MDOT - Maryland Department of Transportation

10/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/08/2024 09:24

Maryland Department of Transportation Officials Visit Cecil, Queen Anne’s and Kent Counties as Part of Statewide Transportation Tour

Officials Outline Six-Year Draft Budget and Provide Key Project Updates

HANOVER, MD (October 8, 2024) - Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld met today with officials in Cecil, Queen Anne's and Kent counties to discuss the Department's Draft Consolidated Transportation Program for Fiscal Years 2025 to 2030. The $18.9 billion, six-year spending plan invests in projects and programs that help advance Maryland's goals to be a safer, more affordable, more competitive and more sustainable State that leaves no one behind.

"We are making strategic investments to further enhance the safety of our system and maintain operations," said Secretary Wiedefeld. "This draft budget is balanced but we had to make tough decisions and reductions to live within our means. We will continue to follow the data and make investments that support Maryland families in a fiscally responsible manner."

The safety of all Marylanders is the top priority of the Department, and that is reflected in the Draft CTP, with projects that prioritize maintaining the current system and seek to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries on Maryland's roads. To view the full Draft FY 2025-2030 Consolidated Transportation Program, go to www.ctp.maryland.gov ​.​

At Tuesday's meetings, transportation officials offered details and updates on several projects and programs affecting Cecil, Queen Anne's and Kent counties. In addition to Secretary Wiedefeld, officials attending included State Highway Administrator William Pines; Motor Vehicle Administration Deputy Administrator Leslie Dews; Maryland Transportation Authority Executive Director Bruce Gardner; Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold and Local Transit Support Director Travis Johnston; and Maryland Aviation Administration Regional Aviation Director Ashish Solanki.

State Highway Administrator Pines highlighted the agency's commitment to move forward with multimodal projects that improve safety, accessibility and mobility statewide and said State Highway has worked in the past year to streamline its process to grant highway access permits, which supports commercial, industrial and residential development.

Administrator Pines also indicated that in Queen Anne's County, State Highway temporarily closed the MD 405 crossover at US 301 this past summer to study the location, which has been the site of numerous crashes. Crews made median improvements before reopening the crossover last month, and the agency expects to install a beacon system to alert US 301 drivers to crossing traffic in 2025.

Among other important local investments in the Draft Consolidated Transportation Program:

  • The State Highway Administration is advancing a $2.5 million project in Cecil County to improve sidewalks and build a shared-use bike and pedestrian bridge over Big Elk Creek on MD 7 in Elkton. The pedestrian bridge is expected to be installed in early 2025.
  • Construction will start in early 2025 on a $1.9 million sidewalk project on MD 222, also in Cecil County, to enhance safety for students walking to and from Perryville High School.
  • Construction is continuing on the $12.3 million US 301 bridge replacement over the Chester River between Queen Anne's and Kent counties. SHA expects to set main beams by the end of the year and is working toward completion next summer.
  • Three grants for trail projects: $79,968 from the Transportation Alternatives Program for a quarter-mile segment of the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway and $50,000 from the Kim Lamphier Bikeways Program to study development of bike trails near North East Creek, both in Cecil County; and $65,440 from the Recreational Trails Program for the Bayside Boulevard foot bridge restoration in Betterton, Kent County.
  • Major construction continues on the $140 million Bay Bridge Eastbound Deck Replacement Project.
  • Nearly $1 million in operating and capital grants to support local transit operations in Kent County.
  • Investments of more than $630,000 in Queen Anne's County and nearly $366,000 in Cecil County to support local transit operations.
The meetings are part of the Maryland Department of Transportation's engagement process in all 23 Maryland counties and Baltimore City to discuss the funding plan and receive input from local officials and the public. The tour continues into October. Dates and locations for upcoming sessions can be found here. The schedule is subject to change and will be updated as needed throughout the process.

The six-year Draft CTP outlines capital investments in each mode funded by the Transportation Trust Fund: Maryland Aviation Administration, Maryland Port Administration, Maryland Transit Administration, Motor Vehicle Administration, State Highway Administration and The Secretary's Office, as well as Maryland's investment in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The Maryland Transportation Authority's toll facilities are financed, constructed, operated and maintained with toll revenues paid by customers using those facilities.

Following the tour, the Maryland Department of Transportation will finalize the Draft CTP and submit the Final Fiscal Year 2025-2030 CTP to the Legislature in January for consideration during the 2025 General Assembly session.