Montgomery County officials were cautiously optimistic over the Senate’s Wednesday passage of a bill that includes $3 million to address traffic problems expected to occur near Bethesda’s National Naval Medical Center after military base realignment.
Officials in the office of U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s (D-Md.) said the money was to plan how to deal with increased traffic as the military presence in the area expands. The facility is expected to see at least 1,400 more workers and 435,000 more patients each year once functions are transferred from Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the National Naval Medical Center, according to published accounts.
“BRAC brings great opportunities, but it also brings great challenges,” Mikulski, who sits on the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations subcommittee, said in a statement. “More money for Maryland highways and public transit systems means safer and faster commutes to work.”
County officials had sought $4 million from the federal government. Officials said there was no way to project the costs of construction to deal with the increased traffic until design and planning studies had been completed.
“The federal government has said they would take care of improvements inside the fence,” county spokesman Patrick Lacefield said. “Outside the fence we need to fight to get the money that we need.”
Montgomery Councilmember Roger Berliner said it was the federal government’s obligation to help residents deal with traffic problems.
“While we support the desire to improve health care services for our armed services, no community should be asked to bear the brunt of that,” Berliner said. “Our servicemen should be taken care of and the neighborhoods and streets that provide access to that care should be taken care of as well.”
The bill now moves to conference committee where senators and representatives will work out differences, including how much money the project will receive: The House of Representatives version included $1 million.
