The Baltimore Board of Estimates unanimously approved a nearly $2 million grant Wednesday to revitalize dozens of intersections burdened by last year’s collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Valued at $1,976,456 — the grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will fund “signal technology improvements” such as CCTV cameras and radar improvements at 50 intersections throughout the area. Intersections along Eastern Avenue, Pulaski Highway/Route 40 and Hanover Street are among those targeted by the project, according to a presentation by Baltimore City Transportation Director Veronica McBeth.

“The project would upgrade approximately 50 intersections with different advanced technologies, including replacement of signal controllers, adding signal communications, CCTV cameras and radar sensors to optimize traffic along the routes,” McBeth said.

McBeth said the city applied for the grant last July and was notified of the award earlier this month. The project will kick off on July 1 and is scheduled to last for two years, according to McBeth’s presentation.

Staffing contract

The board also unanimously approved a separate agreement with local business consultant Robert Half International, Inc., to aid in contracting temporary city employees. Valued at exactly $2 million, the contract runs from June 1 to Sept. 1.

“This is a bridge contract to get us from June 1 to Sept. 1 so that we can continue using Robert Half services,” said Adam Manne, the city’s chief of procurement.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the partnership with Robert Half allows the city to address temporary employment gaps that “you just can’t plan for,” such as a woman getting pregnant and taking maternity leave.

“She’s gonna come back to that job, but there’s no one that can just jump in and do that job immediately at that time,” Scott said, using the example of a pregnant employee. “This allows us to not have to permanently contract that out, but to allow that … person to stay in their position while they go on the leave that they are legally obligated to take.”

City Council President Zeke Cohen asked Manne if his department tracks which agencies use Robert Half services, to which the procurement chief responded he does not. Manne noted that city agencies like the Department of Finance have relied on temporary staff members, while Chief Administrative Officer Faith Leach said she used Robert Half to staff a call center while in a previous role.

Crash settlement

Deputy City Solicitor Stephen Salsbury advised the board to approve a $75,000 settlement related to an August 2023 car crash, which its members also did unanimously.

According to Salsbury, plaintiff Linda Evans was struck at the intersection of Park Avenue and Saratoga Street by a distracted Baltimore City Recreation and Parks (BCRP) employee who ran a red light. Evans suffered a concussion, spinal strains and a knee contusion as a result of the crash.

“The city’s liability was pretty clear, there was a video of the accident and the driver acknowledged being distracted while entering the intersection,” Salsbury said.

Salsbury said BCRP and the city’s Bureau of Risk Management did not discipline the driver, prompting City Comptroller Bill Henry to ask if the latter agency would revise policies to retroactively discipline employees found responsible for past crashes. No Risk Management employees were present at Wednesday’s meeting, but Salsbury responded he would “take that question to them.”

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