Woodward High School construction update for August, 2023

 

My last update on the construction of the new Woodward High School on Old Georgetown Road was back in February, so it is time for another one. To Recap, in Spring of 2021, the old Woodward High School / Tilden Middle School was torn down. A new Woodward High School is being built in the same location. When the first phase is complete, it will be used as a holding school for two years while Northwood High School is rebuilt. Originally, Northwood was supposed to move here for the 2023-2024 school year (as in now), but that was delayed by one year due to fiscal constraints. Now Northwood will use this school for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years and it will re-open as Woodward H.S. for the 2026-2027 school year.  The budget for this project is 196 million dollars. Full details are in the budget.

 I actually like the yellow-and-orange-with-green-lines motif, it's different and fresh.  They are covering it up with bricks though.

There is also some information about the planning for the school on the MCPS Charles W. Woodward High School Reopening Project page.  I find these project pages get some updates early in the process then nothing until the project is complete, so information there is out-of-date.  You can find all my posts on Woodward H.S. here.

Pig races at the Montgomery County Fair

 

If you go to the Montgomery County Fair in Gaithersburg this year, make sure you check out the pig races. The fair runs through Saturday the 19th.

Caroline Freeland Park Renovation

Caroline Freeland Park in Bethesda, Maryland is currently closed for renovation and has been since July 10th.  The park is still in the demolition phase with piles of concrete and stacks of tree trunks and roots scattered around.  This renovation will be significant and will take a while. The park isn't scheduled to reopen until some time in 2024.
 

This is where the playground was. As you can see, almost all the play equipment has been removed and is strewn about. The replacement playground will be in the same spot and according to Montgomery Parks, it will be larger.  The current playground renovated in 2010.

Piles of wood and piles of concrete at the site of the Caroline Freeland park. This area of the park will retain an emergency vehicle accessible Hampden Lane and will have an open central plaza

This is a photo from today showing that the park is blocked off with a chain link fence. Arlington Road is on the left, the library is not in the picture but is just to the right.

 

This is a photo from June, showing the park from roughly the same spot prior to construction starting.

 

Fernwood Rd and Democracy Blvd intersection improvements

 

Fernwood intersection construction, northbound

This week Fernwood Road has been closed in both directions at Democracy Boulevard during the day for intersection improvements.  I got these photos yesterday afternoon, after they had re-opened the northbound (leaving Bethesda) lane.  These improvements have been in the planning stage for years, I last wrote about them in April of  2021!

New median on Fernwood Rd

The major changes will be on Northbound Fernwood Rd at this intersection. They include making it so there are two left-turn only lanes and one right-turn only lane, which should improve traffic flow during the afternoon rush. Other changes include removing three of the free right turn slip lanes, those traffic islands that make the right turn skip the traffic light. This is to enhance pedestrian safety (though, as a frequent pedestrian, this time of lane is far from my biggest issue).  The westbound right turn will remain with a different style of curb.  This description comes from the county website and there is a diagram there as well. The diagram and the text are hard for me to reconcile so I'll wait until April of 2024 when the project will be complete to see the final configuration.  The project is called "Democracy Boulevard and Fernwood Road Intersection Traffic Signal Reconstruction Project" even though the majority of the work seems unrelated to traffic signals.

Part of the project also includes Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant pedestrian sidewalk ramps.  I am unclear what part of the old ramps were not ADA compliant. With all the other changes to the intersection, replacing the ramps was probably needed anyway, regardless of their ADA compliance status.

This work started in early July, with a day of Fernwood closure and has had intermittent work and closures since then. There is actually quite a lot. As you can see in the above photos, the concrete divider on Fernwood has been replaced and the concrete islands on both sides of Fernwood at Democracy have been removed.  While construction is in progress life is difficult for everyone, including pedestrians (as seen in the photo directly above). There have also been sidewalk closures to facilitate replacing the ramps. If you are fully capable of walking then going through the grass is an easy detour, but if you have limited mobility there is no feasible detour, you are just stuck.

Fernwood Road southbound was closed at Democracy Blvd, the turn lane was blocked off

Goodbye Linden Oak

Last week, the county removed most of the Linden Oak.  This tree has been growing for over 300 years, but recently had a bad patch of luck and ultimately died last year.  The county planned to remove it back in June, but found they needed a Historic Area Work Permit. 

The actual removal was on July 18th.  No one consulted with me prior to setting the date so they picked a time when I was unavailable.  I did, however, make it the next day to take some pictures of the remaining stump. They 12+ foot section at the base of the tree will remain as an on-site memorial.

 

The dead Linden Oak in June, before it was felled.  The two stones in the foreground have 3 plaques on them. these stones and plaques will remain.

 

Here's a picture to give you a better idea of where it was. To the right (beyond the road closed gate) is beach drive. The traffic light is Maryland Route 355, here known as Rockville Pike.  The road in the foreground is the one you are on if you exit 495 and want to go south on 355, or if you are going north on 355 and want to make a u-turn or turn on to Grosvenor Ln.  The dead Linden Oak is visible directly behind the yield sign and to the right of the pole.

 

 

 

Looking down on Great Falls

Most of the time, when I go to Great Falls, I either walk or bike on the C & O Canal, or I go out to Olmstead Island, or I do the Billy Goat Trail.  All fun things to do and experience.  There is, however, more to do there.  There is a whole network of trails on the far side of the canal from the river, and one of them leads up to this overlook where you can get a nice view of the area (though your view is punctuated by trees).
 

Bike parking at Grosvenor metro

 

There is a new chicken coop going in at the Grosvenor-Strathmore metro station. I think suburban farming is a great idea and look forward to being able to pick up a dozen fresh eggs on the way home from work.

Oh, maybe I got a few details wrong.  They are putting in a Bike & Ride facility that will securely house 100 bikes.  You'll be able to park your bike out of the rain and snow and have it locked up.  There are currently bike racks which have a roof over them on site, but this will be more secure and more attractive.

In the tone of urban planning, this is the bikeshed, the view of the area around the bike shed (the building that will contain the bikes).  Would it be bike shedding to ask what color it will be painted? (Ok, for you pedants out there, I know I am mis-defining this term multiple times, I find it amusing.)

This secure bike building includes a solid roof and wire mesh walls, as well as two doors.  It still looks like a chicken coop to me.

Strathmore Square construction

 

Strathmore Square is a new development being built on the grounds of the Grosvenor-Strathmore WMATA Metro station in North Bethesda, Maryland.  The vision is to have seven new buildings on just about every inch of open space except for a small "central park" area.

As seen from outside the parking garage

The first two buildings are under construction now and planned for a 2024 delivery.  Between them they will have 220 "luxurious" units.  According to their website, "this unique development offers marketing word, marketing word, marketing word".  Both buildings a visible in the above picture, the taller stack on the left is one of them and the longer (slightly shorter) stack on the right is the other.

Here's the second building seen from the edge of the property.

I really like that they do dense construction right next to the metro station.  The area is growing so you can either build where at least some of the trips will be non-car trips, or you can build where every trip is.  Even a housing moratorium just pushes development outside the area and people then drive right back in.  

This development will feed in to  Garrett Park Elementary School, Tilden Middle School, and Walter Johnson High School.

 

The buildings from the bus bays

I took this photo standing at the bus bays, looking across the kiss-and-ride towards the construction.

Cutting down trees and digging up dirt in Amalyn

A trench for a fence

 Last week I saw them digging narrow trenches where they will be putting in a silt fence. They always do this shortly before construction starts, so that is the sign that they will be building here soon.

 

They are opening up a new area of the WMAL radio transmitter site for housing. Yesterday they were cutting down trees to clear the area. The heavy equipment they use makes quick work of it and they made it at least most of the way down the field.  This is the part of the project that is closes to Interstate 495, from Renita Lane to Greentree Road.

In addition to taking out trees they have started grading more of the field. In the background is Renita Lane. Renita will be extended through the site all the way to Greentree Road. When completed there will be over 300 single family houses and townhouses in this 75 acre development. You can read all my posts on this subject.

It looks like they are building another water retention pond. Currently the banks are above the surrounding ground so water won't flow into it, but I wouldn't be surprised if they built up the ground to be even with the top of the bank.

8015 Old Georgetown Road construction update

 

It has been months since I last posted about the former Christ Lutheran Church site. They have been doing lots of work, but it hasn't been very visible.  First, they dug a big hole, and then have been building up.  They have finally reached ground level. The church is being replaced with about 297 apartments in a development called 8015 Old Georgetown Road. Above is the development as seen from Glenbrook Road.

After months spent excavating and building what will be underground, they have reached ground level and are starting to build up.

This is the north side of the 8015 site. To the left (not visible) is Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. There is a significant retaining wall buit here.