Just as a new traffic pattern goes into effect at Cedar Lane and Rockville Pike, local commuters can expect new construction to start soon at nearby West Cedar Lane and Old Georgetown Road.
The delayed lane shift of Rockville Pike just south and north of its intersection with Cedar Lane went into full effect overnight Monday, according to the State Highway Administration’s Christopher Bishop.
The SHA finally got a long enough stretch of decent weather to put down new lane markings to shift northbound lanes to the west, which will allow crews to build a new culvert for a stream that passes under the roadway.
That means drivers will no longer be able to turn left from northbound Rockville Pike to westbound West Cedar Lane until the end of the entire culvert project, which could be late summer 2016.
In an update to the county’s BRAC Implementation Committee on Tuesday, Bishop also announced SHA just got its Notice to Proceed on its intersection improvement project at West Cedar Lane and Old Georgetown Road, on the other side of the NIH campus.
Crews have done some preliminary tree clearing to prepare for construction, which could start in a few weeks when temperatures get warmer.
Bishop said there will be no long-term lane closures with the project, only temporary off-peak hour closures.
The project will realign and widen Old Georgetown Road south and north of the West Cedar Lane intersection. It will also widen West Cedar Lane to add a westbound right-turn lane onto northbound Old Georgetown Road. The project also includes new traffic signals at three nearby intersections, resurfacing, new sidewalks and utility relocations.