Since Phase 3 construction began on September 4, the part of Elm Street Park north of Elm Street has been closed to the public. That means the playgrounds and the half basketball court at 4600 Elm Street are off-limits until the renovation finishes in 2027. A block away, the new shared-use path along 47th Street is nearly done, with an October 2026 target.
Both projects are building the same thing: the permanent link between downtown Bethesda and the Capital Crescent Trail. For years the trail's crossing of downtown seemed headed for a tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue. Today the surface route through and beside Elm Street Park is the plan, and the tunnel has no construction date.
What's open this fall
Elm Street Park covers two acres. It sits within Town of Chevy Chase limits, and Montgomery Parks maintains it. Before construction, the northern part held the playgrounds, a half basketball court, and seating. The southern part had benches, gazebos, walking paths, open lawn, and mature trees.
The Town of Chevy Chase's construction notice is direct about the boundary. The section north of Elm Street is closed to the public during Phase 3. For a playground and basketball court in the meantime, the Town points families to Leland Park at 4300 Elm Street. The notice describes the closure only by that boundary. It doesn't say feature by feature which southern-side amenities stay open, and it names no other substitute park.
Phase 3 also does more than rebuild a playground. The Town says this phase "will extend the trail through the park and connect it to the future Purple Line Trail/Capital Crescent Trail beneath the Bethesda Crossing building." The closed area is where the trail's final downtown connection is being built.
How the tunnel lost to the surface route
The Purple Line light rail runs along the old trail corridor, so the trail has to be realigned. Planners studied two ways through downtown: a tunnel beneath Wisconsin Avenue, and a surface route through Elm Street Park. In October 2021, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved both options. According to Montgomery Parks' project page, funding for the tunnel was "delayed beyond the current funding cycle," so MCDOT "elected to proceed with the surface route option through and alongside Elm Street Park."
The tunnel still exists on paper. The county's capital budget record for the Capital Crescent Trail tunnel describes it as linking the trail at Elm Street Park to the Bethesda Purple Line Station, and lists the project in final design. The same record puts bid preparation, utility relocation, and construction beyond the six-year budget period, and it gives no opening date.
So nothing currently funded or scheduled replaces the 47th Street path and the Elm Street Park connection. The 2021 approval included concept plans for the park renovation, and this fall's work carries out that design.
Riding the surface route today
MCDOT's Bethesda bikeway page describes the connected pieces. Going from the 47th Street area toward Woodmont Avenue, the bikeway runs like this:
- 47th Street, a shared-use path from Willow Lane north to the Elm Street Park Promenade at Elm Street.
- Willow Lane, a two-way separated path heading west from 47th Street to Wisconsin Avenue.
- Bethesda Avenue, a separated two-way bike lane from Wisconsin Avenue to Woodmont Avenue.
The northern end of the 47th Street path stops at the promenade, which sits right at the closed section. For now, the Willow Lane and Bethesda Avenue pieces are the documented way to reach Woodmont. Phase 3 will finish the link through the park itself.
On foot, the Bethesda Beacon reported in September that walkers are still detoured between Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street. The detour runs over the Elm and Waverly crossings, Hampden Lane, and Woodmont Avenue, while trail construction continues between Elm Street Park and Rock Creek Park. The Purple Line project's own detour listing runs through December 2026.
Phase 2 is the section closest to finished. Besides the 47th Street path, it adds a park entry plaza, sidewalk upgrades, lighting, and new trees. MCDOT's Phase 2 photo gallery labels the path at 47th and Elm completed as of August 6, 2026. Montgomery Parks' September 16 update still put Phase 2 at about 90 percent complete. The finished paving shows what the route looks like, but the official finish date is still pending.
Every date, and how firm it is
The trail dates have moved before. In January 2026, Bethesda Magazine cited an MTA report projecting that the Capital Crescent Trail would be finished in summer 2026. Here is where the sources stand as of early October 2026.
| Piece | Current target | Source | How firm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47th Street path, Phase 2 | October 2026 | Montgomery Parks, updated Sept. 16, 2026 | Near done; about 90% complete in mid-September |
| North Elm Street Park renovation, Phase 3 | 2027 | Montgomery Parks | Construction started in September 2026 |
| Main trail along the Purple Line alignment | Spring 2027 | County capital budget | Based on MTA's schedule; estimates have shifted before |
| Main trail, per MTA | Construction "in 2026" | Purple Line FAQ | Says the trail opens when safe and feasible; no public date |
| Trail tunnel under Wisconsin and Elm | None | County capital budget | Construction is past the six-year budget window |
| Bethesda Market Park | FY30, conditional | County capital budget | Still in preliminary planning |
The Purple Line FAQ also says public use of the trail is prohibited during construction.
Trains under Elm Street
The construction you can't see is moving too. Live wire testing on the Purple Line began in June 2026. By September 10, the Bethesda Beacon reported trains testing on dedicated tracks between the Lyttonsville facility and Bethesda Station, with the station cavern and shaft under construction beneath Elm Street. Most test runs happen between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The project has warned that trains could move at any hour and has asked people to stay out of the work zone.
On the Metro side, full Red Line service returned to Bethesda, Medical Center, and Grosvenor-Strathmore on Monday, September 7, after a nine-week shutdown. During that shutdown, Metro built a 6,000-square-foot mezzanine at Bethesda Station with two elevators and two escalators. It will become the transfer point to the Purple Line. Metro says work will continue behind barriers for about 18 months with no further station closures.
The trail, the light rail station, and the Metro transfer are all being built within a few blocks of one another, around Elm Street.
What the north end of the park becomes
The design for the closed section came out of community outreach in fall 2024. Priorities raised there included inclusive play, safer conditions where the trail crosses, and protecting the trees and open space in the southern part of the park. The Montgomery Parks design includes:
- Two playgrounds on a flat, cork-based poured-in-place surface, with seating and boulders.
- An inclusive play area for younger children with an enclosed swing and harness, a low cone-shaped spinner, in-ground bouncers, a cozy dome, a walk-in see-saw, a Hula Loop, a communication board, and a treehouse with a 4-foot slide.
- A play area for ages 5 to 12 with 8-foot and 15-foot climbing towers, two slides, a rope tunnel, hammocks, and balance lines.
- A fitness zone for ages 13 and up with a dip station, a calisthenics rack, stepper platforms, push-up bars, and an "Ocean Ring" for balance work that also works as a place to hang out.
- A rebuilt promenade with new paving, lighting, seating, and a drinking fountain.
The Parks page and the Town notice give different age ranges for the younger playground: Parks says 2 to 12, and the Town says 2 to 5. The final signs will settle it.
Montgomery Parks says all of this equipment is intentionally different from what's planned for Bethesda Market Park, the future park on two surface parking lots next to the Bethesda Farm Women's Market. Its plans include a stage, an amphitheater, a water feature, and small and large dog parks. That park is still in preliminary planning, and its construction start is listed as TBD. So when the northern section reopens in 2027, Elm Street Park's new north end is likely to be downtown Bethesda's newest playground for a while.
If dinner after the park is part of your routine, our summer map of Bethesda's 2026 restaurant openings covers the Woodmont Triangle and Wisconsin Avenue openings close to the bike lanes. Our Bethesda neighborhood page has the bigger picture.
When friends or family ask how the trail, the Purple Line, and the Metro transfer will fit into a day in Bethesda once they open, Shari Arciaga is glad to walk them through what's built and what's still on paper. The Ultimate Moving to Maryland Guide is a good place to start, too.
