(April 21, 2014) –Delivering on the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s commitment to reduce congestion and enhance highway safety in Southern Maryland, Transportation Secretary James T. Smith, Jr. joined area officials to break ground on the northbound MD 4 widening project at MD 235 and activate a traffic signal along MD 4 at Wildewood Parkway in St. Mary’s County.
“Thanks to Governor O’Malley, Lt. Governor Brown and the legislative leadership in Annapolis, the Transportation Investment Act is now delivering real projects that will make a real difference in St. Mary’s County,” said Secretary Smith. “With the strong support and hard work of Delegate Bohanan, these projects will support economic development and enhance safety while protecting the quality of life that makes Southern Maryland so special.”
Officials broke ground on the $3.7 million MD 4 widening project to break the bottleneck that causes thousands of commuters to experience daily delays traveling along northbound MD 235 to northbound MD 4 bound for the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge. Once complete, drivers will have a second northbound lane, a dedicated right-turn lane to Oak Drive and an extended merge area all the way to Patuxent Boulevard.
“It is gratifying to see action on two important transportation projects today,” said Delegate John L. Bohanan, Jr. “With the continued commitment from the O’Malley-Brown Administration, I’m confident the State will continue to fund our near and long-term projects that will benefit both businesses and residents by reducing congestion, improving safety and helping support the tremendous growth in this region.”
Scheduled for completion in spring 2015, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) awarded the work to local contractor Great Mills Trading Post, Inc. of Great Mills.
Following the groundbreaking event at the MD 4 / MD 235 intersection, officials traveled south to activate the new MD 4 traffic signal at Wildewood Parkway. Nearly 17,500 vehicles use this intersection each day. The $146,000 traffic improvement will benefit motorists exiting Wildewood Parkway onto MD 4, especially during the peak morning and afternoon rush hours. Signal work was completed by another Maryland contractor, Rommel Engineering of Linthicum. St. Mary’s County also contributed funding for the signal installation.
“The O’Malley-Brown Administration is listening to our concerns about important transportation issues and providing solutions that work,” said St. Mary’s County Commission President Francis Jack Russell. “These road projects will be appreciated by the thousands of residents and visitors that count on them every day to get where they need to go from local tourist sites to Patuxent River Naval Air Station.”
Funding for both safety improvements was made possible with the passage of the Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013. Funding from the Transportation Act enabled the Maryland Department of Transportation to add $4.4 billion in new projects to create the largest six-year capital budget in Maryland history at $15.6 billion.