Projects meant to relieve traffic congestion in Bethesda got a nearly $90 million boost from the Department of Defense on Tuesday.

The $88.9 million will be used for five road projects in Bethesda. Officials say these projects are needed to handle the additional traffic generated from the Sept. 15 merger of the former Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The merger was part of the 2005 federal Base Realignment and Closure Act, which calls for closing and consolidating hundreds of military facilties nationwide.

The Bethesda merger brought 2,500 employess to the military campus and is expected to double the number of annual visits to 1 million.

U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington — who lobbied to bring the funds to Maryland — heralded the announcement as a boon to state and county’s transportation agencies, both of which reported being unable to undertake these projects without federal assistance.

“This money which has taken nearly two years to secure will help ensure wounded warriors and their families are able to access the new facility and lessen the impact on the surrounding community,” he said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “It is an important part of making sure this is a world class center for our brave servicemen and women and veterans.”

There are more than $165 million in intersection improvements, bike paths, and other transportation projects slated for Bethesda, according to transportation documents.

The county’s highest priority for this funding is a $40 million pedestrian underpass, designed so that Metrorail users exiting at the Medical Center stop would travel underneath Wisconsin Avenue instead of across, as is currently done, to get to Walter Reed, said Phil Alperson, the county’s BRAC Coordinator.

“We’re thrilled about the money,” he said. “...It will go a long way.”

Also included was intersection improvements at Cedar Lane and Rockville Pike as well as Connecticut Avenue and Jones Bridge Road and Kensington Parkway. Bicycle and transit improvements are planned for Old Georgetown Road. These county projects will receive the remaining $48.9 million.

The Commonwealth of Virginia and Fairfax County were approved for $180 million Tuesday to widen Route 1 from Telegraph Road to Mount Vernon Memorial Highway to ease congestion due to a BRAC merger at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County.

These funds were granted through the Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment, which made $300 million worth of such grants available this year for BRAC impacted communities with military medical facilities.

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