Multiple road closures on Randolph Road and Beach Drive are underway and affecting the commutes of many students coming to and from CESJDS. The construction and closures are resulting in additional commute time for students. 

Pepco, a public utility company that supplies electricity to Washington, D.C. and Md., has begun a new substation construction project in North Bethesda. This has resulted in the closures of the westbound lanes on Randolph Road between Nebel Street and Parklawn Drive. The eastbound lanes remain open to traffic while the westbound lanes are being detoured to Parklawn Drive. The work started on Aug. 30, 2021, and is expected to take approximately six months, provided that there are no additional delays resulting from weather or other unforeseen circumstances. 

Additionally, Beach Drive in Kensington, Md., between Old Spring Road and Kensington Parkway, closed on Aug. 30, and will remain closed through early June 2022 as the two-lane bridge over Silver Creek is being replaced. 

These two road closures are unrelated. 

The closures are especially inconvenient for JDS families as both construction projects overlap directly with the school year. 

Sophomore Zoe Epstein said that when riding to school with her grandmother, who was unaware of the road closures, 10-15 minutes were added to their commute. 

“She didn’t know that the roads were closed, so for us, we kept going different ways that were blocked,” Epstein said. 

The road closures are more impactful for new drivers as they may be unfamiliar with alternate routes.

“It’s affecting my brother being able to get his hours for driving because he doesn’t want to drive with all of this construction,” Epstein said. “The normal way we go, we can’t go.”

While Epstein’s grandmother was not aware of the road closures, her father, David Epstein, appreciated the email that JDS sent out that warned the parents of blockages. 

JDS’ Director of Facilities and Engineering, Israel Moskowitz said that once JDS was alerted about the road closures, they re-routed the busses to a different direction and took the necessary measures to notify families by sending out an email to the community. 

For additional information about the road closures, go here: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dot/newSearch.html?q=beach%20drive, https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=37958&Dept=50