Transportation officials in Montgomery and Fairfax counties applied for nearly all the federal funds available to help ease traffic near military hospitals nationwide, but with local governments across the country applying for a portion of the funds as well, it’s inevitable that someone won’t get what they want. Local officials applied for a total of $285 million to ease gridlock near Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Fairfax County.
The Defense Department’s Office of Economic Adjustment will award $300 million among the applicants. The funds must be used for transportation improvements at military hospitals affected by the military Base Realignment and Closure plan, commonly known as BRAC.
Funding will be determined based on the magnitude of the traffic problems near the hospitals and the traffic’s effect on providing medical care.
In Bethesda, Montgomery County wants $40 million to build a pedestrian tunnel under Rockville Pike connecting the hospital to the Medical Center Metro station, and state highway officials want $60 million to fix four nearby intersections. More than 2,500 new employees, as well as hundreds of thousands of patients, have added to the traffic on congested Rockville Pike.
Fairfax County wants $185 million to widen Route 1 near Fort Belvoir, where 12,000 new military and civilian personnel are now commuting to work.
But Bethesda and Fairfax aren’t alone in their pursuit of the funds. Transportation officials in San Antonio are asking for $125 million for road improvements near the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, according to city engineer Mike Frisbie.
And officials in Lakewood, Wash., applied for $5.7 million to fix a congested interchange near the Madigan Army Medical Center.
Phil Alperson, Montgomery County’s BRAC coordinator, said he’s confident Bethesda will receive the funds it needs, but with approximately $415.7 million being sought, full funding is in doubt.
“Obviously our needs are dramatic, and Walter Reed, by law, is mandated to be a world-class medical facility,” Alperson said. “People in Congress and the Defense Department understand that addressing transportation issues affects the hospital’s ability to give world class health care.”
The Defense Department will announce the funding decisions in about a month, Alperson said.
Even if the agency fully funds their proposals, local governments still would have to provide more money to solve the transportation issues caused by BRAC.
“The money that we anticipate getting from the federal government is not going to do everything that we need to do,” said Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. Projects in Montgomery will cost “far much more than the $300 million could ever provide.”
