Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett today celebrated the completion of a 3,400-foot extension of Woodfield Road from north of Main Street (Maryland Route 108) to Ridge Road (Maryland Route 27) that will provide critical traffic congestion relief and improve safety. Without the extension, an analysis showed that five intersections in Damascus would be inadequate to handle projected traffic volumes by 2010.
“This extension of Woodfield Road is a short road with a huge impact on the Damascus community,†said Leggett. “The road is about enhancing the livability of one of our faster growing communities and providing easier access to jobs, services and programs.â€
The project also reconstructed and widened a 2,000-foot portion of Ridge Road from 500 feet south of Woodfield Road to 1,500 feet north of Woodfield Road. This portion of Ridge Road now has two, 12-foot wide travel lanes, two, four-foot wide paved shoulders and an auxiliary left turn lane at the intersection with Woodfield Road.
“Damascus, and the commuters who travel through Damascus, have waited a long time for the construction of Woodfield Road Extended to provide some relief to the traffic congestion that clogs Route 27 at peak hours,†said County Councilmember Craig Rice, who represents District 2 that includes the Damascus area. “The opening of this section of roadway will help significantly. I want to thank all those from the State and County transportation departments who persisted to make this plan a reality. The residents of northern Montgomery County will immediately benefit from the hard work that went into this project.â€
The new road extension is a 28-foot wide curbed roadway with two, 14-foot wide lanes. A separate eight-foot wide bikeway/shared use path was built along Woodfield Road Extended and along Ridge Road.
Safety improvements were an important part of the project and included vertical realignment of Ridge Road for better sight distances. Faith Lane was also realigned to intersect Woodfield Road at a point south of Ridge Road.
Environmental features include construction of six acres of offsite reforestation area, 1.3 acres of offsite wetlands and three storm water management facilities.
In addition to the bikeway, the project also includes traffic signals, streetlights, crosswalks, bus stops and Americans with Disabilities Act ramps to ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
The project took about two years and cost $5.9 million. The construction contractor was Kibler Construction Company, Inc. and the design consultant was Wallace, Montgomery & Associates, LLP.
