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Luz Lazo
Transportation reporter covering the Washington Metro, buses, Bikeshare Capital, taxis and the region's road network
A 1.4-mile stretch of Highway 1 in Prince George County will undergo a $ 40 million facelift including bike lanes and other traffic safety features in an accident-prone area.
Obtaining funding from the state project and at the construction threshold took about a decade. Now the work will be almost as long. Commuters and residents of this busy avenue of Baltimore Avenue – Route 1 being designated at College Park – should be preparing for a six year construction zone starting next year.
Work from the University of Maryland campus entrance to College Avenue / Regents Drive to the bridge over Maryland 193 (University Boulevard) will take longer to complete than the construction of the Purple Line, a line of 16 miles (66 km), in Maryland.
"When you put things in perspective, it's hard to believe that a purple line will cross the city in 2022 from Bethesda and we will not even be able to widen Highway 1 at this time," said Somlands City Manager , in Maryland. Transportation officials at a College Park City Council meeting last month.
Highway officials said the six years of work were needed to allow for the removal of many utility infrastructure down the hall and to meet the demands of the University of Maryland for not having construction when it came time to move. major events.
[U-Md. wants to take a part of its 18-hole golf course and turn it into intramural fields]
A Highway 1 project is expected to improve pedestrian safety in the busy corridor. (Luz Lazo / The Washington Post)
State officials said the teams could not work 180 days – nearly half of the year – because of events at the university.
At a meeting this month, university and state highway authorities agreed to revise this number. Andre Futrell, a district engineer in charge of the road administration, who oversees the project, said that the state was also working to extend construction hours to include evenings and weekends in order to 39, speed up the project.
"If we are able to do that, we think it will shorten the time," Futrell said.
But that may not be enough. The relocation of utilities alone will take between three and four years, during which time there will be lane closures, state officials said.
It will take Pepco 15 to 18 months to replace his utility poles. After that, Comcast and Verizon have to move their lines, announced last month Lindsey Bobian, Project Manager at the State Highway Administration.
The College Park Road 1 section carries up to 36,000 vehicles a day, officials said. (Luz Lazo / The Washington Post)
The project requires the relocation of several circuits, including facilities that power Pepco's substations and serve thousands of local customers, said Pepco spokeswoman Christina Y. Harper. Teams will be required to isolate and de-energize areas along the route to safely perform the work while continuing to provide customer service.
The enlargement project, which includes a divided four-lane highway with a raised median and improved features for cyclists and pedestrians, is the first of three phases of a wider reconstruction of the corridor, which will add another kilometer to Capital Beltway. It is presented as a significant improvement to a road that has experienced significant development and does not have the necessary infrastructure to accommodate all its users, including many pedestrians and cyclists.
It will also address road safety in an area where six pedestrians have been killed in the last decade; three of these incidents occurred in 2014 and one in 2017. In recent years, the state has organized an extensive education campaign to discourage rash drivers in the hallway, especially at night, and to incite pedestrians to stop crossing the central street. The state has installed a median fence and pedestrian signals.
[[[[Montgomery County begins construction of a 14-mile fast bus line]
Despite the high concentration of pedestrians and the frequent use of public transit along this stretch of road, sidewalks are narrow and bike paths are few. In some places ramps are needed. The design of the roadway – two lanes in each direction and a turning lane in the center – creates unavoidable bottlenecks.
Once the project is complete, the road will have two lanes in each direction, a median height of 15 feet with vegetation, a 6 foot wide bike path in each direction and a width of 5 to 8 feet. pavement. The teams will also rebuild sidewalks, sidewalks and ramps to make them accessible to people with disabilities. The works also include improved stormwater drainage.
"This will not only create an environment in which cyclists and pedestrians will benefit from certain protections, but also many features to slow down traffic and make it safer for everyone," said Greg Slater, State Highway Administrator. .
Officials said the project would be split into two segments to minimize construction over the entire section of the roadway for six years. The southern portion between College Avenue / Regents Drive and Lakeland Road is to be completed by 2021, in accordance with the project schedule. This segment includes the replacement of a major gas line, state officials said. The northern part, from Lakeland to Maryland 193, will need more time to complete due to the public service infrastructure that needs to be relocated.
Work on both segments will require lane closures from 9:00 to 15:00. and at night to avoid affecting the morning and afternoon rush hours. Authorities said the utilities were already working to relocate lines and poles, while major works are expected to begin next year for the completion of 2024.
In comparison, the Purple Line light rail transit line from Bethesda, Montgomery County to New Carrollton, Prince George County, which began construction in August 2017, is expected to begin transporting passengers from here 2022.
[As Purple Line construction ramps up, so do disruptions and complaints]
The light rail project just south of the Highway 1 widening project is also expected to affect traffic in the area.
Officials fear that the blockage situation will worsen a lot during the construction of the two projects. Today, the closure of a single lane on Baltimore Avenue disrupts kilometers in the district and up north of Beltsville.
The northwestern region of Prince George's continues to be one of the worst starting points for commuters along this corridor to find employment in the district or travel to major employment centers in the area, including facilities. from the University of Maryland. Thousands of cars traveling this part of the road near the U-Md. campus – about 36,000 per day – will be affected by construction. The number of vehicles taking this route is expected to reach 51,000 by 2040, officials said, while College Park and surrounding communities continue to grow.
Private and public investments in recent years have resulted in the addition of new university facilities, apartments, restaurants and hotels to the Highway 1 corridor at College Park. At least six major development projects have been approved or are under construction along Baltimore Avenue, and they will add even more hotel rooms, restaurants and apartments to the area, according to the city's archives. .
The completion date of 2024 shocked officials at College Park, who had felt that the project would be completed by 2022.
"It's ridiculous," City Manager Somers said in an interview. He added that the city will encourage commuters to look for alternative routes, using public transport, carpooling or cycling to get around the city.
"We know that there will be impacts. We can not fool ourselves, "he said.
Those who frequent the area say they understand why the work is needed: The corridor is in a dense area of College Park with lots of pedestrians, many of whom are students, and a growing number of cyclists who need to get out of the school. better infrastructure.
But knowing that this does not facilitate the prospect of living in a six-year construction zone, they said.
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