Work starting on two roads
Ground broken on 32 widening; rebuilding bridge over 29 to start
Two long-awaited transportation projects in Howard County — the widening of Route 32 and the pedestrian bridge over U.S. 29 — are getting underway after years of discussion and planning.
On Thursday, Gov. Larry Hogan and Howard County Executive Allan H.
Kittleman broke ground on the $37.5 million project to widen Route 32 from two lanes to four between Route 108 in Clarksville and Linden Church Road.
And on Monday, construction on a project to renovate the U.S. 29 pedestrian overpass in Columbia is expected to start.
At Thursday’s event Hogan noted that more than 30,000 vehicles travel along Route 32 every day, and said “the improvements we are making along this corridor are personal.”
“As anyone who drives along Route 32 can attest, this is one of the most congested and dangerous roads in the region,” Kittleman said in a news release.
“Too many have experienced the severe congestion common here in Howard County, and some people have lost loved ones in fatal crashes,” said Hogan in the release. County officials said that since 2016, police have reported 288 collisions on Route 32 between Route 108 and Interstate 70 — 41 of them involving personal injuries.
Officials said average daily traffic on Route 32 is expected to increase to 52,000 vehicles by 2040.
The project getting underway will turn the road from a two-lane undivided highway to a four-lane divided highway.
It’s phase one of a long-term plan for Route 32, and is expected to be completed by fall 2018.
The design process is underway on the next phase, a 6.5-mile section between Linden Church Road and I-70.
Meanwhile, the footbridge connecting Oakland Mills to downtown Columbia is being upgraded to transform the current cage-like structure into a shelllike structure with improved lighting
On Thursday, Gov. Larry Hogan and Howard County Executive Allan H.
Kittleman broke ground on the $37.5 million project to widen Route 32 from two lanes to four between Route 108 in Clarksville and Linden Church Road.
And on Monday, construction on a project to renovate the U.S. 29 pedestrian overpass in Columbia is expected to start.
At Thursday’s event Hogan noted that more than 30,000 vehicles travel along Route 32 every day, and said “the improvements we are making along this corridor are personal.”
“As anyone who drives along Route 32 can attest, this is one of the most congested and dangerous roads in the region,” Kittleman said in a news release.
“Too many have experienced the severe congestion common here in Howard County, and some people have lost loved ones in fatal crashes,” said Hogan in the release. County officials said that since 2016, police have reported 288 collisions on Route 32 between Route 108 and Interstate 70 — 41 of them involving personal injuries.
Officials said average daily traffic on Route 32 is expected to increase to 52,000 vehicles by 2040.
The project getting underway will turn the road from a two-lane undivided highway to a four-lane divided highway.
It’s phase one of a long-term plan for Route 32, and is expected to be completed by fall 2018.
The design process is underway on the next phase, a 6.5-mile section between Linden Church Road and I-70.
Meanwhile, the footbridge connecting Oakland Mills to downtown Columbia is being upgraded to transform the current cage-like structure into a shelllike structure with improved lighting
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