The list of top projects for Frederick County are o their way to the Maryland Department of Transportation. The Commissioners on Thursday voted 4-0-1 in favor of the list. Commissioner Billy Shreve abstained.

"It's essentially same as last year, with the number-one overall priority being the Route 15/Monocacy Boulevard Interchange. That's the interchange that's high cost," says Ron Burns with the Community Development Division, who briefed the Commissioners during their worksession. "It's about to be finished with final design. So it's going to go up on the shelf and sit until we figure out the funding for that."

The number two priority is project planning for the Meadow Road, Interstate 70 Ramps. The project would construct the missing ramps to and from the west. It's expected to be a public-private partnership. The third is final design funding to add lanes to Route 85 from Crestwood Boulevard to English Muffin Way, which is described as the "county's largest commercial, industrial jobs corridor."

The list also includes some non-highway projects, such as commuter bus recommendations, MARC Rail, Frederick Municipal Airport and streetscape, sidewalk retrofit, access to transit and bicycle retrofit projects.

Also included the State Secondary Highway Priority Listing. The number-one project on this list is project planning for improvements to Route 75. That project is divided into four segments: North Segment, which would relocate the park and ride lot at Baldwin Road to Route 75 south of Bush Creek near the Bush Creek Brethren Church with a long bridge over Bush Creek and the CSX railroad; Rt. 80 Segment, which would create a four-legged intersection and roundabout with Route 80, and a relocation of the southern leg of Route 75; Middle Segment, which is a half-mile south of Route 80 to Lewisdale Road, involving the reconstruction of a two-lane roadway to address safety concerns; and the South Segment, a proposed relocation and new roadway between Route 75 and Lewisdale Road, and a recommended interchange for I-270.

"That was a project that was in project planning many, many years ago. And it came out with a decision not to build it," Burns says.

But Commissioners' Vice President Paul Smith says this project makes sense. "If you were to pick the prime place to have residential growth in the county, to me that's where it could be because they are accessible to jobs in Baltimore, Washington DC, Montgomery County and Frederick," he says.

The list will be sent off to Maryland Acting Transportation Secretary Darrell Mobley. These projects will be added to the State's Consolidated Transportation Program for fiscal year 2014 to 2019. It also means these projects would be on the list to receive some construction funding in the future.