August 26, 2024 – The Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration is working with the City of Hagerstown to install a temporary demonstration project along U.S. 40 (Dual Highway) from N. Cannon Avenue to E. Washington Avenue beginning Sunday. The temporary changes, designed to improve safety for pedestrians and all road users, include narrower lanes, speed bumps to calm traffic, reinforced centerlines to calm left turns, and high-visibility or continental crosswalk markings.
The temporary improvements should be installed by Wednesday, weather permitting. The work will require intermittent lane closures in both the eastbound and westbound directions between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. The improvements will remain in place through November while data is collected on the effectiveness of the new features.
The initiative is part of the State Highway Administration’s partnership with local agencies and the nonprofit Smart Growth America to conduct demonstration projects this summer in areas with known crash histories. As part of an effort to make highways safer for multimodal use, the projects will help find methods to control speeds and improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and all other users.
The City of Hagerstown received a $22,000 grant to implement this “fast-build” project, with a focus on addressing known safety issues and collecting data to drive innovative solutions across all modes of transportation and improve safety for all.
The City of Hagerstown developed the project with the help of the Smart Growth America Complete Streets Leadership Academy, which offers workshops and other resources. Other areas where rapid-build projects are being implemented through the academy partnership include Howard County and the City of Bel Air in Harford County. Learn more here.
This initiative supports Maryland’s new Complete Streets policy, a program of the Moore-Miller administration that aims to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities by creating a safe environment for all road users.
