Improvements To Route

A traffic study of South Carroll's roadways calls for improvements to major intersections, construction of service roads parallel to Route 26 and a widening of Route 32 to four lanes into Howard County.James W. Holls, manager of the traffic division for the Towson-based consultants Whitney, Bailey, Cox & Magnani, gave the County Commissioners a preview yesterday of the $75,000 study, which determined that without improvements, the county's most populous area will soon face several failed intersections and an increase in accidents.

There's only one obstacle to building a four-lane highway along Route 32 from Interstate 70 north to Route 26 -- money.Carroll officials say a 7.5-mile, four-lane highway with at-grade, signaled intersections and no interchanges is vital, not only for handling increased traffic, but for the county's economic development hopes.The state has improved a 2.4-mile stretch of Route 32 in Howard County from Clarksville south toward Interstate 95; that section opened in March at a cost of $55 million.

County Executive John G. Gary hopes a $5 million "carrot" will encourage the state to pay for improvements to Route 32 where it passes through the National Security Agency complex and crosses the Baltimore Washington Parkway.Commuters using the limited-access state highway between Interstate 97 and Columbia hit a bottleneck in the approximately 1.5-mile stretch at the NSA and Fort Meade, where the road narrows and several traffic lights interrupt the high-speed flow of traffic.Reconstructing the roadway, providing new interchanges at Route 198 and NSA, and building additional service roads would cost $57 million, said Fran Counihan, a spokeswoman with the State Highway Administration.

Carroll leaders met with the state transportation secretary yesterday to recommend improvements to Route 32 between Eldersburg and the Howard County line, a stretch of road they say has become congested and unsafe. They suggested reducing the number of access points to the road, reshaping some intersections, adding a traffic signal at the intersection with Macbeth Way and studying the road's accident history to diagnose trouble spots. Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said he was concerned about safety hazards on Route 32. "Certainly, it's as dramatic an example as any of the need for safety improvements we have around the state," he said.

An article in yesterday's Anne Arundel edition of The Sun misstated the position of Brenda H. Reiber, a District 4 candidate for the Crofton Civic Association board of directors, on improvements to Route 3.Mrs. Reiber said although she would have supported the idea for a bypass, a citizens group already has recommended turning the highway into a boulevard, which she advocates if access to local businesses is maintained.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 4/24/96

The State Highway Administration has begun a planning study that could result in improvements to either Route 32 or 97, south to Route 70.County development officials have cited the need for an adequate roadway to Route 70, an interstate highway, as a means of attracting industry to South Carroll.

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. The bypass would run roughly parallel to Route 30 from near Wolf Hill Drive to Brodbeck Road.

Man accidentally starts house fire with torch A Sykesville man using a propane torch to strip paint from a house accidentally started a fire that caused about $10,000 in damage, a spokesman for the Sykesville volunteer Fire Department said yesterday. Edward Burroughs of the 7000 block of Springfield Ave. was working on a scaffold outside a second-floor window Tuesday afternoon when his torch ignited a wooden window frame, officials said. Although he tried to douse the fire with an extinguisher, flames shot up the window and into the eaves before spreading to the third-floor attic.

To improve traffic flow on Route 140 through Westminster, the State Highway Administration cannot help but disrupt businesses that line that stretch of busy highway. Regardless of which upgrading plan the state ultimately adopts, customers will likely have trouble getting access to these establishments.Many Carroll County businessmen have already voiced concern about the future of their enterprises if there's a major revamping of Route 140. They want to preserve the highway as a commercial strip but find themselves at odds with the 43,000 commuters and truckers who currently use the road, as well as the people who hope that upgrading the highway will eliminate the need to build an expensive bypass around Westminster.

Frederick contractor submits low bid for Route 32 0) resurfacingRichard F. Kline Inc. has offered the lowest of 11 bids for resurfacing Route 32 and rebuilding the bridge over Morgan Run.The Frederick company, which offered to complete the project for $2,719,335, is the "apparent low bidder," said Bob Gay, spokesman for the State Highway Administration.The work includes resurfacing and safety improvements to Route 32 from Route 26 in Sykesville to Nottingham Road in Gamber. The company will also replace the 609-foot-long bridge's deck and substructure.