Rockville Pike/Montrose Road intersection detours

Last week, the traffic at the intersection was realigned (again), and it will be changed again at the end of this week. In a nutshell, Montrose Parkway is being tunneled under Rockville Pike, which involved building a new bridge so that the Pike can go over the Parkway. The bridge is now nearly completed. During the construction of the bridge, all Pike traffic was shifted eastward, out of the construction zone. Since the bridge is done, southbound Pike traffic as routed onto the new bridge, but the northbound traffic remained in the old detour alignment. At the end of this week, all north-south Rockville Pike traffic will be on the new bridge. Where does that leave us for now? There is NO LEFT TURN allowed from eastbound Montrose Road onto northbound Rockville Pike. If you want to go north on the Pike, you have two choices; at East Jefferson St., you can turn left, then get to the Pike further north, or you can turn right, take Executive Blvd. to Old Georgetown Rd, then Old Georgetown to the Pike. I don't know if we will ever get that left turn at Montrose/Pike restored, but it will disappear forever once the Parkway underpass is completed. The reason is that, with the opening of the Parkway (maybe late 2010??) underpass, it will intersect with the Pike only by ramps. This will be a true interchange. Montrose Road will deadend into a new parking lot that replaces the park-and-ride lot that was at the north end of the Mid-Pike Plaza parking areas (southwest corner of Montrose and the Pike; this is where the underpass is being constructed). By the same token, Randolph Road also will be a deadend. The only way across Rockville Pike will be by the Montrose Parkway underpass, and the ramps will be the only way to get onto the Pike. Wait till you see it!

White Flint Community Coalition

This is an additional organization involving the neighborhoods surrounding White Flint. They are working on the sector plan, growth policy, etc. to get sustainable development and public transit. They welcome new members and community interest. The website is www.whiteflintcommunity.org, and I have added it to the list of links in the right panel.