The Maryland State Highway Administration has scheduled a July 31 open house to provide updates on the Georgia Ave. safety and accessibility and 16th St. protected bike lane projects.
According to an announcement (PDF), the SHA’s project team has progressed on both projects since the last public meeting in January and will present the latest designs.
The MD 97 (Georgia Ave.) from MD 390 (16th St.) to MD 192 (Forest Glen Rd.) Safety and Accessibility Project in Montgomery Hills focuses on the segment south of 16th St. to Forest Glen Rd., including the Beltway interchange near the Forest Glen Red Line station. The project includes protected bike lanes from 2nd Ave. to the Forest Glen station, replacement of the reversible lane with a landscaped median and dedicated turn lanes, ADA-compliant sidewalks, interchange modifications, and a new signal at Flora Lane.
The MD 390 (16th St.) Spring St. to Second Ave. Project in the Woodside neighborhood connects Montgomery Hills to downtown Silver Spring. It provides two-way protected bike lanes between the existing protected lanes in downtown Silver Spring and those proposed within the Georgia Ave. project and offers a connection to the future 16th Street-Woodside Purple Line station.
Construction on the Georgia Ave. project is currently at 75% design completion and is expected to start in the spring of 2028. The 16th St. project is currently at 30% design, and the design is expected to be completed in the winter of 2026-27.
“On the whole, we believe that the project design shared by SHA on January 23 achieves these goals, and we support it,” Friends of Montgomery Hills President Michelle Foster said in a letter of support (PDF) for the Georgia Ave. project sent to the SHA in February. “We urge the state to provide full funding for the project and for implementation of the improvements to begin as soon as possible.”
The public open house will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, 1607 Grace Church Rd., on Wednesday, July 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. The SHA’s Project Portal has more information on the Georgia Ave. and 16th St. projects.
Photo: © J5M – stock.adobe.com / SHA Graphics