WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin today met with the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce to discuss areas of concern, particularly the impact of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) on transportation along Wisconsin Avenue corridor.

BRAC has mandated the merger of the National Naval Medical Hospital and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center on the existing Naval Center campus in Bethesda.
  The new facility will be called the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and the expansion will result in a large increase of jobs, patients, and visitors to an area that is already highly congested.
 

The Senator pledged to work to get additional federal funding to help the area address its serious transportation needs.
  He also told the Chamber that he will work to move the Purple Line process forward as quickly as possible.
 

“There is no doubt that BRAC will have an enormous impact on Montgomery County and the whole metropolitan region.
  The current network of highways and roads is close to the breaking point, and the federal government has a responsibility to help local communities adjust to the rapid influx of people and traffic,” said Senator Cardin.  

He added that he wants to see an expansion of the entire region’s public transportation network, “including building the Purple Metro Line, and additional transportation arteries that will help ensure a smooth and safe flow of traffic in the entire region.”