There’s a white sign in the middle of Elm Street in Bethesda, Maryland, indicating the road is closed to thru traffic.
Nearby, there are white and orange-colored cones and barriers. Construction trucks are parked on the side of the street, which currently doesn’t offer access to Wisconsin Avenue.
The entrance to The Barking Dog sits in the middle of it all. Ever since Purple Line construction started years ago, owner John McManus said the road has been difficult to navigate. Some people still park illegally and large trucks come through.
His restaurant has been around long enough that customers know how to find it. But still, he said, the disruption causes some potential diners to avoid the area altogether.
To help businesses compensate for the potential loss in revenue, Maryland’s Department of Transportation is offering them grants ranging from $1,000 to $40,000. It’s part of a four-year, $4 million initiative aimed at supporting small businesses.
“It has been an inconvenience, to say the least,” McManus said. “But they’ve been very good about reaching out and offering assistance. I’m hoping, obviously, that this grant, for whatever amount, will help us sort of offset our loss in revenue from the impacts of the construction.”
McManus said he found out about the grant two months ago, and the restaurant filled out an application that same day. On Thursday, they learned they had been selected, though he doesn’t know how much the grant will be for or when it’s coming.
Grant amounts were based on sales and number of employees, the agency said, noting that all awardees have been informed that they’ve been selected.
The lack of accessibility to Wisconsin Avenue creates a challenge for cars and for parking, McManus said. There used to be street parking, but it’s no longer available.
Only an “augmented sidewalk” along the south side of Elm Street offers a pathway to the main road, McManus said, making it hard for customers, especially those staying at nearby hotels, to get to the restaurant.
Large trucks go back and forth from different parts of the job site, he said, and sometimes there are 18-wheelers that block the road.
“There was the bowing up of granite in the ground, which happened periodically, where you would get rumbles of explosions in the street,” McManus said. “That was a pain.”
The noise has created disruption for some customers who are eating outside on a nice day, he said.
“They had a stop in service for two years, so the road has been closed effectively for seven years now, since 2018,” McManus said. “That’s a long time to not be able to have thru traffic and no parking.”
Over 100 businesses, including Puree Artisan Juice Bar and Bella Bethesda Salon along Elm Street, also received grant funding through this round of grants. The next group of recipients will be announced in July.
McManus said while he’s grateful for the financial relief, there are still people who have been avoiding the area.
“It’s like going to Virginia on the American Legion Bridge,” McManus said. “There’s some people that just won’t go to Virginia. They don’t want to drive over the bridge. And there’s some people that don’t want to come to Bethesda and deal with the traffic.”
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