Bethesda South Metro Entrance and the Purple Line Connection

 UPDATE 

The Montgomery County Council Transportation and Environment Committee voted 3-0 on Feb. 28, 2008 (George Leventhal and Valerie Ervin advocating for the project, Nancy Floreen raising verbal objections but ultimately voting for it) to add $55 million to the county capital budget to pay for construction of the south entrance to the Bethesda Metro station.  This will connect the Red Line to the Purple Line when the Purple Line is built.  Construction would start in approximately January 2010 and be completed in the fall of 2011.  However, the committee (also on 2-1 votes) approved two other projects which would compete for the same money. 

On March 3, the T&E committee revisited the Bethesda south entrance.  It voted 3-0 to provide $55 million to build the new entrance.  However, the start of construction was delayed until late 2011 or early 2012 in order to avoid closing down Elm Street at the same time as a neighboring street, Woodmont Avenue, is closed for another construction project.  The issue will go before the full council on Tuesday, March 11.

 In May 2008, the full council approved the appropriation.
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     Nineteen  years ago in 1989, the Montgomery County Council voted to endorse light rail between Bethesda and Silver Spring. Almost two decades later, this concept has expanded into the Purple Line light rail from Bethesda to New Carrollton, but nothing has been built and east-west commuters still sit in traffic. Between the early 1990s and last year, no county money has been spent to help build the transit link we badly need.

     On May 9, 2006, the County Council voted to fund final design of a new south entrance to the Bethesda Metro which will serve as the connection between the Red Line and the future Purple Line from Bethesda to New Carrollton. The Council is now considering whether to fund construction.  By moving to build this entrance now, we will put shovels in the ground as the first step toward building the Purple Line.

     The Bethesda south entrance will be a bank of elevators going down from the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street to the back end of the Metro station. The Purple Line (also known as Bi-County Transitway) will have its Bethesda terminus in the tunnel that goes under under Wisconsin Avenue at this intersection.