Nighttime Work Scheduled to Start Monday, March 21; Temporary, Total Lane Closures with Area Detour to Begin at 11 P.M.

(March 16, 2016) – Beginning Monday night, March 21 and continuing for four consecutive nights, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) will temporarily close a one-half mile section of MD 5 (Branch Avenue) from Auth Road to Auth Way near the Branch Avenue Metro Station.  SHA will detour traffic using Auth Road, Auth Place and Auth Way.  The closures will allow crews to use a 150-ton, 100-foot high crane to lift 90-foot long steel beams into place for a new bridge over MD 5 connecting Woods Way.

For the first two nights of work, crews will close:

 

• ONE lane on northbound MD 5 between Auth Road and Auth Way at 8 p.m.

• TWO northbound lanes at 9 p.m.

• ALL northbound lanes at 11 p.m. with traffic detoured

During the final two nights, crews will close:

 

• ONE lane in both directions of MD 5 between Auth Road and Auth Way at 8 p.m.,

• TWO lanes at 9 p.m.

• ALL lanes on MD 5 at 11 p.m. with traffic using the same detour route.

All traffic lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. the next day and all work is weather permitting.  During the complete closure of MD 5 Wednesday and Thursday nights, crews will lift a pre-fabricated pedestrian bridge into place over southbound MD 5 and continue steel beam work on the bridge for Woods Way over northbound MD 5.  The pedestrian bridge will not be open for use until later in the project. 

 

 

 

SHA will use electronic message boards to alert motorists of the upcoming work and flaggers will direct MD 5 traffic to the entry and exit points of the detour.  Drivers should plan for additional time during construction and regional travelers should consider using MD 414 (St. Barnabas Road, Exit 4) as an alternate route.  Construction work is not scheduled March 25-27. 

SHA will use the same lane closures and detours for vehicular bridge deck (driving surface) work in mid-April (weather and progress permitting). The $37 million MD 5 Interchange Construction project is scheduled for completion in summer 2017; weather permitting. 

 

Those who have questions may contact the SHA District 3 Office at 301-513-7300 or shadistrict3@sha.state.md.us. For the latest real-time travel information, log onto www.md511.org or call 1-855-466-3511 using a hands-free device.