MD 32 Corridor Through Howard County Reopens With Ribbon Cutting Friday

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The project creating a wider and safer MD 32 through Howard County has wrapped up with a ribbon cutting Friday marking its completion. The former two-way road was converted to a four-lane divided highway between MD 108 and I-70. It was designed to improve safety and relieve congestion for tens of thousands of residents and commuters who travel the MD 32 corridor every day.

“For eight years, our administration has worked hard to improve the future of Maryland transportation—making it easier to travel from the Eastern Shore to Western Maryland, up and down the I-95 corridor between our nation’s capital to Baltimore, and beyond,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said. “Delivering this critical MD 32 project is a further testament to that, and it is just one more shining example that together we have changed Maryland for the better.”

The project’s second and final phase—a 6.6-mile section of MD 32 between Linden Church Road and I-70 cost $127.7 million phase and began in the summer of 2019 and expanded MD 32 from a two-lane highway to a four-lane divided highway separated by a center median and shoulders. Currently, approximately 23,500 vehicles travel along this section of MD 32 each day and traffic is projected to increase to an average of 41,000 vehicles per day by 2042.

Other work accomplished as part of this project phase included:

• Replacement of the Triadelphia Road Bridge over MD 32, which had been a poorly rated structure, as part of the administration’s commitment to repair or replace all of the 69 structurally deficient bridges it inherited;
• Construction of the new Terrapin Road, connecting the Vistaview community to MD 144 (Frederick Road); and
• Reforestation projects and construction of bioswales to filter and manage stormwater before it enters the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The first phase of the MD 32 project, which included widening 2.5 miles of MD 32 from MD 108 to Linden Church Road, cost $40.9 million and began in the summer of 2017. It was completed in the summer of 2019. Howard County contributed $17.4 million toward the cost of the first phase.