A three-year project initiated last summer by the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) will improve one of the busiest sections of the Baltimore Beltway and help ease rush hour congestion by adding travel lanes.

According to the SHA, the section of I-695 from MD 144 to the I-95 interchange is a major commuter route, with traffic increasing each year. Currently, the average daily traffic is approximately 185,000 vehicles. The forecast for 2020 calls for an increase of 22 percent to 236,000 vehicles. In addition to growth figures, a need for bridge work also contributed to the decision to widen the section. Although the SHA reported that the existing bridges are safe, they needed an increased amount of maintenance and remedial work. In addition, the bridges do not meet the current federal standards for vertical underclearance.

The prime contract was awarded to Dick Corporation, Pittsburgh, for $47,167,462. Work began in July 2001 and is expected to be completed by May 2004. Funding is 80 percent federal.

The improvements cover a 3.6-mi. (5.8 km) segment, with 2.7 mi. (4.3 km) along I-695 and a 0.9-mi. (1.4 km) section along ramps to I-95 northbound and southbound. One through lane will be added on the outer loop of the Beltway, and several interchanges also will be reconfigured to meet current safety criteria. Overall, the project includes roadway widening, bridge work, retaining walls and noise barriers. When the widening is complete, a superpave overlay of the entire outer loop roadway surface from MD 144 to the I-95 South ramps will be completed.

Brian T. Contino, PE, Dick Corporation’s project director — Heavy/Industrial Division reported that the project is broken into three phases. The first phase includes widening the median, the second involves widening the bridges and the travel lane, and the third phase entails widening the bridges at the median and the superpave overlay.

“The volume of traffic makes the project particularly difficult,” Contino said. Although some work is done every day, both day and night, the SHA reported that only intermittent lane closures are allowed. The closures are scheduled mainly at night, both on I-95 and I-695. The main work that is done at night is demolition work that is unsafe to do with traffic running underneath and some pile driving and other noisy construction operations. Since traffic patterns and lane widths change during the course of the project, drivers need to be alert to traffic control devices throughout the construction zone.

Bridge work includes replacement of the existing outer loop structure of

I-695 over Wilkens Avenue, I-695 over Leeds Avenue/Southwestern Boulevard/Amtrak, and I-695 over Benson Avenue, with replacement of the entire structure of Westland Boulevard over I-695.

Major subcontractors for the project include Willams Bridge, structural steel; Genesis Steel, reinforcing steel; Baldwin Line, electrical; Collinson, sign structures; P. Flanigan & Sons, bituminous paving; W.A. & F.C. Wagman, piling; Dominion, caissons; Paul J. Rach, concrete barrier; Sunrise Safety Services, line striping and maintenance of traffic devices; TerraTech, shoring; and Joseph B. Fay, demolition.

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