Construction starting at the WMAL field

For the past 5 years Toll Brothers has been planning on redeveloping the WMAL transmitter field located at 7115 Greentree Rd in Bethesda, MD.  They have developed the plans and gotten the approvals, but there hasn't been much in the line of changes on the ground.

This week there have been changes.  They have fenced off most of the field and were actively working around one of the radio towers when I was there.

The field has long had a path running long the edge making a large 1.25 mile circuit that is popular with runners and dog walkers.  The fence impacts this path in a number of places.  From Greentree Road around to Derbyshire lane there are on or two short stretches where you have a narrow spot between the fence and the brush, but these are easily navigated.

From Derbyshre to Renita Lane the fence is far from the path and doesn't cause any problems.

 However, getting from Greentree road to Renita Lane along the I-495 side of the field requires being a bit more adventurous.  The fence is very close to the brush for the whole length.

  While I was there I did see a local resident trimming back some tree branches, so this route may get easier over the next week or two.

What's next?  Before construction starts in earnest, those radio towers need to come down.  They stopped being used on May 1, 2018 so that is not an impediment.  It looks like that is what they are working on and they could come down very soon.