MDOT is overseeing a $61.9 million project to improve six I-70 bridges in Hagerstown, MD, widening and resurfacing a 1.8-mile stretch. Long-term lane closures are expected until project completion in 2027. Safety measures include upgraded signage, lighting, and barriers. MDOT aims to enhance road quality and safety in Washington and Allegany counties, prioritizing projects that maintain and improve the current transport system to prevent fatalities and injuries. Additional investments target improving U.S. 40 bridges, C&O Canal towpath repair, and supporting local transit operations.
Photo courtesy of Maryland.gov
Photo on I-70 at I-81 looking east
The Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration (SHA) has started construction on a $61.9 million project to improve six Interstate 70 bridges and the portions of the roadway itself from west of Maryland Highway 63/Greencastle Pike to Bower Avenue in Washington County.
The Hagerstown-area construction is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027, weather permitting.
It is designed to replace and widen two I-70 bridges over I-81, a pair of bridges over U.S. Highway 11/Virginia Avenue, and another two bridges over the Norfolk Southern Railway line.
In addition, a 1.8-mi. stretch of I-70 also will be widened and resurfaced, from west of Md. 63 to the Bower Avenue overpass. Work along this stretch will include new traffic barriers, stormwater management improvements, upgraded signage and lighting and pavement markings for enhanced safety and road quality.
The Maryland SHA noted in October that drivers along the corridor can expect long-term lane closures throughout the project's construction, while adding that portable variable message signs, temporary traffic signs and barrels will help guide them through the work zone.
Triton Construction Inc. in St. Albans, W. Va., is the prime contractor on the I-70 improvements in and around Hagerstown.
The work on I-70 in Washington County is funded by MDOT's Draft Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) for Fiscal Years 2025 to 2030. The $18.9 billion, six-year spending plan invests in projects and programs that help advance Maryland's goals to be a safer, more affordable, more competitive and more sustainable state.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld and other agency leaders met Oct. 17 with officials in Washington and Allegany counties to discuss the program.
MDOT's top priority is the safeguard of all Marylanders, a fact that is reflected in the Draft CTP, the department said in a news release. That means putting projects that maintain the current system at the top of its list and seeking to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries on the state's roads.
At the meetings, transportation officials offered details and updates on several other efforts and programs affecting Washington and Allegany counties.
Maryland SHA Administrator William Pines noted that Hagerstown is currently hosting a Complete Streets demonstration project on U.S. 40 from North Cannon Avenue to East Washington Avenue designed to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. The project includes narrowed lanes, speed cushions and high visibility crosswalks, and is scheduled to be in place through November as data is collected.
The state highway agency also completed a $4.5 million project earlier this year to improve the I-81 interchange at Maugans Avenue in Washington County, and a $4 million replacement of the Md. 36 bridge deck over North Branch near Mount Savage in Allegany County.
Among other important local investments in the Draft Consolidated Transportation Program:
- Construction is ongoing to improve the surface of U.S. 40 bridges over I-70 near Hagerstown. This $8.9 million project is expected to be completed in 2025.
- C&O Canal National Historical Park will receive $1.68 million in a Transportation Alternatives Program grant to repair and rehabilitate about 15 mi. of C&O Canal towpath from Little Orleans to Oldtown in Allegany County.
- Nearly $1.5 million was sent to Washington County and more than $1.2 million to Allegany County to support local transit operations.
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