(May 8, 2013) – The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is improving safety along
MD 140 in Carroll County with a project to add guardrail in the median between Westminster and Finksburg. Installation began Monday and will be complete by mid-July, weather permitting.
The new guardrail is being installed in the median of MD 140 (Baltimore Boulevard) between Market Street in Westminster and MD 91 (Emory Road/Gamber Road) in Finksburg. SHA selected this six-mile segment based on state guidelines which consider factors such as a roadway’s traffic volume, median width and crash history. This section of MD 140 has an average traffic volume of more than 40,000 vehicles a day and includes shopping centers, businesess, schools, homes and churches.
While the guardrail is being installed, motorists should expect shoulder closures and single-lane closures on westbound MD 140 Mondays through Fridays between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. and on eastbound MD 140 Mondays through Fridays between 9 a .m. and 4 p.m. SHA will use traffic cones, barrells, arrow panels and variable message signs to direct motorists through the work zone.
SHA awarded the $784,890 contract to L.S. Lee Inc. of York, Pa. Anyone with questions about traffic on MD 140 or other State numbered routes in Carroll County may contact SHA’s District 7 office at 301-624-8100, toll-free at 800-635-5119, or by email at
SHADistrict7@sha.state.md.us.
At SHA, traffic safety is a top priority and the traffic barrier program is a safety effort aimed at preventing cross-median crashes on divided highways. Each year $5 to $10 million is invested in upgrading guardrail to current standards and installing new guardrail according to prescribed guidelines. Strategic placement of guardrail is a cost-effective safety program and a key strategy to reducing highway fatalities.
While SHA and its partners work hard to maintain safe traffic mobility in work zones, each driver needs to actively modify his or her driving style to help prevent crashes. Stay alert – look for reduced speed limits, narrow driving lanes and highway workers. Slow down and don't follow too closely. Safer Driving. Safer Work Zones. For everyone!
Maryland now features FREE 511 traveler information! Call 511 or 1-855-GOMD511 or visit
www.md511.org for current travel information. Sign up to personalize travel route information through MY511 on the website. Remember to use 511 safely – Maryland law prohibits hand-held mobile phone use and texting while driving.
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