The first Purple Line-related construction activity in downtown Bethesda is set to start on or about April 11.
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) notified Montgomery County this week it will begin phase one of a three-phase utility relocation process to make way for the Bethesda Metro Station South Entrance—the bank of high-speed elevators that will connect Purple Line riders to Metro’s Red Line platform below.
Starting on or about April 11, Washington Gas crews will turn off and replace an existing gas line below Woodmont Avenue between Elm Street and Bethesda Avenue, which the MTA said will take between two and six weeks.
Crews will then move to Elm Street between Woodmont and Wisconsin avenues for the next one to three weeks and finally to parts of Wisconsin Avenue for another two weeks to complete the project.
The Bethesda Purple Line station is planned for the existing Capital Crescent Trail tunnel near the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street.
The announcement of the utility work for the new Metro Station South Entrance came as county officials attempt to figure out just how much they’ll have to pay for the project. The county has long budgeted $55 million for the six high-speed elevators on Elm Street, but the MTA’s recent agreement with a team of concessionaires who will build the system put the cost at $113.2 million.
State officials are expected to brief the County Council on the cost arrangement April 4. The Purple Line agreement with the team of private concessionaires is set for review April 6 before the state’s Board of Public Works.
“These utility relocations represent the first stage of up to approximately six years of coordinated construction in the area of the Bethesda Metrorail Station South Entrance,” the construction notice from MTA said.
The Washington Gas work will take place between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, according to MTA, and intermittent lane closures will be necessary on Elm Street and Woodmont and Wisconsin avenues.
“No parking” signs will be posted at least 48 hours before any work begins and traffic control signs will be used to notify drivers and pedestrians of the work. The MTA said sidewalk access will be maintained at all times.
Verizon is set to move its infrastructure starting this summer in a process set to take eight months to a year. Then Pepco will move in for its own utility relocation process, set to start in early 2017 and last about eight months.
Construction on the Purple Line light-rail itself could start as early as November, according to county officials. The 16-mile system will run from the Bethesda station to New Carrollton.
