Maryland is pursuing an ambitious $300 million revamp of Route 4 to reduce congestion and improve safety near Joint Base Andrews. The project includes building new ramps, widening the road and constructing five bridges. Challenges include a high water table, but innovative solutions are being implemented for smoother traffic flow by fall 2028.
Maryland State Highway Administration photo
Crews backfill over a storm drain on the Route 4-Suitland Parkway project.
Maryland's Route 4 in southeastern Maryland services Prince George's, Anne Arundel and Calvert Counties. This thoroughfare has important neighbors including Washington D.C., and I-495, the busy beltway around the nation's capital.
Economic activity has been growing, especially near MD Route 4's connection with Suitland Parkway (MD 337). The biggest and most influential neighbor is Joint Base Andrews, formerly known as Andrews Air Force Base. This military facility is home to more than 16,000 people and hosts the 316th Wing, which supports six Wings, two headquarters and some 50 tenant organizations. The base generates an estimated $1 billion in economic impact to the area.
Maryland's State Highway Administration (SHA) has determined to reduce congestion in this area and increase safety by taking on an ambitious revamping of the road system with a nearly $300 million project. The work is expected to be complete by fall 2028, weather permitting.
The project will include a new diamond interchange and five new bridges. The average daily traffic here is 66,000 vehicles with a large volume of trucks. Concrete General is the main contractor for the project.
Often projects like this are composed of many smaller units, each one tasked with improving traffic patterns, reducing overall congestion and providing greater safety for motorists and pedestrians.
Multiple Projects
The Route 4-Suitland Parkway project will include:
• rebuilding the on and off-ramps to Joint Base Andrews;
• building a new two-lane ramp over MD 4 to connect to northbound Route 4 and westbound Suitland Parkway;
• widening Route 4;
• reconfiguring Pennsylvania Avenue Service Road and Armstrong Lane;
• realigning Presidential Parkway with Suitland Parkway;
• building a new signalized intersection at Presidential Parkway and Central Park Drive, including new sidewalks; and
• adding a new shared-use path across Suitland Parkway bridge.
The project is supervised by Ryan Doran, acting assistant district engineer, construction of SHA's District 3. Concrete General's Mike Higgins provides direction for the Concrete General team. The project is 13 percent complete and has now started phase two of six phases of the work. Workers are relocating utilities, installing wick drains, placing roadway fill in the surcharge areas and driving the support piles for the proposed bridge over MD 4.
"Working closely to the base has added some challenges," said Doran. "Before bringing in some of the cranes to the job, we had to get FAA clearance to make sure there would be no interference on the flights. However, we kept a steady flow of communication with Joint Base Andrews to get the waivers approved in an expedited manner and by doing so we were able to avoid any major delays."
The cranes will be vital as the construction team assembles the five steel-girder bridges. The bridges will require approximately 2,200 tons of steel with sections of the bridges preassembled at the factory.
High Water Table
The construction team is taking extra steps to combat a relatively high water table in the area.
"We will install wick drains in several locations," said Doran. "We will drill holes from 100 to 200 feet deep into the ground and then place our roadway fill on top of those surcharge areas until the final elevation is reached. The wick drains will enable us to draw out the water and build on a drier surface."
The wick drains will use prefabricated geotextile filter wrapped strips to channel the water as it ascends to the surface.
"We will also be using lightweight permeable low density cellular concrete (PLDCC) in multiple areas to limit ground settlement," said Doran. "This type of concrete is not frequently used on SHA projects, but we will be using it on this project because it is lighter in weight than normal concrete but still retains strength."
The construction team will be using approximately 44,000 sq. yds. of concrete on the flyovers and 90,000 tons of asphalt for significant road construction.
In addition to the cranes, the construction team will be using paving machines, material transfer vehicles and rollers to produce a smooth highway and surface roads. The team also will use dozers, excavators and front-end loaders to prepare the ground for final construction.
The construction team will deliver significant savings by reusing material from a previous project that was halted because of utility conflicts.
"Concrete pipe and steel for bridges had already been delivered, so we are able to use that for our project," said Doran.
The construction team will use message boards to communicate changing traffic patterns and establish work zone areas. However, the ramps and surface streets received special attention.
"We added a temporary turn signal on MD 4 southbound at Dower House Road to safely navigate onto the highway and will restripe certain roads so motorists could easily understand what is happening. We have also added stop signs, stop bars in the roadway and some temporary concrete barrier walls for worker safety. In addition, we have a robust community outreach program in place to inform the traveling public well in advance of the construction activity as well as changes to traffic patterns."
As the project is finalized, Doran and his team expect to see smoother traffic through this critical juncture. "We are making it safer for commuters and eliminating congestion. It's exciting to see that we will be making a difference." CEG
Chuck MacDonald
Chuck MacDonald is an editor, blogger and freelance feature writer whose writing adventures have taken him to 48 states and 10 countries. He has been the editor for magazines on pavement construction, chemicals, insurance and missions. Chuck enjoys bicycling, kayaking and reading. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. Chuck lives in Annapolis, Md. with his wife Kristen. They have seven grandchildren.
Read more from Chuck MacDonald here.
Today's top stories
