The state is advancing its American Legion Bridge and 270 Corridor Program–a project aimed at improving traffic congestion and transit in the region and replacing the American Legion Bridge–and Monday the Maryland Department of Transportation is hosting its first open house to gather public feedback on the project.
The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, 4301 East-West Highway in Bethesda.
Those unable to attend in-person open houses can submit a survey and comment on the project online and explore the project in a virtual information room. The public opinion survey must be submitted by Dec. 15, according to MDOT. Comments can also be emailed to, ALB270@mdot.maryland.gov.
Three more open houses will be held in November and December for Maryland residents to attend, two of which will be in Montgomery County:
- Nov. 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel in Gaithersburg, 620 Perry Parkway.
- Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. to noon at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, 2100 Wootton Parkway.
- There will also be an open house from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 at Frederick High School, 650 Carroll Parkway in Frederick.
According to a press release, MDOT is strongly encouraging participation in the open house meetings. Each meeting will have information stations staffed by program team members. The same information will be disseminated at each meeting and there will not be a formal presentation. Meeting materials can be found at this link.
In August, Governor Wes Moore (D) announced that the state will be moving forward with plans to address “mobility and access challenges along the American Legion Bridge, I-495 and I-270.”
To help fund the program, the state applied for a Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The State Highway Administration requested $2.419 billion in funding, according to MDOT.
The state is working in partnership with Virginia and other local jurisdictions in pursuing the federal grant to make improvements such as: the reconstruction of the American Legion Bridge; the construction of managed lanes from the bridge to and on the I-270 West Spur; and improved bicycle and pedestrian access to connect Maryland and Virginia trail networks, a press release stated.
There are five areas of focus for the department of transportation within the program: transit and ride sharing, transit-oriented development, phased approach to managed lanes, a comprehensive planning strategy for I-270 and engagement on project delivery.
“Listening to communities, officials, business leaders and stakeholders is fundamental to understand the needs of those who travel the American Legion Bridge, I-495 and I-270 every day,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld, in an August press release. “Today, and for future generations, we must work as partners to create a balanced, multimodal network that provides transportation options across jurisdictional lines and across all modes.”
