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How Metro’s summer Red Line shutdown will affect commuters on Rockville Pike, Wisconsin Avenue

By Neal Augenstein
How Metro’s summer Red Line shutdown will affect commuters

Metro’s closure of three Red Line rail stations this summer will mean extra traffic on congested Maryland Route 355. WTOP checked out dedicated bus lanes Monday morning, which have been installed to keep shuttle buses moving during Metrorail’s summer shutdown.

From July 6 through Sept. 6, Metro will be doing major construction at three stations, which will be closed to the public and will not be served by Metrorail: Grosvenor-Strathmore, Medical Center and Bethesda.

During that period, Metro will run free shuttle buses between the North Bethesda station and Friendship Heights station. Some of the shuttle buses will offer express service between the two stations, and local service will run along 355.

WTOP drove the approximately 7.5 miles of temporary bus lanes, which have been installed by the Maryland State Highway Administration to facilitate shuttle buses traveling smoothly through summer traffic on Rockville Pike and Wisconsin Avenue.

Designated bus lanes striping have been installed through much, but not all of the entire 7.5 miles in the right travel lane.

White solid lanes signify the stretches which are reserved for buses, but in locations where right turns will be permitted — most notably in downtown Bethesda — dotted white lines provide guidance of when a car driver can move into a bus lane to make a right turn.

The dedicated bus lanes will be in effect Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. during the Red Line closure.

Metro’s improvement project includes the construction of a new mezzanine at the Bethesda station to connect Metrorail with the future Purple Line. The Grosvenor-Strathmore platform will be rehabilitated, and other components will be replaced near the Grosvenor-Strathmore and Medical Center stations.

Butterfly stampede: More than 22,000 Marylanders sign up for ID logo alerting to hidden disabilities

By Maryland Matters
When Eric Carpenter-Grantham became the first person in Maryland to get a new state-issued identification card last fall with a special butterfly logo to identify his hidden disability, he encouraged others to follow him. That was Oct. 1. As of last week, more than 22,000 Marylanders had done just that, asking the Motor Vehicle Administration for the logo that was made possible under what became known as “Eric’s ID Law.”
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