The MacArthur Boulevard Bikeway in Bethesda is moving toward construction, according to Montgomery County's transportation department.

The project is part of a 20-project pipeline that would add nearly 18 miles of cycling routes countywide. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) listed the MacArthur Boulevard project as "nearing construction" alongside the Piney Branch Road separated bike facilities in Silver Spring and the Amherst Avenue Bikeway in Wheaton, Montgomery Community Media reported.

The project page tells a different story. MCDOT's own listing for Segment 1 still describes the project as being in a facility planning phase that began in January 2018, with preliminary design at 35% completion and no construction start date posted.

Segment 1 covers 2.9 miles from Stable Lane to the I-495 underpass. The design calls for an 8-foot shared-use path on the eastbound side of MacArthur Boulevard, separated from traffic by a 5-foot green buffer. Two 11-foot travel lanes would remain.

MCDOT's bikeways program lists three separate MacArthur Boulevard projects: Segment 1, Segment 3 and a stretch from Old Angler Inn to Falls Road. The department has not specified which segment is closest to breaking ground.

Three projects are already under construction: segments of the Capital Crescent Trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring, the Metropolitan Branch Trail in Silver Spring and safety upgrades along McComas Avenue in Wheaton. Together they will add more than two miles of bike pathways.

County Executive Marc Elrich said in the Aug. 31 Montgomery Community Media report that the county has built more than 17 miles of bike-friendly pathways since 2022, including protected bikeways tied to the Purple Line. Montgomery County now has 112 miles of bike lanes, shoulders and cycle tracks in total.

"We're advancing our protected bike lane projects and strengthening those connections to transit," MCDOT Director Chris Conklin said on Aug. 20 in a MoCoShow report on county bike classes. "We currently have three projects in construction that will add a total of two miles of safe pathways for cyclists, and an additional 20 projects in the planning phase."

MCDOT is also building a secure bike parking facility in downtown Silver Spring at the base of Garage 5, near Dixon Avenue and Bonifant Street. The facility is expected to open in fall 2026.

Not everyone is convinced the projects add up to a usable network. Bethesda cyclist Elyce Jacobs described safety concerns at the Capital Crescent Trail's Bethesda Avenue crossing in an Aug. 18 Montgomery Community Media report on gaps in the county's cycling infrastructure.

"By Woodmont and Bethesda Avenue, where you come off the Capital Crescent Trail, you have cars in different directions, you have walkers … I'm always seeing people slam on their brakes," Jacobs said at the time.

MCDOT has not published a construction start date or public comment deadline for the MacArthur Boulevard Bikeway.