The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) road show visited the Calvert County Commissioners Tuesday, Oct. 23. As he did during sessions with the Southern Maryland region’s two other boards of commissioners, MDOT Acting Secretary Darrell B. Mobley admitted limited funding has prompted delays in several requested projects, especially those that have recently been inserted in the pipeline.  “We are unable to approve any new projects at this time,” said Mobley.

 

The acting secretary did announce that $6 million has been approved for the replacement of Fishing Creek Bridge on Route 261 in Chesapeake Beach. “It’s very exciting,” said Chesapeake Beach Mayor Bruce Wahl, who attended the session. Wahl is completing his first term as mayor which began in 2008 and was preceded by several terms on the town council. “This has been on the agenda the entire time I’ve been in office,” said the mayor, who added he was pleased that the new span would be wider with bike lanes and two feet higher to make it easier for vessels traveling under the bridge. “We’re pleased and we are ready to cooperate,” said Wahl. The project is expected to be completed by late 2015.

 

The progress being made on the replacement of the Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge was also discussed, with the commissioners expressing disappointment the project is not higher on the state’s priority list. 

Mobley had touted the recent success of the Port of Baltimore, indicating it was extremely beneficial to all of Maryland’s jurisdictions.  Commissioner Susan Shaw [R] pointed out that Patuxent Naval Air Station in Southern Maryland rivals the port as an economic engine. Since the Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge links Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, the bridge replacement belongs on MDOT’s top 20 list. County officials have also touted the bridge replacement as “critical to national security.”

 

“We are moving forward with the plans we have available,” said Mobley. Currently, only funding for the planning phase is available. The money needed for engineering, right-of-way purchases and construction has not been identified. 

 

The commissioners noted Calvert’s number of traffi