The cost of a planned pedestrian tunnel under Rockville Pike and a bank of three new elevators providing access to the Medical Center Metro station platform is increasing by $36 million.
The MD 355 Crossing project, meant to provide easier and safer pedestrian access to the campus of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, will still be funded entirely by the federal government, Montgomery County officials said Monday.
The project is now estimated to cost a total of $108.9 million, up from last year’s cost estimate of $72.9 million.
The federal government committed to fund the planning, design and construction of the county-led project to help mitigate the impact of moving the Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the same campus of the Bethesda Naval Hospital in 2011. The move was made as part of the federal government’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.
In 2014, the county’s Department of Transportation (MCDOT) projected there will be as many as 5,000 additional daily pedestrian crossings of Rockville Pike at the Medical Center Metro stop by 2030 due to the increase of personnel and visitors at the base. An average of 2,440 pedestrians crossed the existing street-level intersection at South Wood Drive and South Drive according to a 2010 count.
The proposed 80-foot-long pedestrian tunnel under the roadway would allow pedestrians to cross Rockville Pike at any time. The project includes a bank of three high-speed elevators on the east side of Rockville Pike near the entrance to the base that will connect directly with the Medical Center Metro station platform 120 feet below.
Via MCDOT
The project also includes extending the southbound Rockville Pike left turn lane approaching the base entrance at the intersection to provide additional queuing room for vehicles.
Bruce Johnston, chief of MCDOT’s Transportation Engineering Division, said the cost is increasing because the two teams of private contractors bidding for the project came in with higher-than-projected numbers.
Johnston said the original cost estimate was made eight years ago. The county selected the two finalists for the project, the Clark Construction Group and a joint venture from Corman Construction and the Bradshaw Construction Corporation, in December 2013.
At that time, the county expected to select a winning bidder in October 2014, start construction in late 2014 and complete the project by fall 2017.
“Through the procurement process and through trying to identify additional funds, we are not ready to issue a contract,” Johnston said Monday.
He said the county hopes to select a winning team to build the project in the next few weeks, though he couldn’t speculate on when construction may start.
The $36 million in additional funding must be approved by the County Council even though it’s federal money. County Executive Ike Leggett requested approval of the additional money last week and the appropriation is set to be introduced at Tuesday’s council hearing.
Designs for the Via Rockville Pike pedestrian tunnel and new Medical Center Metro elevators, via MCDOT
