Roadwork at Baltimore-Carroll Line to Start this Week

Roadwork is beginning this week on the MD 140 (Westminster Pike) bridge at the Baltimore-Carroll county line, but it is not until spring that drivers will begin to see major traffic impacts from the project, according to the State Highway Administration (SHA). 

The $7 million bridge rehabilitation project includes replacing the driving surface and supporting steel beams and widening the shoulders of the MD 140 Bridge over the North Branch of the Patapsco River (Liberty Reservoir). 

Beginning early spring and continuing through fall 2014, the bridge will be reduced from four to three lanes, one of which will be a reversible lane carrying traffic towards Baltimore during the morning rush hour and towards Westminster during the evening rush hour and weekends. 

“SHA is using an innovative approach to maintain traffic during construction to minimize impacts to drivers,” said District Engineer Dave Coyne. 

In the meantime, all four lanes of traffic will be maintained this fall and winter while crews widen the bridge and its approaches on the westbound side. Motorists may encounter temporary single-lane closures on MD 140 during the overnight hours later this week or early next week to allow crews to set up barrier walls along the westbound shoulder and shift traffic lanes about two feet toward the eastbound shoulder. 

The project is expected to be complete in 2015, weather permitting. 

The project is part of SHA's ongoing statewide bridge system preservation program. The bridge was constructed in 1946 and while structurally safe, it is showing signs of deterioration and needs rehabilitation. 

For more information about the project, please visit http://tinyurl.com/MD140bridge.