Construction crews at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., are working against a tight deadline to get improvements completed by Sept. 15 when BRAC must be implemented. That’s when 2,500 employees from Walter Reed Army Medical Center will report there along with tens of thousands of additional visitors.
The merger is expected to cause traffic delays along Wisconsin Avenue and side streets in Bethesda, so the Naval hospital is widening entrances and encouraging the use of public transportation and carpooling.
U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), who took a BRAC-related tour of the National Naval Medical Center, said he feels they will be ready for the influx of Wounded Warriors. The congressional delegation has secured $300 million in federal funds for Bethesda and Fort Belvoir, Va.
“All of us who understand the traffic challenges here know there is still going to be significant gridlock in this area,” Cardin said. “And for the sake of the mission of the military facilities, we need to do a more effective job.”
People who work at the Naval Hospital and NIH right across Wisconsin Avenue told NBC Washington they are concerned about their daily commutes.
“It’s going to be terrible,” Belinda Battle said. “Traffic is bad anyway.”
Cardin acknowledged that the federal money for road improvements won’t have any effect before BRAC is put into effect in September, but relief will come soon, he said.
“I can’t tell you the exact dates because of planning procedures,” he said. “The money is there. It is now in the hands of the local officials to implement the plans, but they know it’s urgent.”
