Upgraded Traffic Signals at Charles Street/Bellona Avenue intersection to be activated Thursday Night; Advisory for MTA Local Bus #51
(October 27, 2025) - The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will establish a new traffic pattern on MD 139 (Charles Street) in the Woodbrook area of Baltimore County as soon as Thursday, November 6. The temporary work zone traffic pattern will be in effect through early December, weather permitting.
In the next week, crews will place temporary lane markings on Charles Street between Gittings Avenue and Bellona Avenue, and the travel lanes will be reduced from 12 feet to 11 feet in width. Concrete traffic barriers will be placed along short sections of Charles Street to enhance safety for pedestrians walking through the work zone during construction of sidewalk, ramp and driveway improvements.
During the next year, motorists can expect daytime single-lane closures on northbound and southbound MD 139 in the work zone weekdays, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., and overnight, Sundays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. - 5 a.m.
Crews also are scheduled to activate upgraded traffic signals and remove old signal equipment at the intersection of Charles Street and Bellona Avenue, with Maryland State Police controlling traffic when needed overnight. The updated project date is Thursday, November 13 from 8 p.m. to Friday, November 14 at 5 a.m. The Maryland Transit Administration’s Local Bus #51 traveling southbound on MD 139 and turning left onto eastbound Bellona Avenue will be detoured overnight to continue south on Charles Street and turn left onto Stevenson Lane to reach Bellona Avenue.
The bus stop on westbound Bellona Avenue at northbound Charles Street will not be affected during the traffic signal work. In case of inclement weather, the traffic signal work will take place at a later time to be announced.
The traffic shift on the Charles Street project is part of the $9.6 million joint project of the State Highway Administration and the Baltimore County Department of Public Works and Transportation to replace the County water main and improve Charles Street between Bellona Avenue (MD 134) and the Baltimore City/County line near Gittings Avenue. Learn more about the project here.
Contractor Pessoa Construction, Inc. of Fairmount Heights, is performing the work. The State Highway Administration is Serious About Safety and asks drivers to slow down and move over, if possible, in work zones and pay extra attention to pedestrians and bicyclists. Keeping drivers, their passengers and vulnerable highway users safe is our top priority.