Maryland's I-695/Baltimore Beltway renovation project aims to add Part-Time Shoulder Use lanes to reduce congestion. Set to finish in 2028, it also includes a new Intelligent Transportation System and upgrades to roadway infrastructure. The project will address traffic bottlenecks and enhance safety.
MDOT map
When completed in 2028, the massive project, spanning roughly 19 mi. in each direction of the Beltway will convert each of the road’s inside shoulders into a Part-Time Shoulder Use (PTSU) lane during peak travel times to reduce traffic congestion.
There is an end in sight for miles upon miles of roadwork on the Interstate 695/Baltimore Beltway in Maryland. The only problem is that it will not happen for three more years.
When completed in 2028, the massive project, spanning roughly 19 mi. in each direction of the Beltway will convert each of the road's inside shoulders into a Part-Time Shoulder Use (PTSU) lane during peak travel times to reduce traffic congestion, the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) announced June 12, 2025.
"We're working very hard with our contracting partner to get this done quickly," said Will Pines, the state's highway administrator. "so that the benefit of that additional travel lane during peak periods will be available to help everybody save time."
The work was delayed in part by the high-speed crash that killed six construction workers two years ago on the Baltimore Beltway near Security Boulevard. The tragedy stopped work on the effort and prompted additional safety measures, including increasing the size of the buffer between workers and traffic in certain areas.
According to the Maryland SHA, a division of the state Department of Transportation (MDOT), the project is currently taking place in two major phases.
Agency officials said the western half from where the Beltway meets I-70 to its interchange with I-83 will be finished and opened to motorists by late summer 2027. The second phase, which continues to the point where the Beltway meets I-95 east of the city, will be completed the following year.
Eventually, the project will extend from Lillian Holt Drive, just south of the I-95/I-695 interchange and cover nearly the entire Beltway.
"During peak periods, morning and afternoon rush hour in particular, there's an extra lane to move congestion faster," Sean Campion, the deputy director of the Maryland SHA, said to WJZ-TV News in Baltimore.
Traffic on the I-695/Baltimore Beltway, a perpetual sea of brake lights and construction, has only worsened since last year's collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge broke the southeast side of the freeway.
As the interstate carries as many as 200,000 vehicles per day — a number expected to rise in the coming decades — Maryland transportation officials say this project is critical to the region.
"The Beltway has been a traffic problem for a long time, but this is a solution that allows us to stay within the existing [highway] footprint [without having to widen it]," said Pines. "Yes, there is a temporary impact with this project, but in the long term [it will be worth it]."
Beltway Equipped With Intelligent Transportation System
A major feature of the project is a new Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) — a high-tech solution designed to detect obstructions such as crashes, stalled vehicles, or debris. The system will send real-time alerts to the SHA's operations center, allowing staff to redirect cameras and make informed decisions about managing traffic flow and lane availability.
"We'll be able to tell if there was a disabled vehicle, an accident or debris in the roadway either before we open the PTSU lane or while we're running the PTSU lane, 24/7," Campion said.
Once the project is complete, traffic management signs similar to those used on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge will indicate when the shoulder can serve as an extra travel lane. Large, silver overhang poles that look like the letter "T" already stand in some sections, the Banner reported.
State transportation officials estimate that the project could save motorists up to 21 minutes of travel time on the inner loop, which moves from west to east, and up to 34 minutes on the outer loop. In addition, the Beltway construction will address nine well-known bottlenecks, including six of the state's 15 worst traffic choke points, Pines said.
Most highway shoulders are not designed for high speeds and continuous use, so workers are upgrading the pavement's load-bearing capacity. They are also relocating pipes and drainage for stormwater runoff.
Maryland SHA crews also intend to install a camera network that pings state highway teams about stalled vehicles or obstructions in the roadway to help them clear slowdowns faster. The agency was quick to emphasize that they are not speed cameras.
The state has used more speed cameras across the project zone since the deadly 2023 crash, one of Maryland's most tragic incidents in a years-long increase in roadway deaths. The two drivers involved were both traveling at more than 120 mph, more than twice the Beltway's speed limit.
However, dangerous speeding still remains a problem. Since the additional cameras went online, Pines told the Banner, his department has clocked multiple vehicles going faster than 130 mph.
The timeline of the highway construction project also is expected to coincide with the rebuild of the new Francis Scott Key Bridge, which had carried I-695 over the Patapsco River until the cargo ship Dali lost power and slammed into a bridge support on March 26, 2024. The resulting structural collapse took the lives of six construction workers who were filling potholes on the bridge.
Its reconstruction also is expected to be completed in 2028 at an expected cost of about $2 billion.
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