update on the intersection
Susan McCarty
UPDATE
The Rivers Edge Working Group is happy to announce that SHA has canceled the February 13th informational meeting and the construction scheduled for April to eliminate the light and close our access to Rt 29 North. While we are very pleased with this result, we still need to work together to obtain funding for the grade-separated interchange our neighborhood needs.
While preparing for the February 13th meeting, Stephanie Cates-Harman, David Albert, and John Lawrence were invited to meet with Terry Soos, SHA District Engineer for District 7 and her staff. The meeting lasted two hours and we discussed various issues related to the interchange and SHA’s proposed action. We raised the numerous safety concerns associated with the merge onto Rt 29, with traffic that was no longer tempered by the light. We spoke about our residents entering the cloverleaf at Rt 32 several times in any given day, and the increased risk of collision there. We addressed the loss of access and enormous financial cost to this community. We closed the meeting with a request for SHA to take a step back, cancel the February 13th meeting, cancel the current plans in April to take out the light, and work with us to study and implement less disruptive safety improvements. In the meantime, we asked that SHA help us as we lobby for funding of the grade-separated interchange that was expected to begin construction in 2018.
Ms. Cates-Harman received a call this afternoon from Ms. Soos the District Engineer, who after consulting with Secretary Slater, the MDOT Secretary, has decided to proceed as we requested: cancel the meeting on 2/13, cancel the planned construction for April 2020, and begin working with the community to solve the problem that exists at the intersection. SHA is currently drafting a notification about the cancellation and it will be mailed to the entire community. Teri Soos is providing the working group with an advance copy of the notification as soon as it is complete. We will post it on the website once received. SHA will also be in contact with the working group so we can continue our efforts to get this matter resolved once and for all!
We believe the halt to the project is the direct result of your efforts in reaching out to our politicians, and our politicians speaking on our behalf. Many thanks go out to Senator Guzzone, and State Delegates Shane Pendergrass, Vanessa Atterbeary and Jen Terrasa. Our thanks also go to Howard County Executive Ball and Councilwoman Deb Jung for their proactive actions with SHA. Of course, we cannot ignore Governor Hogan and Lt Gov. Rutherford and Secretary Slater for their immediate attention to our concerns over the safety of this community.
However, our work is not over, and in many instances has just begun. Funding is a critical component of this effort. First, we need to make sure that Howard County sets this interchange as an infrastructure priority. A meeting is scheduled for February 20th from 5 pm to 8 pm at 3430 Court House Drive, Ellicott City. I know that everyone’s schedule is crazy but we really need to make time that evening to show up and make your voice heard! For more details see the updated What can I do NOW?.