Local planners are discussing ways to alleviate traffic on Route 140 after Gov. Parris N. Glendening barred funding for a proposed Westminster bypass, saying it doesn't fit into his efforts to curb sprawl.
Possibilities under consideration include improvements to Route 140 to relieve congestion; building the $200 million bypass with funds from the county, city and developers; and keeping pressure on the state to reverse its decision and build the bypass.
County planners, working with city officials, are developing a comprehensive plan to guide growth for the "Westminster environ" -- land surrounding, but not including, the city. That will include road improvements.
"The Maryland Department of Transportation a month ago told Carroll County they were taking [the bypass] off their plans," said Bobbi Moser, a comprehensive planner for the county. "OK, so what does that mean? We may not see a road project for 10 or 20 years. Do we make a decision to write off state funding, and what do we do in lieu of that?"
The bypass was planned to relieve the heavy flow of traffic on Route 140, which was originally a bypass. On average, it carries nearly 49,000 vehicles a day. The State Highway Administration predicts that by 2020 that number will grow to 72,000.
"The state's own transportation studies and projections found additional capacity will be required to relieve traffic congestion in the Maryland Route 140 corridor in 10 to 15 years," said Steve Horn, the county's director of planning. "Generally, additional capacity means new pavement."
Horn declined to comment on the possibility of finding other funds or keeping pressure on state officials to change their position, saying he didn't want to "rule anything out at this point."
"It's important to note that just because the state is backing up on its commitment to pay for the project doesn't mean the need for some relief disappears," Horn said.
Katrina L. Tucker, town planner for Westminster, said the city and SHA are forming a focus group to study alternatives.
"The mind-set is that it's premature to say the bypass is completely eliminated. It's possible we will look at the alternatives and say there is no alternative but to build it," she said. "I'm not saying that's what we're going to push for. The goal of the group is to think creatively and come up with a bunch of things to look at."
One of the problems that arose in past discussion of bypass alternatives was that people looked at Route 140 simply as a connector route and not as a commercial-access route, Tucker said. There was talk of creating bilevel intersections -- roads running underneath one another to eliminate stops -- but that would have severely limited access to stores and taken away parking spaces, she said.
"We don't want to build a road network that jeopardizes access to commercial business," Tucker said.
Some relief is already in the works.
The state is expanding the highway from Leidy Road to the Route 97 split, a project expected to cost about $6 million. Construction is to be completed in fall 2000. Other tentatively planned Route 140 improvements -- widening bridges over northbound Route 97 and Route 27, and adding a fourth lane in each direction between Malcolm Drive and Pennsylvania Avenue -- would cost about $25 million. Those projects have not been funded.
Pub Date: 3/22/99