Jul 18, 2010 6:51 pm US/Eastern
Long-Awaited Construction Project To Begin In Fall
Reporting
Gigi Barnett A long-awaited construction project on one of the city's busiest roads begins this fall.
A long-awaited construction project on one of the city's busiest roads begins this fall.
As
Gigi Barnett reports, the plan calls for a year of road work.
The state's Department of Transportation says the traffic on a stretch of West 29th Street in Northeast Baltimore moves too fast, putting walkers in danger. The street has been the scene of several accidents, so a $1 million pavement fix will come this fall.
"The Wyman Park Dell project will improve safety by reducing the amount of pavement the pedestrians have to cross and slow that traffic down where they are intersecting with the pedestrians," said DOT Engineer Jamie McDonald.
And when that's finished, construction crews will move a few blocks north to change traffic signals, plant trees and revamp North Charles Street, which runs in front of Johns Hopkins University.
While the street needs a facelift to the tune of $30 million, the Transportation Department says its number one goal here is safety, too.
"There is between 10,000 and 20,000 pedestrian crossings at Charles Street in this location and there have been a number of accidents involving pedestrians," McDonald said.
"It is very busy at times, but the cars seem to give way to the students a lot," said Johns Hopkins student Carmen Sivakumaran.
But the state says there's no room for bikers on this street. It's a mode of transportation many Johns Hopkins University students use.
"A lot of them are biking from the other side as well, so that would be good. I think widening the road would be good," Sivakumaran said.
About 60 percent of the redesign plans are already finished. Eighty percent of the money is coming from the federal government while Johns Hopkins and the city will foot the bill for the rest.
Some business owners feared the construction would block customers from getting to their shops, but the state says local traffic will be able to get to stores.
The project will be complete by May 2013.
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Tags: Baltimore Charles Street Baltimore Construction
