Route 5 Intersection Work Begins in March
Critical construction at the Route 5 intersection in Leonardtown with Abell Street and Moakley Street will begin in March. and the first stage will continue through the summer.
Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will start with utility relocation and grading work as one of the first stages of an essential $12 million improvement project on the St. Mary’s County roadway.
Once the utility and grade work are complete, MDOT SHA will add left turn lanes to both directions of MD 5 at the intersection. This is expected to begin in the fall. By late spring 2019, workers will start widening the road, an effort that will greatly aid vehicular and pedestrian safety at the Route 5 intersection.
“This project will break congestion and greatly improve safety at this busy Leonardtown intersection,” said MDOT SHA Administrator Greg Slater. “This area is growing, and it is essential to maintain safe access and transit to nearby schools and businesses.”
Workers will do the majority of the first stage at night with single and double lane closures between 8 pm and 5 am, Sunday nights through Friday mornings. MDOT SHA understands that MD 5 is a busy road and important not only to the citizens of Leonardtown and St. Mary’s County, but to all Southern Maryland. MD 5 is a major route to the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Close to 26,000 vehicles travel the corridor each day, a count that will probably reach 32,000 by 2035.
Widening the Route 5 intersection will give more access to the satellite campuses for the College of Southern Maryland and University of Maryland, as well as MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital and many other local businesses that are located along the corridor in Leonardtown. Anyone with questions about traffic operations along MD 5, or other state numbered routes in St. Mary’s County, can call MDOT SHA’s District 5 Office at 410-841-1000 or 410-841-5450.
MDOT SHA works hard to maintain safe traffic mobility in construction zones, but every driver will have to actively modify his or her driving style and habits to help prevent crashes and injuries during construction.
Be sure to stay alert and watch for reduced speed limits, narrow lanes and highway workers on the roads. Please slow down through the zones and don’t follow other vehicles too closely. For a look at real-time commute conditions, visit www.md511.org.
For more about Lexington Park, visit the St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation’s Leader member page.
