This project will complete design for the Southern and Northern segments of the MD 355 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. The Southern segment is from the Montgomery College Rockville Campus to Bethesda Metro station. The Northern segment is from the Montgomery College Germantown Campus to Clarksburg. This is part of the larger MD 355 BRT corridor that extends from Bethesda to Clarksburg. The Central segment will be designed and constructed as a separate project. Planning conducted by the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) resulted in several alternatives retained for detailed study in 2017. The project includes dedicated BRT lanes, new BRT stations with level boarding and off-board payment, Transit Signal Priority (TSP), purchase of new zero-emission BRT buses, and other associated pedestrian and bicycle improvements along the corridor. In addition, the project will consider the inclusion of a new transit center in the Clarksburg area to facilitate connections between different transit services as demand increases.

Preliminary engineering was completed in FY24 (see fiscal note). Final design will begin in FY25 and is anticipated to be completed by FY26. Planning and design for the Clarksburg Transit Center will occur in FY27 and 28. The construction schedule is unknown at this time and is dependent on funding availability.

The project will transform mobility options with the completed implementation of a 22-mile, premium, branded, limited-stop BRT service along MD 355 between Clarksburg and Bethesda. This new service will improve transit travel time and increase opportunity for a broad range of users along a highly congested corridor. The project will improve passenger transit mobility by connecting riders to high density housing and employment centers. The project is being phased to accelerate delivery. The first phase will implement BRT between Rockville and Germantown. Extensions to Bethesda and Clarksburg will be completed as a second phase.

Programming of funds through final design improves the project's eligibility for potential entry into the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Grant program. Preliminary engineering for this phase is funded in the MD 355 Central project (P502005). This project will utilize Op Lanes Maryland revenue proceeds, which have been pledged by the Maryland Department of Transportation to fund high priority public transit projects in Montgomery County. State aid in FY24-25 includes State grants for capital projects in Montgomery County programmed during the 2023 Maryland General Assembly session. Op Lanes Maryland funding was deferred in FY23 to allow the new State administration time to move the project forward.

A pedestrian impact analysis will be performed during design or is in progress. The County Executive asserts that this project conforms to the requirement of relevant local plans, as required by the Maryland Economic Growth, Resource Protection and Planning Act.

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration & Maryland Transit Administration, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Permitting Services, Washington Gas, Pepco, Verizon, Comcast, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and Federal Transit Administration (FTA), City of Rockville, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Commission on People with Disabilities, Transit Advisory Group, Neighborhood and Civic Associations, and MD 355 BRT Corridor Advisory Committee