Md. Transportation, Highway Review 6-Year Plan

courtesy Republican News

Oct. 9, 2008

The Oakland bypass and virtually every other major new capital project in the state are "victims" of the economic downturn, Maryland Department of Transportation (DOT) deputy secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley told local officials and residents on Friday in the Garrett County commissioners' meeting room.
She and other DOT and State Highway Administration (SHA) officials have been reviewing their six-year Consolidated Transportation Program with residents across the state.

Swaim-Staley said $1.1 billion worth of projects have been deferred for five years because of a "dramatic" decrease in transportation revenue. Because of the high cost of gasoline, she noted, Maryland residents are driving fewer miles and buying fewer cars. As a result, the state has lost more than $750 million in fuel taxes, car sale taxes, and title/registration fees.

"We certainly hope when economic conditions improve we will have opportunities to move these deferred projects forward," the deputy secretary said. "But right now, we don't have that luxury."

She noted that Maryland is in better financial shape than other states and will be able to keep its System Preservation Program. As a result, road resurfacing and bridge maintenance projects will continue. Swaim-Staley added, however, that fuel, asphalt, and construction costs have greatly increased.

"We're spending more money on system preservation, but we're not getting as much for the dollar as we did a year ago," she said.

SHA administrator Neil Pedersen stressed the importance of highway safety and the need for local bridge preservation.

"As we've seen in some of our neighboring states, when you start to get behind, it takes an awful lot of money to catch up on system preservation," he said about bridge repairs.

He noted that only half of the bridges in Maryland are under the state's jurisdiction. Most of the rest belong to counties and municipalities. Pedersen said there is a special "pot" of federal money now available for local bridges.

"I'm going to be encouraging every county that we're visiting to take a look at their local bridge program," he said.

Pedersen also reviewed the status of the Oakland bypass. He said the engineering portion of the $42 million project was in its final stage.

The acquisition phase is 25 percent completed, but a portion of the right of way funding and all of the construction money have been deferred indefinitely. Additionally, the project is under-funded by $40 million, according to Pedersen.

"We will continue to work with both the town of Oakland and Garrett County in terms of right of way issues, ensuring that the right of way continues to be preserved," he said about the proposed bypass.

Members of Garrett Countians for Smart Growth were not displeased with the project's deferment.

"We feel the postponement is a good thing," said the group's spokesperson, Dr. Dona Alvarez. "We have 900 signatures on a petition to stop [the bypass]. We feel there have been significant local changes since the 1999 study."

Also speaking against the project were former state delegate DeCorsey Bolden and Mountain Lake Park mayor Leo Martin.

Total Biz Fulfillment owner Gary Ruddle, however, approved of the project.

"An Oakland bypass . . . would relieve Oakland of awkward, large trucks through a fairly congested town," he said.

Ruddell noted that as his business grows, so will truck traffic to and from his new southern warehouse, located along Rt. 135 near Mtn. Lake Park. In the future, he estimates, there will be as many as 200 truck trips per business day involving that facility.

Ruddell also spoke in favor of improving Rt. 495 and Rt. 135 so those highways could safely accommodate more truck traffic.

Another deferment is the Rt. 219 North corridor improvement study, a joint effort between Maryland an Pennsylvania. The local portion of this study involves the reconstruction/relocation of Rt. 219 from I-68 to the Pennsylvania state line.

"We're moving along fairly well in terms of identifying and doing civil engineering in several alternative alignments in each state," Pedersen said. An environmental impact statement concerning those alignments has also been written.

He added, however, that Pennsylvania is having even more transportation funding problems than Maryland. As a result, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has put project planning activities temporarily on hold.

"We will continue to coordinate with PennDot in helping them get the study completed so that an alignment can be selected," Pedersen said.

SHA District 6 engineer Bob Fisher reviewed local resurfacing and bridge preservation projects that are under way. Those include Streetscape projects in Mtn. Lake Park, Loch Lynn, and Oakland.

As in previous years, Director John Nelson, Garrett County Department of Planning and Land Development, presented a "wish list" of projects and concerns of local officials to the DOT and SHA.

"We know that some years are lean, but we continue to be optimistic that things will turn around," Nelson said. "With that in mind, we continue to list the Oakland bypass as our number one priority."

Also on the list was the Rt. 219 North project, crosswalk signage issues at Deep Creek Lake, an assessment of the need/obstacles to upgrading Rt. 495, and continued upgrades of Rt. 42.

Mayor Martin noted that his town should be able to have more input with compiling the wish list, as Mtn. Lake Park is the most populated municipality in the county.

"We don't agree with this list," Martin said. "Mtn. Lake Park has gone on record at least twice against the bypass because of the effect it will have on our town. And it's a very negative effect."


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