CECIL COUNTY — The Maryland Department of Transportation visited the Cecil County Administration building this week to discuss a $18.9 billion six year capital budget investment in the state’s transportation network with the county as part of their annual statewide tour to update local officials and citizens on MDOT’s upcoming plans.
Every fall, the MDOT presents its draft six-year capital program to Maryland counties and Baltimore City to gather input from local jurisdictions. The Draft 2025-2030 Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) will be finalized later this year and will then be submitted to the state legislature in January and considered during the 2025 General Assembly session. The CTP sums up the data driven projects and programs that advance Maryland’s goals to be safer, more affordable, competitive, and sustainable.
Top priorities for Cecil County are safety, roads and quality of life for residents, ensuring people are getting from place to place as quickly and safely as possible. Cecil County Executive Danielle Hornberger mentioned the ongoing road improvement projects — like the I-95 interchange at Belvedere Road — which will meet the needs of the growing community while taking heavy vehicle traffic off residential roadways and neighborhood streets.
Belvedere Road switched to an alternating traffic pattern in May that maintained a single lane using a temporary traffic signal, which will remain in effect until the summer of 2026. The new interchange is expected to open in the fall of 2026 depending on final permitting and favorable weather, according to Maryland Transportation Authority Executive Director Bruce Garner.
MDOT Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld noted that MDOT faces significant budget challenges because of the state’s slow economic growth, rising cost of labor and materials, and revenues coming lower than expected.
Recently, a department-wide policy was updated to support Maryland’s vision zero goal to rapidly reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries to zero by 2030.
“The number one priority obviously is safety. Safety of everyone who uses the transportation system including those who walk, bike, and work that transportation network,” Wiedefeld said.
In Fiscal Year 2024, the State Highway Administration enhanced sidewalks statewide, including 13 crosswalks at 10 intersections in Cecil County, according to SHA Administrator William Pines. Pines highlighted some recent SHA projects including surface patching along several sections of Maryland 272, Main Street in North East, and implementing new signals at the US 40 intersection with Nottingham Road and Elk Neck Road.
This coming year, the SHA plans to finish the $2.5 million project reconstructing sidewalks, add new sidewalks and building a shared use bike and pedestrian bridge over the Big Elk Creek at Maryland Route 7 in Elkton.
“This is a priority for the county and the town that will provide safe, ADA compliant access from Main Street to Meadow Park,” said Pines.
SHA also plans to start construction in early 2025 on the $1.9 million sidewalk project on Maryland 222 from St. Mark’s Church Road to Clayton Street and Cedar Quarter Road to provide a safe route for students walking to and from Perryville High School.
The county was also awarded two grants to advance trail projects. Nearly $80,000 from the transportation alternatives program for a quarter mile segment of the lower Susquehanna heritage freeway near Perryville, and $50,000 from the Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program for the town of North East to study the development of bike trails on North East Creek.
Cecil County Councilman Bob Meffley addressed concerns about traffic increasing on the already busy road of 213 from the Southfields project. The developers are still in the process of finalizing permits, but plan to widen the road to allow for more vehicle traffic caused by the influx of people entering the development.
The Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge connecting Havre de Grace and Perryville is undergoing a rehabilitation project that includes painting the bridge and temporary lane closures to accommodate construction equipment and provide safe working conditions. One lane will remain open in each direction until the project is completed in May of 2026. Until then, motor bicycles are not permitted on the bridge when a lane closure is in place.
Public transit systems were also a hot topic in Tuesday’s meeting.
The Maryland Transit Administration has implemented a new funding allocation formula that makes more equitable and responsive distributions for local investments in transit services, including an increase in nearly $39,000 in operating funds to Cecil County.
Additionally, a train station in Elkton is in the works to be connected to the Wilmington Amtrak station, but there is no set date on the completion of the station, as negotiations and planning still need to be finalized. More information on the Elkton Station project will be available towards the end of the year, according to MTA Administrator Holly Arnold.
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