River Road construction project could mean traffic headaches for Montgomery County residents

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - A summer construction project is getting underway in Montgomery County this week that could have a big impact on many residents.

The stretch of River Road between the Beltway and District Line at Western Avenue is a popular thoroughfare lined with businesses and homes and has a lot of cut-through traffic but utility work by Washington Gas is certain to make things move a little more slowly starting this week.

The Maryland Department of Transportation has issued a traffic alert detailing the closures and detours drivers can expect.

There are three key areas to focus on here: At the Western Avenue line, there is going to be work that could impact traffic. On Goldsboro Road, there will be lane closures, including some of these ramps, and the left-southbound lane will be closed for a little less than a one-mile stretch.

Washington Gas is doing this utility work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. During these hours, Washington Gas will be installing a remote-control valve on a natural gas transmission line in the median of MD 190.  

Washington Gas says they hope to end work by 5 p.m. every day, and anticipate this project ending in late August.

Lynn McCarthy lives on River Road and says she’s not looking forward to this project because of the traffic because the bus stop will be temporarily closed, which is an overall headache for her.

The traffic — it sounds like it’s going to be backed up in both directions," McCarthy said. "It’s going to be really interesting to see it down to one lane and awkward. It’s going to be horrible." 

McCarthy did say she was happy with the communication about the project and was hopeful that part of these closures is to detour truck traffic around River Road.