Hampstead Bypass

The long-awaited Hampstead bypass - a $35 million road to ease traffic congestion on Route 30 - tops the list of eight highway projects the Carroll commissioners will discuss with state transportation officials tomorrow. County officials plan to urge the Maryland Department of Transportation to start building the Hampstead bypass, which has been planned since 1960. The bypass would divert traffic, much of it trucks and tractor-trailers, from Hampstead's Main Street, Route 30. "We know the state is trying to wrap up engineering and land acquisition," said Jeanne Joiner, county director of planning.

State highway officials say they will reconsider plans to erect a chain-link fence to separate Shiloh Middle from the soon-to-be-constructed Hampstead bypass after Carroll County school officials asked the state for a more substantial buffer between the school and the busy highway. "We're confident there are very good solutions that can be developed" to address local worries about safety and noise concerns, Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said Friday. A solid 8-foot wall or a wrought-iron fence with heavy landscaping are two alternatives that will be considered, Flanagan said.

Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley could redirect state funding priorities away from roads and toward public transportation - which could disrupt some desired projects in Carroll County, said South Carroll Del. Susan W. Krebs. O'Malley, who questioned highway projects similar to the Hampstead Bypass, favors growth plans that overlook the need for new highways to manage increased traffic, she said. O'Malley, a Democrat, will succeed Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in January. "Ehrlich got roads back on the map," said Krebs, a Republican.

Changes coming to Hampstead Far too often, the state transportation budget has been raided for other priorities. I want to thank Gov. Ehrlich and Secretary of Transportation Robert Flanagan for protecting our transportation funding and for awarding Hampstead monies needed to do the engineering for a major streetscape project. The allocation of roughly $750,000 moves us closer to the goal of rebuilding our Main Street quickly after the Hampstead Bypass is constructed. When I started as a town councilman, we had an ambitious agenda - bring residential growth under control, update our water system, build a police station, expand our park system, save the old school, construct the Hampstead Bypass and revitalize Main Street.

Construction of a long-awaited $36 million Hampstead bypass could begin in three or four years, state highway officials said yesterday.Engineering plans for a six-mile, two-lane road that would take Route 30 around Hampstead are 65 percent complete, said State Highway Administrator Parker F. Williams. Fifteen to 20 percent of the rights of way have been acquired, he said.But when State Sen. Larry E. Haines, a Westminster Republican, pressed Williams for a timetable, Williams hesitated. The bypass is "not ready for construction," he said.

In a display of solidarity yesterday, three state legislators, the Carroll commissioners and the mayors of Manchester and Hampstead asked Maryland Secretary of Transportation O. James Lighthizer to make the proposed Manchester and Hampstead bypasses an urgent priority.After their meeting at Maryland Department of Transportation headquarters at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, State Highway Administrator Hal Kasoff said the Manchester bypass "has come back to life" in the state's eyes as a result of the discussion.

The state Department of Transportation could defer $18.8 million in financing for 12 Carroll road projects next year -- including the long-delayed Hampstead bypass -- if the legislature does not increase transportation revenue.The proposed 5 percent gas tax increase already has been rejected for this year. Motor vehicle fee increases thatcould raise about $42 million and allow DOT to retain some federal aid are still alive.DOT outlined last week $1.2 billion in transportation projects that would be put on hold.

State highway officials say they will reconsider plans to erect a chain-link fence to separate Shiloh Middle from the soon-to-be-constructed Hampstead bypass after Carroll County school officials asked the state for a more substantial buffer between the school and the busy highway. "We're confident there are very good solutions that can be developed" to address local worries about safety and noise concerns, Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said Friday. A solid 8-foot wall or a wrought-iron fence with heavy landscaping are two alternatives that will be considered, Flanagan said.

One of Maryland's shyest, most elusive creatures -- the North American bog turtle, or Clemmys muhlenbergii -- may delay the construction of Carroll County's long-sought Hampstead bypass. State officials told the county's elected leaders last week that the small reptile was recently spotted in a wetland located on the north end of the highway's proposed path. Because of that sighting, transportation officials said they may be forced to design a new route for the $35 million highway to avoid the turtle's habitat.