A new county traffic study has confirmed what Sykesville residents have known for years -- that Obrecht Road is no longer adequate to handle an increasing amount of traffic.
The report found more than 5,000 vehicles a day use Obrecht Road to reach Route 32, and the volume is projected to increase to an average 15,000 vehicles within 20 years.
"The level of service on the road is questionable now," said Steve Horn, county transportation planner and author of the report, which was issued last month. "Without improvements, it is approaching unacceptable."
The county has budgeted $1.5 million for one improvement: a realignment of the road around the north end of Fairhaven Retirement Community.
"Because the road is expected to handle increasing volumes of traffic, and because it will likely increase in importance due to its location, it is recommended that the Obrecht Road realignment move forward to construction, regardless of the implementation of Third Avenue extended," Mr. Horn wrote in the report.
The realignment project has not moved forward, while the county waits the town's decision on another option: extending Obrecht Road to Third Avenue and then to Route 32. Once built, the extension would allow the town to close a dangerous, high-accident intersection of Springfield Avenue and Route 32.
"The primary benefit of the extension is the concurrent elimination of a hazardous situation at Springfield Avenue," the report said.
Sykesville wants both roads constructed simultaneously. The town is asking the county to begin the realignment immediately and is seeking state money to finance the extension. The two intersections with Route 32, often called the Sykesville bypass, would be about 1,200 feet apart. Both would probably have traffic signals.
Many residents have said they fear that if the town builds the extension, the county will not build the realignment. The report cautions against that.
"To expect Third Avenue to function as a major collector in place of Obrecht Road . . . will create safety concerns while forcing through traffic onto other local streets," the report said.
Average daily traffic on Obrecht, a three-mile road, which runs from Route 97 to Third Avenue in Sykesville, has increased 40 percent in the past 10 years. It is the only major collector road, south of Route 26, between Routes 32 and 97, highways that many residents use in daily commutes to their jobs.
"The ultimate conclusion is both roads are needed," Mr. Horn said.
Sykesville Mayor Jonathan Herman said previous studies have reached the same conclusions.Within the past few years, Sykesville has approved 500 building lots. The surrounding Freedom and Eldersburg districts are growing at a similar pace.
"Projections must consider growth and development beyond the Sykesville vicinity in areas of the county to the north and west," Mr. Horn wrote.
Mr. Horn is so certain his assessment is valid that he is recommending the county secure enough right-of-way from Fairhaven for a four-lane realignment project.
"Based on build-out, traffic will continue to increase," Mr. Horn said.
Building one improvement without the other would only lead to more problems for the town of 3,000 residents, the mayor said.
"We need the realignment since burdening Third Avenue with all that traffic would be a mistake," Mr. Herman said.
The State Highway Administration is planning improvements to Route 32, but has delayed the start until the town and county make final decisions on Obrecht Road. Work could begin this spring and start at College Avenue, near the south end of town.
"We pledge to work with the town and county to provide capacity improvements, wherever town roads access the highway," said Doug Rose, SHA district engineer.
Without improvements to the highway, Mr. Horn said, all intersections, including the two new ones, would be operating at unacceptable levels in the future.
"Route 32 is and will be a major road, because there are no plans to improve 97," Mr. Herman said. "We must supply people with a safe, easy way to get on it."