Howard County will begin work to improve two problematic intersections with Route 1 in Elkridge, where several pedestrian fatalities have occurred in the past few years.
“Route 1 in Howard County has been and continues to be one of the most dangerous roadways,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said at a groundbreaking event Tuesday.
The county will add a series of pedestrian-activated signals, new sidewalks and high visibility crosswalks to address safety concerns on Route 1 at its intersections with Doctor Patel Drive and Rowanberry Drive. Doctor Patel Drive will receive a new traffic signal; Rowanberry Drive is expected to get a new bus pad to designate a bus stop area.
Between 2018 and 2023, 42% of crashes near Doctor Patel Drive were severe enough to cause injuries, Ball said.
Howard County Council Chair Liz Walsh said the improvements are a long time coming and said project delays and a rush to build new housing in the area are at the root of the intersection problems.
“It’s not walkable,” Walsh said during the ceremony.
Nearby housing developments such as Elkridge Crossing are too dense with homes, Walsh said, and a rush to get families moved into the development placed people in danger as road improvements were not yet made. She said project setbacks and “haste” in building new housing have led to three fatalities near the Doctor Patel Drive intersection with Route 1 since the road improvement project was proposed seven years ago.
“There are too many kids, there’s nowhere for them to go but this McDonald’s that’s six lanes across [the roadway],” she said. “This has to be the first step. There is so much more that has to follow. We are continuing to jam people into the fastest-growing region of this county.”
Both projects are expected to be completed by next spring, with contractors and crew starting work at the intersections in the coming weeks, said Andrew Radcliffe, district engineer at the Maryland State Highway Administration.
“This moment is the culmination of more than seven years of hard work, planning, collaboration and a shared vision to make Route 1 safer for all,” Ball said at the groundbreaking Tuesday.
The total cost of the improvements are estimated at $2.3 million, which includes right of way, design and construction, Radcliffe said.
The need for improvements was identified in 2018 following a study sponsored by the county and the Maryland Department of Transportation. The study analyzed the entire Route 1 corridor, including pedestrian usage, crashes and hot spots. The intersections at Doctor Patel Drive and Rowanberry Drive were identified in the study as problem areas.
After the study, Howard County invested $1.2 million in funding to pay for planning and design of the road safety projects identified as priorities, Ball said. Of that amount, $700,000 was set aside to support the Doctor Patel Drive and Rowanberry Drive projects.
Last year, the projects risked being defunded due to state budget constraints. Budget challenges this year also threatened to derail them, but the funding was still secured.
“U.S. 1 is a major priority for us to make it more walkable, and bike-able,” Radcliffe said. “This is the start of an overall vision.”
Have a news tip? Contact April Santana at asantana@baltsun.com or at 443-834-7525.