MD 216 Relocated between US 29 and I-95

Welcome  Background  The Project  Traffic data  Detail Build Information
Project Information

Background

Existing MD 216 (Scaggsville Road)

MD 216 (Scaggsville Road) between US 29 and I-95 is a two-lane undivided road for most of its length. Existing MD 216 is geometrically deficient and discontinuous, utilizing a short section of a county road. The route contains two right angle turns, one at Leishear Road and the other at the intersection of Old Scaggsville Road. This roadway configuration is responsible for diversion of approximately 30% of the corridor traffic volume to Gorman Road, a parallel two-lane county road to the north, which traverses a residential area.

Project Background

A project planning study was completed for this section of MD 216 in 1980 and a Location/Design Public Hearing was held on June 26, 1980. An Environmental Assessment was completed and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed by the Federal Highway Administration for the selected alternate in 1981. The 1981-selected alternate connects US 29 to I-95 just south of Hammond Branch and north of existing Scaggsville Road. The proposed typical section included a four-lane open section with a 58-foot median and 10-foot shoulders. The project was put on hold due to funding constraints.

Design studies were initiated in the Fall of 1990 and were subsequently placed on hold in the Spring of 1992. In 1996, Howard County requested that design studies be reinitiated for the project, citing itas the County’s top secondary highway improvement priority. At the County’s request, the US 29/MD 216 interchange was broken out and accelerated as a separate project to address peak hour congestion at that intersection. A public informational meeting, presenting plans for the relocation of MD 216, the US 29/MD 216 interchange, and the US 29/Hopkins-Gorman Road interchange, was held on January 29, 1998, at Hammond Middle School. At that time, the preferred alternate for MD 216 was a four-lane divided, curbed section roadway with 8-foot shoulders and a 20-foot median to allow for left turn lanes at the two intersections at Crest Road and Leishear Road. A sidewalk was provided on the northern side of the roadway. The US 29/MD 216 interchange project was approved by FHWA as a Categorical Exclusion on September 11, 1998. Construction of the interchange project is complete. Click here to view current photos of the interchange.