SHA - Charles Street / I-695 Construction Update

From the State Highway Administration:

On or about 8 p.m. Thursday night, February 4, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) will begin a long-term temporary closure of the left-turn ramp from southbound MD 139 (Charles Street) to eastbound I-695 (Baltimore Beltway Inner Loop), weather permitting.

As of 6 a.m. Friday morning, February 5, the left-turn ramp from southbound Charles Street to eastbound I-695 will be closed to all traffic, and motorists approaching the Charles Street Interchange from Lutherville will be directed to use the official ramp detour route: north/eastbound Bellona Avenue to eastbound Seminary Avenue (MD131) to southbound MD 45 (York Road) to the York Road Interchange ramp to eastbound I-695.

Also on the night of February 4, SHA and the contractor will temporarily close the ramp from eastbound I-695 (Inner Loop) to northbound Charles Street for one night, between 8 p.m. Thursday and 5 a.m. Friday to shift traffic patterns on this ramp. Motorists will be diverted past the Charles Street Interchange to the York Road Interchange, to westbound I-695 (Outer Loop) back to the Charles Street Interchange to northbound Charles Street.

In case of inclement weather, the traffic pattern changes and long-term ramp closure will take place on Sunday night, February 7 or the next possible weeknight.

The long-term temporary closure of the ramp from southbound Charles Street to eastbound I-695 is necessary for Phase Two of construction work on the new Charles Street bridge over I-695; crews will shortly begin work on a retaining wall for the east side of the new bridge. The right-turn ramp from northbound Charles Street to eastbound I-695 will remain open.

Temporary traffic signs will guide motorists through the official detour route in Lutherville and the ramp closure will remain in effect until early fall 2010. The State’s contractor for the I-695/Charles Street Interchange project is the Six-M Company of Delta, Pa. The entire Charles Street Interchange project will be complete late spring 2012, weather permitting.

For more information about the Charles Street Interchange project, citizens may view lane closure updates, interchange diagrams, and other project information on the SHA project web page on www.roads.maryland.gov. Citizens may also contact Mr. David Bond, Project Engineer, at SHA’s project field office in Lutherville at 410-296-9041, through the project web page, or by email at dbond@sha.state.md.us.