded portions of the partially-funded intersection improvement project at Jones Bridge Road and Rockville Pike.

The state has already programmed about $30 million of its own dollars for the intersection improvements, and $9.4 million in Congressional earmarks are set aside for those as well, according to Phil Alperson, Montgomery County BRAC coordinator.

Bethesda isn’t alone in seeking a portion of the funds. Fairfax County is requesting $185 million to widen Route 1 near the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, the Washington Examiner reported.  In addition, officials in San Antonio want $125 million for transportation projects near the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, and the Lakewood, Wash., community has asked for $5.7 million for a project near the Madigan Army Medical Center, according to the Examiner.

While there won’t be enough funds to go around, Alperson said he is confident that county and state transportation officials have made a strong case for Bethesda.

“This is Walter Reed,” Alperson said. “Everyone gets it. They understand that the delivery of world-class care – which is mandated by law – is dependant in part on whether patients and doctors can get to the facility.”

The Office of Economic Adjustment will announce which projects will be awarded funds on or around Nov. 7, Alperson said.