New Traffic Light Planned For Rockville Pike Near Naval Hospital

A new traffic signal is set to be installed sometime this summer along the Rockville Pike at North Wood Drive outside the , drawing concerns from the community that the signal may further back up traffic along the crowded corridor as the BRAC transition brings 2500 new employees and doubles the amount of visitors at the Naval hospital this September.

The State Highway Administration, which approved the project last week, said they will carefully study traffic patterns before and after the traffic signal is installed to determine whether it will remain permanently. It’s intended to ease access for those entering and exiting the Naval hospital, and the Navy has agreed to foot the bill for the project and hire a contractor to install the light, according to State Highway spokesman David Buck.

The signal won’t function at all hours, but rather is intended to be in use during the morning and afternoon hours, Buck said. The exact timing of the signal has yet to be worked out.

The signal won’t impede traffic on southbound Rockville Pike, but it will stop northbound traffic with a red light to allow those coming south on the pike to make a lefthand turn into the Naval hospital. It will also allow those leaving the hospital to make a righthand turn onto the pike, though drivers leaving the hospital will not be allowed to make a lefthand turn into the southbound lanes.

With the current traffic situation, “adding another signal into it is going to be a challenge,” Buck said.

The signal may operate before peak hours in the morning and afternoon, Buck said.

“It’s really a benefit more than anything to the hospital,” Buck said, “Our responsibility is to make sure it doesn’t degrade or lower the flow on 355 itself to the point where it’s beyond unacceptable.”

Traffic studies indicate the flow shouldn’t be largely impeded, Buck said.

“If we’re talking about adding five or ten minutes onto the trip, that’s not acceptable, but we don’t think that’s going to happen.”

If SHA engineers aren’t satisfied with how the signal impacts traffic, it will operate on flash permanently or be removed, Buck said.

The news was met with some trepidation at a meeting of the BRAC Implementation committee last week.

“There are a lot of people headed north that want to get to the Beltway,” said Ilaya Hopkins, a member of the committee and East Bethesda resident. “The more backup happens then the more backup we get into the residential neighborhoods that are absolutely not designed for this commuter traffic.”

A NavyMed spokeswoman responded to a request for comment on the light, but a subject matter expert wasn't immediately available to be interviewed.