When complete, the $74.7 million MD 175 (Annapolis Road) improvement project will improve safety and reduce congestion in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The current four-lane undivided roadway is being reconstructed into a six-lane divided roadway. A median will separate the eastbound and westbound MD 175 lanes.
The project is part of a $1.97 billion investment in highways and bridges that former Governor Larry Hogan announced in 2015.
According to the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA), the goal of the MD 175 Corridor Project is to “improve the existing capacity, traffic operations, intermodal connectivity, and vehicular and pedestrian safety of MD 175, while supporting existing and planned development in the area.”
When complete, the interchange will include a six-lane MD 175 bridge over MD 295, along with the removal of two interchange ramps: the northbound MD 295 to westbound MD 175 (known locally as the Northeast Loop Ramp) and the southbound MD 295 to eastbound MD 175 (or the Southwest Loop Ramp). Safety, as well as convenience, will be improved once the two permanent traffic signals with dedicated turn lanes are installed and active.
The reconfigured interchange will resemble a partial cloverleaf when looking at it from above. The project will also add on-road bicycle lanes along westbound MD 175 from McCarron Court to Milestone Parkway and along eastbound MD 175 from Sellner Road to McCarron Court, construct a shared-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians along eastbound MD 175, and upgrade interchange lighting and landscaping.
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In 2021 and 2022, MDOT SHA — in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — completed a Project Planning Study along the MD 175 Corridor through Odenton and Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
Maryland collects and uses traffic data to determine when and how to build new or alter existing infrastructure. (See “Making Data-Driven Decisions” section.) Data gathered from the administration’s efforts were important to the Project Planning Study that led to the MD 175/MD 295 improvement project.
MDOT SHA contractor R. E. Pierson Construction Co., of Pilesgrove, New Jersey, is performing the work. Construction began in September 2022 and is expected to be complete in the fall of 2027.
The project team at R. E. Pierson Construction Co. had presented the design to MDOT SHA during the pre-construction phase. The design and project had to meet the requirements for the recently introduced MDE 20-CP general permit for stormwater associated with construction activity. That document outlines dewatering turbidity requirements through either mechanical filtration or chemical flocculants (a substance used to clump particles together).
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The project team visited the construction site to observe sediment basins, future stormwater management facilities, ramp realignments, base widening preparation, drainage trunk lines, and noise walls.
The project affected three streams, so MDOT SHA called on the services of Coastal Resources Inc. The company concluded a restoration design at one of the perennial stream channels (WUS S2) and the intermittent stream channel (WUS S25).
The impact mitigation proposal for WUS S2 includes removing the concrete lining and relocating approximately 132 linear feet of WUS S2 to the north in order to provide a natural channel conveyance to a new culvert that crosses under MD 175. This effort will minimize the amount of stream channel that would otherwise be piped underneath MD 175.
The impact mitigation proposal for WUS S25 includes removing the concrete channel and replacing it with a 183-linear-foot natural channel with earthen bed and banks, as well as creating grade control measures (called riffles) and the creation of natural pool-riffle streambed morphology.
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Also, since the area surrounding the waterways contain a lot of vegetation, the plan also includes measures for mitigating vegetation loss and to protect and replant impacted trees on site.
The regular collection and analysis of traffic data is key to making smart infrastructure decisions.
Traffic data includes numerous data points. Beyond the obvious ones, such as the number of vehicles and average speed, agencies collect numerous other data points, such as:
- Standard deviation speed, which indicates speed variability, including the amount of speed consistency and fluctuation
- Travel time standard deviation, which reflects the variability in travel time
- Sequence, which designates the order of road segments and is used for analyzing traffic flow sequences and mapping routes
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The MDOT SHA Data Services Division collects traffic data. MDOT SHA also enlists consultant support during the planning and design phases of a project to collect quantitative and observational data regarding traffic conditions, volumes, and pedestrian activity.
“Data collection provides insight into current and anticipated traffic patterns within and through the area. Generally, evaluations may include incident history and projected traffic volumes,” said Danny Allman, Spokesperson at MDOT SHA. “Data supported the MD 175 corridor efforts in partnership with other agency partners. The MD 175/MD 295 interchange project aims to address safety, capacity, and operational needs; support expansion at area military installations; and address growth due to planned commercial and residential development.”
