Anne Arundel County, MD (May 1, 2012) – The Cordish Companies and the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) today announced that the MD 295 / Arundel Mills Blvd. interchange will be reconfigured into a Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI), an innovative, award-winning traffic solution that has worked successfully around the country to improve traffic flow and efficiency.
The first of its kind in Maryland, the DDI at the MD 295 / Arundel Mills Blvd. interchange is part of a $5M traffic improvement project funded by The Cordish Companies and developed in association with the SHA and Anne Arundel County to accommodate future development in the region.
“The Cordish Companies and SHA are confident the DDI is the best choice for the interchange, as it will function more safely and efficiently than the current configuration and other designs,” said Joe Weinberg, Managing Partner, The Cordish Companies. “The goal is to have traffic flowing in the new configuration as close as possible to the opening of Maryland Live! Casino on June 6.”
The DDI construction begins now with new traffic patterns established by early June and full completion by late summer. To accelerate the project schedule by several months, southbound MD 295 connections with Arundel Mills Blvd. will be CLOSED starting early May for about one month, with work planned 24 hours a day. Detours to MD 175 and MD 100 will be posted, with additional traffic expected to temporarily increase travel times. Once open, the Diverging Diamond will keep traffic flowing safely along Arundel Mills Blvd. with traffic signals, concrete barrier wall and signs that guide motorists to the LEFT of oncoming traffic to and from MD 295.
“The innovative Diverging Diamond interchange at MD 295 and Arundel Mills Boulevard will be the first in Maryland, so there may be a learning curve for motorists during their initial drive through it,” said State Highway District Engineer Lee Starkloff. “We appreciate drivers’ patience during construction and urge extra caution through the work zone. When complete, along with the other area improvements, the new interchange will serve long-term transportation needs and improve mobility through the region.”
The Cordish Companies proactively assembled a team of expert Maryland-based contractors and engineers to develop the best solution to improve traffic flow in the area. The DDI is one of numerous improvements being made by Cordish within the Arundel Mills Commercial District.
The Cordish Company selected McLaren Engineering Group, of Baltimore, and Traffic Concepts, Inc., of Gambrills, to design the improvements and Reliable Contracting, of Millersville, to perform the construction. SHA will maintain oversight of the project and ensure the contract provisions, quality, safety, budget and deadlines are met.
ABOUT THE DDI
How it works
DDIs temporarily cross traffic lanes to the LEFT side of the road in order to create direct access with the freeway. It limits the number of traffic signal phases required to move motorists through the interchange, ensuring that traffic moves quickly and efficiently. Movements on and off the freeway are free-flowing and have fewer conflict points.
For example, at the entrance to the interchange - in this case, when driving west on Arundel Mills Blvd. to access MD 295 southbound - motorists will proceed through a traffic signal and simply follow their lane to the left side of the roadway. Then, they will continue to merge left onto the on-ramp without having to stop for additional traffic signals or wait for oncoming traffic to pass. When exiting MD 295 southbound to access Arundel Mills Blvd., motorists stay in the left lane through the traffic signal, crossover, then proceed to the right side of the roadway and onto Arundel Mills Blvd.
If you look at a picture of a DDI, it appears to be a challenge driving through the intersection. In reality, a DDI has pavement markings and traffic signals just like any intersection to clearly guide drivers through.
The Benefits
The DDI design reduces congestion by allowing traffic to keep moving through an intersection. It also improves safety by allowing free flowing turns when entering and exiting the roadway, eliminating the left turn against oncoming traffic and limiting the number of traffic signal phases. They are easy to navigate and eliminate last minute lane changes. The DDI also provides better sight distance at turns, which can result in fewer accidents.
Engineering studies indicate that the DDI will help alleviate bottlenecks, freeway backups and can accommodate more traffic with fewer lanes well into the future, making it an ideal solution to transportation needs of Anne Arundel County’s growing population and ongoing development. The design greatly simplifies the operation of the traffic signals, significantly reducing stopped time and delay and the chance of collisions, since there is less vehicle queuing.
What to expect
The method of intersection control will be modified with both roundabouts at the Arundel Mills Blvd. ramps eliminated. Geometric changes will be incorporated to the ramp from southbound MD 295, so that no vehicles will be forced to yield to opposing vehicles. Along the ramp from northbound MD 295, a traffic signal will be installed to control vehicle flow, resulting in increased capacity of the interchange with less vehicle delays and shorter vehicle queues.
Crews will close the ramp from southbound MD 295 to Arundel Mills Blvd. AND the ramp from Arundel Mills Blvd. to southbound MD 295. The one-month closure will be in place beginning early May. The MD 295 interchanges with MD 100 to the north and MD 175 to the south will be used for the traffic detour. Traffic signals near the work zone will be timed to match the traffic pattern changes, relieving congestion and to ensure vehicle queues do not extend onto MD 295.
Stay informed
The following resources are available to motorists:
Visit the page to see a DDI in action.
Hotline: (443) 445-2945
Twitter: Follow @MarylandLive or @MDSHA
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