When the traffic flow became unbearable along U.S. Route 40 Corridor in Delaware and Maryland, a long-range Corridor improvement plan was developed.

In looking at the area’s congestion, it has been reported that the number of dwelling units in the Corridor is projected to increase to 38,965 in 2020, an increase of 50 percent since 1995-96. The overall population in the Corridor is projected to increase to 90,371 by 2020, an increase of 35 percent since 1995-96.

Traffic also has shifted in the Corridor. Current average daily traffic counts along the Route 40 Corridor range from a low of 20,000 to a high of 36,000 vehicles (near Route 7) per day. Future travel volumes are projected to increase significantly in the Corridor due to projected growth.

In response to the deteriorating conditions, Maryland and Delaware Departments of Transportation awarded contracts with total value of approximately $10 million to T.C. Simons Inc., Fallston, MD, for five separate road reconstruction projects on the stretch of U.S. Route 40 from Maryland’s Baltimore County line into Delaware.

Scott Keibler, project manager with T.C Simons Inc. said that the third portion of the project is almost complete. That entails 6.3 mi. (10 km) in both east and west directions on Route 40 from Maryland Route 272 to the Delaware State line (Route 213).

The scope of the project is basically safety and resurfacing improvements. Various types of equipment have been used for the recent storm drainage and utility work, which includes a Gradall XL4100 (for ditch work) and a Cat 950 loader.

According to Keibler, T.C. Simons’ crews came in and performed major patching on the existing roadway by using a Cat 465 miller and a John Deere 310 backhoe to complete the excavation. Crews placed the asphalt with a Barber-Greene 225C paver. Leveling the course of asphalt on top of the roadway involved a Greyhound paver and three Ingersoll-Rand rollers for compaction.

“We did a demo of concrete stop pads which were 800-ft. long and 24-ft. wide,” said Keibler. “East Coast Concrete was the subcontractor that worked on the slab sections which measured 6 ft. by 8 ft. We shifted the traffic to the shoulder at this point and used two Excel Gradalls and six dump trucks to load concrete into and hauled it away. A Cedarapids 550 paver was used for paving and a shuttle buggy transfer machine allowed the dump trucks to dump into the transfer unit to eliminate segregation problems and resulted in a better profile for the roadway.”

Daisy Concrete and Construction worked on another aspect of the project from Maryland Route 7C to the Perryville Route 222 intersection. The company added additional overlay north toward Elkton, MD, at Route 272. This project entails overlay and full depth and partial depth patching.

According to Tom Miner, operations manager with Daisy Construction, the extra resurfacing and striping work cost approximately $1.3 million and has been substantially completed. The project should be completed by May 2001. The next step is to proceed to Aberdeen south of the Susquehanna intersection to complete road improvements and patching. C

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