Those who anticipate traveling Saturday through downtown Bethesda on Wisconsin Avenue might want to choose another route.
Southbound Wisconsin Avenue between Commerce Lane and Old Georgetown Road will be closed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, according to Maryland State Highway Administration spokesperson David Buck.
The closure is to make way for a crane that will be lifting heavy steel and a rooftop HVAC unit to the top of the building at 7514 Wisconsin Ave.
Because of downtown Bethesda’s one-way street network, it will mean a long detour.
Those traveling southbound on Wisconsin Avenue will need to turn right on Commerce Lane, then right on Old Georgetown Road, and then quickly get to the far left lane to turn left on one-way Woodmont Avenue.
Drivers can then turn left on Montgomery Lane and then right at the intersection with southbound Wisconsin Avenue.
Buck said both the state and Montgomery County approved the partial closure and detour route.
If the crane operation is cancelled because of weather Saturday, it’s scheduled to occur Sunday.
Crane Service Co., based in Prince George’s County, will be the contractor on the crane project.
