A massive construction project to widen the southwest section of the Beltway is intended to ease congestion for drivers, but those who live nearby say it's coming at the cost of more noise and disruption for their neighborhoods.
Crews are set to begin adding a fourth lane to the outer loop of Interstate 695 between the Baltimore National Pike and Frederick Road this summer as part of a four-year, $117 million undertaking.
"It's an investment for the future," said Teal Cary, executive director of the Catonsville Chamber of Commerce.
The area may be suffering construction fatigue, with the Frederick Avenue bridge over the Beltway finally completed last fall, but Cary says the results have been worth the inconvenience.
"It took a while for people to get used to it and for them to coordinate the lights properly, but I think it's working pretty well now," Cary said. "I think the businesses were thrilled when it was finished."
But some residents, especially those who live along the Beltway, dread the coming construction crews and cacaphony on top of the daily rumble of nearly 200,000 vehicles driving by.
"The noise is terrible," said Sharon Atwood, whose home on Valcour Road in Catonsville is just several houses from the Beltway. "In the summertime, I watch my five grandchildren, and we're always in the backyard and it really gets bad."
When Atwood and her husband moved to the house 43 years ago, there were woods that served as a natural sound barrier. But many of the trees were taken down as an apartment building was erected and the Beltway was widened, she said.
Atwood's back porch is about level with the Beltway.
"We were promised before anything was done we would have a noise barrier," she said. "We never did get the noise barrier."
Matthew Riesner, president of the Ingleside Neighborhood Association of Catonsville, also expressed concern about the noise construction will bring. He said he does not understand why sound barriers aren't a part of the project.
State officials plan to build sound barriers on the inner loop of this stretch of the Beltway and on the outer loop near Spring Grove Hospital Center as a separate project to begin construction in 2019.
Officials from the State Highway Administration are scheduled to discuss plans and invite comments from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Western School of Technology.
Officials expect much of the work to be done at night when traffic is lighter — which is better for drivers and safer for workers, but not for neighbors trying to sleep.
"This is going to be a loud project," Riesner said. "They're going to be driving piles into the ground. There is going to be a lot of earth-moving equipment coming in."
The plan is for crews to add a fourth lane to the outer loop and widen the median in anticipation of a possible fifth lane. The bridges over Ingleside and Edmondson avenues will be replaced to increase the clearance height.
Riesner said that will create another problem for residents.
"Once the bridge is raised, it will allow for even larger trucks to drive on the street," said Riesner, who lives on Ingleside. "Our house already rattles when the trucks drive by."
Riesner said there will be benefits from a wider Beltway, and he applauds the new sidewalks that will be built on Ingleside as part of the project. But he says the highway administration should do more to address "the impact on day-to-day life" in adjacent neighborhoods.
Tom Huot isn't convinced that there will be a payoff when the construction ends. The Catonsville man says widening the Beltway will only attract more traffic and, ultimately, more congestion.
"I'm a firm believer anytime you widen something, all it does is create more problems," said Huot, a Realtor who lives on Ingleside Avenue. "It makes traffic faster for a while, but then more people will go on there, and eventually it fills up again."
The highway administration says about 195,700 cars travel this part of the Beltway every day. The agency projects the number will rise to 251,600 by 2030. The construction will follow an earlier widening of the outer loop between Frederick Road and I-95.
Tom Quirk, the Baltimore County Council member who represents the area, said he's grateful for the investment in the area.
"It's clearly needed on that portion that people call 'the wicked west side,'" Quirk said. "You can always count on pretty heavy traffic on that part of the Beltway."
George Brookhart, who lives inside the Beltway, says the construction will be disruptive, but he's looking forward to a wider highway. He says congestion has grown over the years.
"Even at 3 [p.m.], you'll see the backup," he said.
Cathy Schneider, owner of Edible Arrangements on Main Street in Catonsville and president of the Chamber of Commerce, said her delivery drivers have had to navigate around the previous roadwork, but there are plenty of alternative routes in the area.
"We would just avoid that area until the work was done," she said. "Any improvements we can get in this town, everybody's happy with."
"Maybe not while they're going on, but once they're finished," added Cary, who was in the office with Schneider.
Ragina Cooper-Averella, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said the project shows "why transportation funding is so critical and why legislative efforts to repeal the gas tax are not prudent.
"While we know that construction on roads typically causes some increased commuting times, the widening of 695 will definitely relieve traffic congestion once it is completed, making for a safer commute for motorists in the long run," she said.
Bettina Tebo, the owner of Abbey Bail Bonds in Catonsville and president of the Arbutus Business and Professional Association, has seen project after project disrupting the same stretch of the Beltway.
She said it needs to be widened. "Sometimes it gets so bad that it's backed up all the way back to Liberty Road and beyond," she said.
But some of the recent work, including construction on the intersections around the bridge that carries Frederick Road over the Beltway, has frustrated her.
"I'm not impressed with the traffic patterns and how they totally cut Woodlawn Avenue off," she said.
"It has been a continual process for quite a few years now, and some of it's better than others," Tebo said. "I guess once they get it all done it will be much, much better, but when they'll get it done, God only knows.
"And if they do get it done, then what else are they going to come up with to do?"
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Construction projects past, present and future
Now open to traffic:
I-695 Outer Loop Widening over Wilkens Avenue (MD 372)
MD 144 (Frederick Road) Bridge over I-695 (Bridge Replacement & Interchange Improvements)
Construction Underway:
I-695 Bridge Replacement over Milford Mill Road: Estimated completion 2016
I-695 Inner Loop Bridges over Leeds/US 1/Amtrak and Benson (plus ramp improvements): Estimated completion summer 2017
Planned:
I-695 Southwest Outer Loop Widening from US 40 to MD 144 for a fourth lane; includes ramp improvements and two bridge replacements: Work to begin summer 2015
I-695 Outer Loop Sound Wall Project from US 40 to south of MD 144: Work to begin spring 2019
I-695 Concrete Median Barrier construction project between I-895 and I-95 (safety and system preservation project): Work to begin spring 2015