Moving right along

Intersection work to begin soon after Oct.

 

Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005
by Katie Champion

Two parked construction trailers along Springfield Avenue are promising signs that something new is on the way for Sykesville. Work on a new intersection that will create a safe entrance to the Warfield campus and the town is scheduled to officially begin after Oct. 1.

According to Town Manager Matt Candland, the contract from Kibler Construction is in and a pre-construction meeting is scheduled for Sept. 22.

‘‘We can taste it now,” he joked at Monday night’s meeting of the Mayor and Town Council, adding that the week following Oct. 1, work will most likely commence.

Workers will relocate the current intersection of Route 32 and Route 851⁄Springfield Avenue. The road will be moved 600 feet south toward Cooper Drive and extend westward of Route 32 to create a safer entrance for Northrop Grumman and to the future development of the Warfield Complex, a 138-acre parcel of land that will become a business and cultural center for South Carroll.

The new intersection will be four lanes across for a half-mile stretch on Route 32 allowing for safe turn lanes that will create an easier flow of traffic through the area.

The plan will create a service road for residents on Springfield Avenue and proposed walking path for residents to safely cross Route 32 into the Warfield Complex.

On the north side of the town, the Fairhaven Retirement Community will get a longer driveway for access to the new service road.

The plan will eliminate the on-ramp exit off of southbound Route 32 into Sykesville and the current Park & Ride lot.

Cooper Drive will become a dead end road and will no longer have access to Route 32. Millard Cooper Park and the Gate House Museum will be accessible only via Springfield Avenue which runs to the west of the site. Bike lanes will be installed along the stretch of road between the current Springfield Avenue intersection and south the Sandosky Road intersection with Route 32.

The intersection will serve as an entrance to Warfield and the town.

To date, two businesses have signed leases to the Warfield project with plans to renovate two of a dozen historic buildings once used by the nearby Springfield Hospital Center.

Del. Susan Krebs (R-Dist. 9B) of Eldersburg, attended the council meeting on Monday night to thank the town for its efforts to get the project moving along.

‘‘I’m not sure if people appreciate what this project will do,” Krebs said. ‘‘This is a true jewel and gem for all of Carroll County.”

Krebs, who has helped with the development of the Warfield property for the past decade, is pleased that the work is finally getting underway and promises to attract more economic growth to the area.

‘‘Generations from now we will look back and say ‘I had a little piece of that.”

Approximately four miles up the road another intersection project is also receiving attention. Plans to upgrade the intersection of Route 32 and Liberty Road have reached top priority with the county commissioners. So far, the county has pledged $2.5 million to the estimated $5 project.

Plans for the intersection include a free right turn lane from eastbound Route 26 onto southbound Route 32, a signal at the intersection of MacBeth Way and Piney Ridge Parkway and Route 32, a two-foot median that prevents left turns across two lanes and construction of sidewalks on both sides of the roadway.

Widening to accommodate for the added travel lanes will be done on the west side of the roadway. In addition to the west side widening, plans for the free right turn lane call for the demolition of the vacant buildings located at the corner of Route 32 and Route 26. The buildings have stood vacant for several years.

A traffic signal will be installed to regulate congestion at the intersection of Piney Ridge Parkway and MacBeth Way at Route 32. On a typical day, motorists wait for several minutes to turn left onto Route 32 in either direction.

Work on the project could begin as early as spring 2007.