NEWS RELEASE          
Maryland Deparment of Business and Economic Development           
Office of Communications          
217 East Redwood Street          
Baltimore, Maryland 21202          
          
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           
          
CONTACT:           
Karen Glenn Hood          
(410) 767-6318          
kglenn@choosemaryland.org          
          
          
Valerie Burnette Edgar, SHA          
(410) 545-0303          
VBurnetteEdgar@sha.state.md.us          
          
Maryland’s I-70 Welcome Centers to Undergo Reconstruction, Temporarily Relocate to Prime Outlets          
          
          
BALTIMORE (March 25, 2008) – The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), in conjunction with the State Highway Administration (SHA), today announced that Maryland’s I-70 East and Westbound Welcome Centers will be closed to travelers effective April 30 for reconstruction. A plan is underway to redirect travelers during the closure to a site within Prime Outlets Hagerstown, one of the top tourism destinations in Western Maryland with more than 4.5 million shopping visits annually. However, the plan is conditional upon the approval next month by the Board of Public Works. The two centers, which were built in the 1970s and are maintained by SHA and DBED’s Maryland Office of Tourism, were used by nearly 1.5 million travelers last year to access Maryland tourism information.           
          
“The existing facilities at the I-70 Welcome Centers are dated and inadequate to handle future travel projections,” said Hannah Byron, DBED Assistant Secretary for the Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts. “We are working with the State Highway Administration to upgrade the location for tomorrow’s traveler.”           
          
“We appreciate the traveling public’s cooperation during this much needed construction,” said SHA Administrator Neil J. Pedersen. “SHA looks forward to improving its customer service by providing an updated, energy-efficient hub for Western Maryland visitors. Travelers are encouraged to keep their plans to venture west and visit one of the nearby centers.”           
          
The $18.4 million reconstructed site, scheduled to open in Fall 2009, will offer travelers new roads, nearly double the existing parking, increased accessibility and expanded picnic facilities. The new buildings also will be environmentally friendly with energy-efficient lighting, water-saving devices and upgraded sewer systems. Additionally, the restroom facilities will be expanded to nearly triple the current capacity with room to add additional facilities to accommodate a projected increase in travelers. For updated information on the Welcome Center’s closure/relocation, visit Maryland’s tourism website at www.visitmaryland.com.          
          
Maryland’s latest visitor data confirms that in 2006, the State welcomed more than 28 million visitors who generated more than $11.4 billion in visitor spending. That figure is up from $10.7 billion the previous calendar year. During 2006, the Maryland tourism industry generated more than $895 million in state and local taxes and provided more than 116,000 jobs to Maryland residents.          
          
For more information regarding SHA’s construction project, contact SHA District Community Liaison Geoffrey McCammon at 1-800-635-5119.          
          
          
          
Editor’s Note: Listed below are nearby trucking facilities in the Hagerstown area:           
          
AC & T           
11535 Hopewell Road          
Hagerstown, MD 21740          
301-582-2700 or 1-800-458-3835          
          
Pilot Travel Center          
16921 Halfway Boulevard          
Hagerstown, MD 21740          
(Interstate 81 – Exit 5B)          
301-582-6111          
          
Pilot Travel Center          
11633 Greencastle Pike           
Hagerstown, MD 21740          
(Interstate 70 & MD 63)          
          
          
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