Lane Closures

Next week, drivers should avoid East Ordnance Road (Route 710) between the Arundel Expressway (Route 10) and Pennington Avenue (Route 173), according to the State Highway Administration. Beginning Monday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., one lane will be closed on that section of Ordnance Road while a left-turn lane is installed. The closure is expected to continue until May 4. Traffic is expected to be heavy on Ordnance Road because it is being used as a detour while the Maryland Transportation Authority repairs the Interstate 695 drawbridge over Curtis Creek.

Starting Friday evening, the Northwest Expressway — Interstate 795 — will be undergoing resurfacing between the Baltimore Beltway and Owings Mills Boulevard in Northwest Baltimore County, officials said. The road work is expected to continue until next fall, according to a statement Monday from the State Highway Administration. There will be single lane closures in both directions of the expressway between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays and throughout the weekend. Double lane closures will largely take place during evening and overnight hours.

ON THE SITE... Light traffic reported on routes around JFX lane closures :  A Monday morning accident and stalled vehicle on the southbound Jones Falls Expressway  worsened a commute city transportation officials had already warned would be difficult because of planned lane closures. Traffic moved smoothly on alternate routes. Parsons' bail reduced in videotaped robbery case : A judge reduced bail for Aaron Parsons, a 20-year-old Rosedale man, from $1 million to $500,000 Monday.

A Monday morning accident near 28th Street on the southbound Jones Falls Expressway and a stalled vehicle near the Northern Parkway exit meant traffic was narrowed to a single lane for one lengthy stretch of the popular route to downtown. The two incidents worsened a commute city transportation officials had already warned would be difficult because of planned lane closures. Emergency crews cleared the accident within an hour and a tow truck quickly removed the car, city transportation spokeswoman Adrienne Barnes said.

Attention, Baltimore commuters: The JFX has been reduced to two lanes in each direction. That means, come Monday morning, it's going to be extra-crowded on the expressway. To get to work on time, check out the directions below for alternate routes into the city. And leave early! The expressway's left lanes have been closed near 29th St. and Druid Lake Drive to permit repairs to damaged drainage pipes under the highway, said the Baltimore Department of Transportation, which expects the project to take as many as eight weeks.

Starting Monday, April 16, the Maryland State Highway Administration will begin a $620,000 project to repair pavement along Route 165 (Federal Hill Road) between Jarrettsville Road and Midsummer Lane in northern Harford County.  Weather permitting, the project will be completed prior to Memorial Day. SHA will begin concrete patching with lane closures and flagging operations permitted between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday and also between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Multiple projects to repair area roads are scheduled to begin next week and cause lane closures along stretches of Interstates 95 and 83, Route 32 and Loch Raven Boulevard. Interstate 95: The Maryland Transportation Authority will begin a three-month project Sunday to install new steel expansion joints and replace portions of the concrete deck of the southbound Interstate 95 bridge over Desoto Road. Between one and three lanes of I-95 south will be closed, as will the Washington Boulevard entrance ramp, between 7:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. Friday through Saturday.

Work is under way on two state highway repaving projects in opposite ends of Harford County, the State Highway Administration said. A $1 million project began Monday to repair damaged pavement along Route 7 (Philadelphia Road) in Joppa. Weather permitting, SHA anticipates completing the resurfacing by late spring. Contractor crews will patch, mill and resurface Route 7 between the Baltimore/Harford County Line and Route 152 (Mountain Road). According to an SHA news release, lane closures and flagging operations may occur along sections of Route 7 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, traffic was slow on the inner loop of the Baltimore Beltway approaching Eastern Boulevard, due to an accident. Accidents were slowing traffic on Holabird Avenue and Broening Highway: Route 152 at Pleasantville Road, and Old Taneytown Road at Tyrone Road. Repair work on a leaking 36-inch water main was causing some lane closures on northbound and southbound Greenmount Avenue between 33 r d and 35 t h streets, but cars are getting by. Some streets around the Washington Monument in the 600 block of N. Charles St. are beginning to have lane closures in preparation for this weekend's Baltimore Book Festival.

Baltimore County was under a tornado warning for about 30 minutes Sunday afternoon, and the Eastern Shore is under a severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m., the National Weather Service said on Sunday. National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Lee said on Sunday that a tornado warning was issued at 2:19 p.m for southeastern Baltimore County, after rotation on the Doppler radar indicated a tornado near North Point State Park moving southeast at 15 mph. The warning expired at 2:45 p.m. and Lee said there was no report of the tornado touching ground.