Traffic to be Detoured Next Week Beginning Monday Evening, March 1

(February 26, 2010) – Next week, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration will temporarily close a section of MD 404 (Queen Anne Highway / Shore Highway) between MD 309 (Starr Road) and MD 404 Alternate (Hillsboro-Denton Road).  SHA must close this section of highway to remove an abandoned railroad bridge over MD 404.  The demolition is part of the $7 million construction project to widen MD 404 between Tuckahoe Creek and MD 480 (Ridgely Road), just east of the railroad bridge.  Weather permitting, work will be complete no later than the end of the week.

Over the next two weeks, SHA will remove the bridge and detour traffic between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. for approximately one week. Detours for local, non-commercial traffic will use MD 309 (Starr Road), MD 303 (Main Street) and MD 404 Alternate.  Signs will guide motorists through the detour.  Commercial truck traffic through Denton is advised to take MD 328 toward Easton, to US 50 to MD 404.  Eastbound US 50 commercial trucks should stay on US 50 to Easton, then take MD 328 to MD 404 in Denton.

The widening project is providing a critical safety enhancement along the MD 404 Corridor, and made possible with federal stimulus funds.  The project includes construction of two new lanes and a 34-foot median.  The entire project began fall 2009 and is scheduled for completion in late 2011. 

The section where the railroad bridge is located is part of a future widening phase planned for MD 404.  During the design phase, engineers determined that removal of the railroad bridge will improve sight distance for those turning from intersecting streets onto MD 404.

This project is made possible through Governor Martin O’Malley’s aggressive management of the requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, bringing critically needed transportation investments to Maryland.  Projects such as these are stimulating Maryland’s economy by supporting hundreds of jobs.  Follow the delivery of these projects at www.recovery.maryland.gov, which tracks every category of ARRA spending and provides contract-level details to the public in an effort to achieve new levels of government transparency and efficiency.

Those with questions about the MD 404 project and others along State-maintained routes in Queen Anne’s, Caroline and Talbot counties may contact SHA’s District 2 Office in Chestertown at 410-778-3061,  toll-free at 1-800-637-9740 or shadistrict2@sha.state.md.us or sign up for the RSS feed on the District 2 web page.