They will go to the Md. Department of Transportation.
Annapolis, Md. (KM) – A letter outlining Frederick County’s transportation priorities was presented on Friday to the local Legislative Delegation.
The top one on the list is full construction funding for US Route 15 in Frederick, which has been number one for a long time. . “We’d like to note that we’re appreciative of the most recent CTP {Consolidated Transportation Program} that allocated $10.8-million for the full design of US 15 which has been Frederick County’s number-one priority for a number of years,” says Mark Mishlin, Frederick County Transportation Engineering Manager.
The construction funding would cover US Route 15 from I-70 to Maryland Route 26.
The second project is full design and construction funding for Interstate 70 Phase Four from I-270 to Mount Phillip Road. Mishlin says the two projects are tied closely together. “Direct link to the US 15 project there where we’ll have those lanes coming into that Phase Four of I-70,” he said.
The other two projects are planning and design funding for Maryland Route 85 Phase II and Phase III: Ballenger Creek to Guilford Drive; and Project Planning Funding for Maryland Route 194 from Maryland Route 26 to Devilbiss Bridge Road.
Mishlin says there are several transit projects on the list of priorities. “We’re requesting the need for increased operating funds to support the County’s para-transit demand; increased connector service to 30-minute frequencies due to the high demand there,” he says.
There’s also a request for an expansion of transit services to rural areas. “As we have a number of residents in Frederick County in rural areas that do not have access to the connectivity features or the mobility features that they need through vehicles and everything else like that,” he said. “So we’re looking at operating funds to promote that item.”
Realizing the commuter bus is best equipped in the shot term to serve the connections between Frederick and Washington DC, Mishlin says the County is asking the Maryland Department of Transportation to look into MARC or other transit opportunities along the I-270 corridor.
This list has been drafted in a letter which will be sent to Secretary of Transportation Jim Ports. It will be signed by both County Executive Jan Gardner and Frederick County Delegation Chairman Barrie Cilliberti.
The Delegation gave its approval on Friday to the County’s transportation priorities.
By Kevin McManus