By Geoff Gerhardt

On Thursday, September 4, state and local leaders gathered in Montgomery Hills to announce that the project to make long-awaited improvements to Georgia Avenue is now fully funded.

The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Draft Fiscal Year 2026–2031 Consolidated Transportation Program allocates funds needed to complete the $50.8 million Georgia Avenue project. Final design is complete, right-of-way acquisitions and utility relocations are underway, and construction will begin in spring 2028.

In announcing funding for the project, State Highway Administrator William Pines said, “[The State Highway Administration] is excited to see this important safety project advance, bringing improvements that will enhance safety, connectivity, and accessibility for all highway users. The partnership with the community has been critical to moving this project forward and we look forward to coming back to celebrate its completion.”

For more than 40 years, plans have circulated to transform Georgia Ave. in Montgomery Hills into a tree-lined boulevard that feels like a neighborhood street, not a highway cutting through the middle of the surrounding neighborhoods. For decades, those plans stalled. The heart of Montgomery Hills is too often treated as a place to drive through rather than a destination to walk, bike, gather, and shop.

When complete, the reimagined Georgia Avenue corridor will:

• link to community assets—improved walking and biking access will make it easier for residents to connect with local businesses, Forest Glen Metro, downtown Silver Spring, nearby schools, and eventually the Purple Line.
• be safer for everyone—replacement of the reversible lane with a median, improved sidewalks, and protected
• cycle lane will make traveling along the corridor easier and safer whether you’re on foot, on a bike, in a wheel
• chair, or in a car.
• support local businesses—a more attractive, walkable environment invites people to stop, linger, and shop locally.
• space for a community park—realigning southbound 16th St. will make room to develop a new neighborhood park.
• create a sense of place—with trees, wider sidewalks, and space for people, Georgia Avenue will become the kind of main street that strengthens neighborhood identity.

This is a landmark moment for Montgomery Hills. After decades of waiting, the vision of a tree-lined boulevard that connects rather than divides is finally within reach. The progress we have seen on this project is due in large part to community input and activism, including strong support from residents of North Woodside and the North Woodside Citizens’ Association.