Construction Starting on Major Baltimore Avenue Upgrades

New bike lanes, better roads and improved sidewalks will be coming to Baltimore Avenue in a three-year, $29 million project now underway in College Park.

The 1.4 mile-project by the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will make improvements from College Avenue/Regents Drive to MD 193 (University Boulevard).

“This project will not only produce a safer, more attractive and less congested U.S. 1, but will spur economic development and recovery in one of the region’s most important corridors,” Gov. Larry Hogan said in a news release.

The finished project will include:

• two lanes for travel in each direction with a raised median and auxiliary lanes that transition into turn lanes;
• 5-foot-wide bicycle lanes on each side;
• improved sidewalks and crosswalk ramps that comply with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA);
• resurfaced roadways, upgraded drainage and stormwater management facilities, and relocated utilities; and
• additional signage, intersection lighting and pavement markings.

Construction will be divided into two phases: first, the section from College Avenue to Lakeland Road, then from Lakeland Road to MD 193, with each phase taking about 18 months.

While pedestrian access will be maintained throughout the entire project, temporary single- or double-lane closures may be necessary on Baltimore Avenue and MD 193, similar to the ongoing utility work along the roadway. However, at least one lane will always be maintained in each direction, and when campus activity approaches typical levels again those closures will be mostly limited to off-peak times (10 a.m.-4 p.m. and overnight 7 p.m.-6 a.m.) in the southbound direction and overnight (8 p.m.-11 a.m.) in the northbound direction, said Christopher Ho, a civil engineer with Facilities Management.