Road Project

The county commissioners approved a plan yesterday that will detour traffic during the initial reconstruction phase of Obrecht Road in South Carroll.Plans call for realigning what is a winding road with poor sight distance from Route 97 to White Rock Road. The second phase will take Obrecht to Route 32 in or near the town of Sykesville.J. Michael Evans, county director of public works, has recommended closing the one-mile segment to traffic from Route 97 east to White Rock for the duration of the work, which is expected to take most of the construction season next year.

Planners rerouted and widened a proposed parkway in Annapolis to accommodate a commercial development, an Anne Arundel Council member said yesterday as she fought to kill the road project."

After months of debate, Carroll County and Westminster officials are moving forward on two long-awaited projects: repaving a stretch of Lucabaugh Mill Road and providing sewer service to 19 homes in the Cranberry area.The unrelated projects have been on hold because city and county officials have disagreed about how much each entity should pay.To resolve the issue, the county has agreed to pay $102,000 of the $160,000 repaving project if Westminster will honor the original $37,000 price of the sewer project.

Dealing a blow to Pasadena residents worried about the dangers of increasing traffic, County Executive Janet S. Owens said yesterday that the county will move ahead with plans to complete East-West Boulevard, extending the road from Jumpers Hole Road to Ritchie Highway.While the news was welcomed by Severna Park residents who hailed the project as an end to their area's traffic congestion on Benfield Boulevard, it was a defeat for Pasadena residents whose neighborhoods would become the end destination of that traffic.

Plans to begin a $2.1 million streetscape project in Catonsville's business district along Frederick Road have been put off for at least two months because some shop owners are balking over proposed sidewalk renovations.Baltimore County's community conservation officials have been seeking approval from business owners along Frederick Road to begin relocating utility poles for the streetscape, but some owners say they oppose the overall project.The concerns -- and the task of identifying property ownership -- have forced engineers to wait at least until late May to begin the streetscape.

Before the county spends $160,000 to correct drainage problems on Lucabaugh Mill Road, officials will ask Westminster to help defray costs.The County Commissioners will ask for a meeting with the mayor and Town Council as soon as possible.Runoff from an industrial park on Lucabaugh Mill Road, east of Route 27 and outside city limits, is affecting the Westminster water supply."The most damaging water is coming from the industrial sites," said Howard Noll, county engineering bureau chief. "The city is handling and treating the water."

THE TRAIL of commuters from northern Baltimore County into Harford County's sprawl often winds along Paper Mill Road, a nearly six-mile stretch of two-lane that at times becomes so clogged with traffic it's also known as a "roller coaster ride from hell."If you've ever taken Paper Mill, you certainly will remember its sharp bends, rusty, rustic, narrow bridge and traffic jams that sometimes make the drive a white-knuckle experience."For 18 years, I've been traveling this route," explained Scott B., a commuter from Forest Hill.

Bay Dale Drive runs through the middle of Whispering Woods, separating a neighborhood of single-family homes on the east from townhouses on the west.The boundary is symbolic as well as physical, dividing neighbors who bicker over a road project and the use of community association dues to pay for it.The Whispering Woods Community Association has owned 65,000 square feet of roads since 1974 and charges each resident $72 a year to help maintain them, according...

Progress on the $100 million motor sports raceway project that is proposed near Martin State Airport in eastern Baltimore County is moving along at a much slower pace than a race car, but it is moving forward.The latest good news for the track came last week, when Gov. Parris N. Glendening's list of new transportation projects included $2.1 million to build a 3.2-mile extension of White Marsh Boulevard (Route 43) from U.S. 40 to Eastern Boulevard."Route 43 is critical to moving masses of people directly from Route 95 to the site without going through local neighborhoods," said Joe Mattioli III, chief of operations for the project being undertaken by the Middle River Racing Association, which is backed by Ed and Missy Berge.

Sykesville needs better and safer access to Route 32, but the county and a local business are stalling proposed improvements.The County Commissioners blame the Fairhaven Retirement Community for snarling the realignment of Obrecht Road, a 10-year-old project that would alleviate traffic congestion through the town.Fairhaven has refused to grant an easement to allow the county to build the road at the north end of its property."In effect, Fairhaven is holding Obrecht Road hostage," Commissioner W. Benjamin Brown said.

Downtown drivers can expect about a year of traffic misery as city transportation officials launch an ambitious rebuilding project that will at times claim half the capacity of Lombard Street - Baltimore's principal westbound artery across the central business district. Beginning as early as May, the city will close some lanes of Lombard Street for the $2.6 million project, potentially the most disruptive downtown road work in recent years. Lombard, a block north of harbor-front Pratt Street, is one of Baltimore's busiest streets.

Liberty Road, U.S. 40 set for repairs The State Highway Administration said yesterday that it was beginning work on separate highway improvement projects on Liberty Road in Randallstown and on Pulaski Highway at Middle River Road near Middle River. The Liberty Road (Route 26) work, from Anne Hathaway Drive to Offutt Road, will include resurfacing the pavement; replacing sections of sidewalks and curbs; and upgrading traffic signals. The Pulaski Highway (U.S. 40) work will include widening and adding lanes to the intersection, resurfacing the pavement and installing new barriers.

Road project in Lutherville to affect turns The State Highway Administration will temporarily prohibit motorists from making left turns from southbound York Road onto eastbound Seminary Avenue starting Monday while York Road is widened between Cavan Drive and Ridgely Road in Lutherville. The traffic pattern is expected to last about eight weeks. Motorists traveling north on York Road to Seminary Avenue will not be affected. The widening project will provide a center turn lane. At the same time, the county Department of Public Works is installing a 24-inch water main underneath the southbound lanes of York Road.

The Howard County Conservancy will hold its holiday sale, with nature crafts and demonstrations, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at its headquarters, Mount Pleasant Farm, 10520 Old Frederick Road, Woodstock. Master gardeners will demonstrate how to make topiary balls, wreaths and other natural holiday decorations out of ma- terials from the woods, garden and produce market. Included are whimsical creatures made from cones, pods and seed heads. Pottery, soaps and candles, jewelry, nature and gardening books, children's books and puppets will be for sale.

Carroll County planners and public works staff are considering whether to modify the Monroe Avenue extension project in South Carroll, as Eldersburg residents have voiced mounting complaints on the plans. The $3.5 million project, which will build two missing segments of Monroe Avenue to connect Routes 32 and 26, has been in the works for nearly 30 years. But the project triggered a backlash from residents living along Monroe Avenue, when the county recently designated $340,000 for construction next year.

State officials are hopeful that BY Christmas they can take the wrappings off a long-anticipated $18.2 million road project near Annapolis. Nearly three years in the making, construction to widen and realign lanes and create new ramps at the interchange of U.S. 50, Route 450 and Solomons Island Road - one of the county's most congested junctions - is "90 percent" complete, said David Buck, spokesman for the State Highway Administration. All that crews are waiting on is clear weather, so that they can open the new ramps and install permanent paving markers, Buck said.

By Christmas, state officials are hopeful that they can take the wrappings off a long-anticipated $18.2 million road project near Annapolis. Nearly three years in the making, construction to widen and realign lanes and create new ramps at the interchange of U.S. 50, Route 450 and Solomons Island Road - one of the county's most congested junctions - is "90 percent" complete, said David Buck, spokesman for the State Highway Administration. All that crews are waiting on is clear weather, so that they can open the new ramps and install permanent paving markers, Buck said.

With the design for a new intersection along Route 32 and access roads nearly complete, the town of Sykesville has yet to find all the money it needs for the $8 million project. Officials, both in the town and the county, would like businesses that stand to benefit from the roadwork to contribute to it. "We are trying to do what is right and fair," said Mayor Jonathan S. Herman. "The state does not want to pay for other people's responsibilities. We are trying to come up with justifiable expenses for all the players.

With the design for a new intersection along Route 32 and access roads nearly complete, the town of Sykesville has yet to find all the money it needs for the $8 million project. Officials, both in the town and Carroll County, would like businesses that stand to benefit from the roadwork to contribute to it. "We are trying to do what is right and fair," said Mayor Jonathan S. Herman. "The state does not want to pay for other people's responsibilities. We are trying to come up with justifiable expenses for all the players.

With the design for a new intersection along Route 32 and access roads nearly complete, the town of Sykesville has yet to find all the money it needs for the $8 million project. Officials, both in the town and Carroll County, would like businesses that stand to benefit from the roadwork to contribute to it. "We are trying to do what is right and fair," said Mayor Jonathan S. Herman. "The state does not want to pay for other people's responsibilities. We are trying to come up with justifiable expenses for all the players.