This spring, the sidewalk on the east side of Woodmont Avenue near Battery Lane will reopen for the first time in more than two years as construction on the Flats 8300 apartment building winds down.
It will be a welcome change for many pedestrians on the northern end of downtown Bethesda. But in another sign of the booming construction activity in the area, the sidewalk on the other side of the same road will close for another construction project just getting started.
Construction work on Stonehall, a nine-story, 46-unit luxury condominium building across the street from Flats 8300, will close the west-side Woodmont Avenue sidewalk at the Battery Lane intersection, according to Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center Director Ken Hartman.
After the sidewalk on the east side of Woodmont Avenue at Battery Lane reopens, the sidewalk on the west side across the street will close. Via Google Maps.
The county’s Ride On bus service will stop servicing the bus stop on the corner of Woodmont Avenue and Battery Lane and its Route 34 and Route 70 buses will detour from Wisconsin Avenue onto Battery Lane.
Ride On says it expects the sidewalk to be closed, the stop to be closed and the detour to be in effect until October 2017.
Hartman said the west-side Woodmont Avenue sidewalk won’t close until the east-side Woodmont Avenue sidewalk is reopened to ensure that sidewalks on both sides of the street aren’t closed at the same time.
As new apartment and condominium projects have popped up over the last few years in downtown Bethesda, county officials have dealt with numerous complaints about sidewalks closed to allow for excavations and other construction activity.
Last year, county officials said they would better coordinate with other county departments, such as Permitting and Transportation, and construction crews to reduce the disruption of the closures.
The Flats 8300 building will also include a 50,000-square-foot Harris Teeter grocery store with a Woodmont Avenue entrance. The grocery store is still under construction and no opening date has been provided.
