Maryland State Highway Administration crews installed traffic cones Tuesday afternoon to mark a lane shift on Rockville Pike near Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda.
The lane shifts at the Cedar Lane intersection were originally scheduled to take place Feb. 17, but were delayed due to snow storms and frigid temperatures.
On Tuesday workers were out in short sleeves as a 60-degree day presented an opportunity to shift the lanes and clear traffic so crews can install a new underground culvert beneath the northbound Rockville Pike travel lanes next to Stone Ridge.
The lanes between North Drive and Locust Hill Road were shifted to the west side of Rockville Pike, which SHA recently widened. The shift means vehicles no longer will be able to turn left onto West Cedar Lane from the northbound lanes of Rockville Pike until late 2016, according to SHA.
Later this year lanes will be shifted to the east side of the road so crews can construct the culvert on the National Institutes of Health side of Rockville Pike.
SHA says it will maintain three lanes in both directions during rush hour, but drivers should be on alert for changing traffic patterns at the Cedar Lane intersection.
A view of the lane shift from southbound Rockville Pike.
