Construction

Four trucks laden with 100 slot machines arrived early Wednesday morning at the nearly completed casino at Arundel Mills mall. For the next two hours, workers wheeled banks of the gleaming new machines, one by one, inside on hand trucks. Installation of the first set of slots moved Maryland Live! Casino, the state's largest, another step closer to its scheduled opening in three months. That's progress for Maryland's lackluster gambling program, which has yet to be fully implemented more than three years after voters approved five slots locations statewide.

After more than a month of congestion on the Jones Falls Expressway, officials announced Saturday that emergency repair work on Baltimore's busiest road was finished ahead of schedule and all lanes were open in time for the unofficial start of summer. Lane closures had slowed commuter traffic to a crawl since mid-April as road crews worked to repair collapsed underground drainage pipes. The 50-year-old pipes created hazardous road conditions due to significant washout below the surface, officials said.

Construction is about to begin on a $33 million residential, office and retail development called 1111 Light Street. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake attended a ceremonial groundbreaking today for the project, planned for a one-acre parcel bounded by Light, Cross, Weber and William streets in South Baltimore. Scheduled for completion in the spring of 2012, the development is to include 93 luxury apartments, 22,000 square feet of office space, 6,000 square feet of retail space and 106 parking spaces.

State officials approved more than $161 million in school construction funding Wednesday that will allow school systems in the Baltimore area to undertake renovation projects, tackling problems that include sweltering and overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings and amenities. The Maryland Board of Public Works approved the last round of construction dollars being doled out to schools for fiscal year 2013. The state approved $187.5 million in funding in January, bringing the total amount for school construction projects to nearly $350 million, a more than $85 million increase from fiscal year 2012.

Patterson Mill Road from Wheel Road to Gillingham Drive in the Bel Air area is closed temporarily through the end of May, according to the Harford County Department of Public Works. The closure for road construction began last Wednesday and was expected to last about 15 days. Motorists who normally travel this route should make other arrangements until the road is reopened. For more information about this road project, contact the Department of Public Works at 410-638-3217, ext. 2434, Monday through Friday during normal business hours.

Edgar Knauff, founder of a Baltimore construction company and a World War II veteran, died Jan. 13 of kidney failure at his York, Pa., home. He was 92. Mr. Knauff, son of a construction superintendent and a homemaker, was born on 22nd Street and raised on Southern Avenue. A 1936 graduate of Polytechnic Institute, he studied engineering at the Johns Hopkins University. During World War II, he served as a captain with the Army's 373rd Field Artillery Battalion in Europe, earning the Bronze Star.

Drivers were amply warned about lane closures on the Jones Falls Expressway and the resulting traffic jams ("Drivers find delays on JFX," April 17). Even still, I noticed that all the 20 cars in the photograph accompanying The Sun's article on the subject appeared to have just one occupant, a driver. In addition to alternate routes, people should consider another alternative - carpooling! Terry Callanan

Construction crews have begun widening White Marsh Boulevard at Interstate 95 as part of the $1.03 billion express toll lanes project. The roadway, also known as MD 43, will go from four lanes to six at the interchange, and two elevated ramps will be built to provide a direct link to the Interstate 95 express lanes. A new bridge will carry traffic over the interstate. The $142.6 million reconstruction is scheduled for completion in 2014. The Maryland Transportation Authority estimates the work will generate 400 jobs.

The State Highway Administration has begun construction of two sound barriers along southbound U.S. 29, from Frederick Road to just south of Route 103. The $7.6 million project will include construction of a retaining wall, overhead signage, lighting and landscaping. Single- and double-lane closures should be expected between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Fridays. Variable message signs, arrow panels, barriers, cones and drums will guide motorists through the work zones.

Victor Beardsley Hertslet, a retired Arundel Co. official and longtime Towson resident, died Dec. 14 in his sleep at his daughter's Potomac, Mont., home. He was 97. Mr. Hertslet, the son of a British soldier who was killed at the Battle of the Somme during World War I and a housekeeper, was born in New York City and raised in Darien, Conn. After graduating from Peekskill Military Academy in 1929, he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1933 from Lehigh University.

Patterson Mill Road from Wheel Road to Gillingham Drive in the Bel Air area is closed temporarily through the end of May, according to the Harford County Department of Public Works. The closure for road construction began last Wednesday and was expected to last about 15 days. Motorists who normally travel this route should make other arrangements until the road is reopened. For more information about this road project, contact the Department of Public Works at 410-638-3217, ext. 2434, Monday through Friday during normal business hours.

Baltimore City has a serious problem with run-down, antiquated school facilities. They represent a major impediment to progress in improving the education of Baltimore children and a drag on the city's efforts to shake off decades of decline. MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake's plan to fund a new school construction and renovation program through an extension and increase in the city's bottle tax may not be the perfect solution, but it is a good start. The beverage industry has mounted a campaign of opposition to the proposal that borders on the hysterical.

Drivers were amply warned about lane closures on the Jones Falls Expressway and the resulting traffic jams ("Drivers find delays on JFX," April 17). Even still, I noticed that all the 20 cars in the photograph accompanying The Sun's article on the subject appeared to have just one occupant, a driver. In addition to alternate routes, people should consider another alternative - carpooling! Terry Callanan

Motorists making their way downtown Monday through either a narrowed Jones Falls Expressway or crowded city streets may have felt a pang of envy as they watched walkers and cyclists easily outpacing them. Reports varied on Monday's morning commute — the first rush hour since transportation officials closed two lanes of the JFX for two months — but the consensus appeared to be: Whatever route you take, you're going to need more time. Among the observations: •A seven-mile trip down North Charles Street starting at Bellona Avenue took 90 minutes.

As director of Anne Arundel County's Special Olympics delegation for the past 12 years, Gregg Meade competes with a host of school teams and athletic groups jockeying for the same practice space. Soon, county athletes with special needs will have a dedicated recreation space. This week, state officials granted the county $438,000 to build a state-of-the-art rubber-surface track at Lake Waterford Park in Pasadena — a project that caps an overhaul of athletic facilities there for people with special needs.

Baltimore schools chief Andrés Alonso's ambitious plan to leverage state dollars to finance $1.2 billion in school renovation and construction will not move forward in the General Assembly this year. Instead of passing a bill that would jump-start such a program, the legislature will order a study of school construction financing between now and the 2013 Assembly session. The House Appropriations Committee voted Friday to adopt language in the Senate capital budget bill spelling out the goals and parameters of the study.

Towson University will be allowed to construct and operate a new branch on the campus of Harford Community College, under a decision released Friday afternoon by the state's interim secretary of higher education. The $25 million project will proceed despite previously expressed reservations from Morgan State University leaders, who questioned the fairness of allowing Towson to stake a foothold in Harford County, a growing suburb with a rich base of military jobs and no four-year universities.

Johns Hopkins Bayview campus plans to begin construction on a new $40 million emergency department annex on April 1, and some roads will be closed while work is being done. Nathan Shock Drive will be closed from Bayview Boulevard to Bioscience Drive. Maryland Transit Administration bus stops will also close at the blue awning, at the Bayview Medical Offices entrance, and on Nathan Shock Drive, by the emergency department. Bus 22 and Bus 30 will be rerouted with stops at Hopkins Bayview Circle.