Acting Secretary Samantha J. Biddle
Maryland Department of Transportation
707 North Calvert Street,
Baltimore, MD 21202-3601

Randy Clarke, General Manager and CEO
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
300 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024

November 24, 2025
Re: Maryland 355 Bus Lanes During Summer 2026 Red Line Shutdown

Dear Acting Secretary Biddle and General Manager Clarke:

The Action Committee for Transit (ACT) is writing to you today to address the temporary shutdown of WMATA’s Red Line from July 6, 2026 until September 6, 2026 between the Friendship Heights and North Bethesda stations. This shutdown is necessitated by the need to finish Purple Line construction and WMATA will take advantage of this opportunity to advance its maintenance program. We fully support these efforts.

As a result, curbside bus lanes on Maryland 355 from North Bethesda to the DC border are absolutely necessary to ameliorate the increase in traveling time the shutdown will cause and ensure that the limited capacity of this highway is used at maximum efficiency. Since Maryland 355 has already been designated a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor by Montgomery County, it makes sense to implement a bus lane this summer because there is already high demand for transit.

During the summer of 2024, a successful bus lane was implemented on Georgia Avenue during the Red Line shutdown on the eastern end of the route. The lane was so successful that it is now permanent. Dedicated bus lanes generally reduced travel times and improved transit reliability for bus riders. According to a State Highway Administration (SHA) press release dated December 19, 2024, bus speeds increased by as much as 32% and increased bus reliability by 18%. ACT believes the same opportunity for improved transit should be offered to people living and working on the western end of the Red Line in Montgomery County.

It is important to remember that transit riders do not cause traffic jams. Traffic jams are the consequence of too many single-occupancy cars on the road. It would be grossly unfair to make Red Line riders wait in traffic jams while the creators of the traffic jams go in front of them.

The Red Line shutdown this summer is absolutely necessary to complete the Purple Line, and it is an opportunity for WMATA to further its capital improvements at the same time. Of course, this shutdown presents a great challenge. However, it is also a great opportunity to accelerate Maryland’s efforts under the leadership of Governor Moore to provide safe, reliable, and environmentally sustainable transit. ACT looks forward to further discussion of this important initiative.

Sincerely,
Shanika Whitehurst, President
Action Committee for Transit

cc: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich
Chris Conklin, MCDOT Director
District 1 Councilmember Andrew Friedson, Montgomery County Council
Members of the Transportation and Environment Committee, Montgomery County Council
District 3 Councilmember Sidney Katz, Montgomery County Council
Delegate Marc Korman, Chair, Environment and Transportation Committee, Maryland
House of Delegates
Delegate Vaughn Stewart, Chair, Motor Vehicles and Transportation Subcommittee,
Maryland House of Delegates
William Pines, SHA Administrator