В Мэриленде закроют выделенные полосы для автобусов на маршруте 355 после ремонта метро

Route 355 bus-only lanes to reopen to all traffic in Montgomery County MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — The Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) announced Thursday that 7.5 miles of bus-only lanes installed on Route 355 will go away starting Monday. The bus-only lanes were created to help buses move more quickly during the two-month Metro Red Line shutdown, which ends Sunday. SEE ALSO | Man accused of raping female workers at two massage parlors in Virginia Earlier this summer, the Maryland State Highway Administration said it would study whether to keep the lanes north of the Beltway permanently, though spokesperson Will Pines told 7News that was not being considered for downtown Bethesda. However, an MDSHA spokesperson said Thursday that data collected during the closure showed the best decision was to remove all bus-only lanes along Route 355. The MDSHA said although the lanes will reopen to all traffic starting on Monday, which is Labor Day, it will take longer than that to remove markings and signs. They said crews will work in the overnight hours between Labor Day and September 11 to restore the lanes to the way they looked before the shutdown. SEE ALSO | Man caught on camera breaking into DC restaurant, stealing merchandise As part of that, crews will restore on-street parking that was taken away during the summer shutdown. Although the bus-only lanes will go away next week, another measure put in place to help during the Red Line shutdown will not. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation told 7News Thursday it has extended the "Glenmont Express" bus service through Sept. 30. The Glenmont Express operates during morning and evening peak times on weekdays, with stops at the Glenmont and Shady Grove Metro stations as well as the Milestone Park-and-Ride lot in Germantown. It was launched in order to give Metro riders who use Shady Grove a way to completely avoid the shutdown in the Bethesda area, and MCDOT officials say ridership was higher than expected. A spokesperson says MCDOT will monitor ridership after the shutdown ends, and if the numbers are good the Glenmont Express will likely be made permanent. MCDOT says a large majority of riders who have taken a survey about the Glenmont Express have indicated they want to be able to keep riding it even after the Red Line shutdown ends on Sunday. Starting July 6, Metro shut down the Bethesda, Medical Center, and Grosvenor-Strathmore stations. During the shutdown, crews have been doing major work to connect the Bethesda station with the future Maryland Purple Line. They also rehabilitated the platform at Grosvenor and performed maintenance on a raised railway that runs over Route 355 between the Medical Center and Grosvenor stations. Metro riders have relied on free shuttle buses to travel around the closed stations, with the shuttles using the Rt. 355 bus-only lanes to help speed up service. SEE ALSO | WEATHER ALERT: Triple digit heat index values Thursday with strong storms Two years ago, the state installed similar bus-only lanes on Georgia Avenue during a shutdown at the other end of the Metro Red Line. Those lanes remained in place and became permanent after the shutdown ended. During the summer of 2024 Metro closed Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, and Silver Spring for three months, and closed Takoma for one month.