Widening of Route 175 Still Largely Unfunded

Despite increasing traffic, much of the work for the widening of Maryland Route 175 into Odenton remains unfunded, and there is no sense of when it will become available, a state highway official said this week.

The Maryland State Highway Administration said it will require at least $247 million to complete the full widening of Route 175 from the Baltimore Washington Parkway to Maryland Route 170, but so far only $7.9 million has been set aside for planning and engineering.

“I can’t really give you an idea of when the project will be stretched out this way,” said Matt Harrell, an engineer with the SHA. “It’s going to be a while.”

Harrell spoke Tuesday at the meeting of the Odenton Town Center Plan Oversight Committee.

Plans for the widening of Route 175 include an additional lane on each side and a 10-foot hiker-biker trail. There would also be new medians and sidewalks extending along the entire corridor.

Developer BRS/EGGERL already has partnered with the state on the widening of Route 175 to Rockenbach Road, and work on the road from Rockenbach to Disney Road—directly in front of Fort Meade—is going on now. Work on the stretch heading further east into Odenton, however, remains largely unfunded.

Anne Arundel County has named the Route 175 corridor project as its top transportation priority. In theory, that should help ensure state and federal money is funneled to the project when it becomes available. But Harrell said a slow economy has led to lower tax revenues, and less money available for transportation projects.

"It is very difficult to predict," Harrell said. "It's tough, I can't tell you when the money is going to be there."

The SHA has segmented the work on Route 175 into its own priorities, with the top priority the adjustment of the interchange at Route 175 and the Baltimore Washington Parkway. Funding for the design of the interchange is in place, but there is no money for construction.

The widening of the road further east into Odenton is labeled as “Phase 4” behind the interchange and intersection improvements along the stretch.

There are no plans to widen Route 175 heading east from Route 170 (Telegraph Road), but there are plans to make improvements.

Currently, the only improvements to Route 175 in the heart of Odenton have come from developers mitigating impact from their own projects. Those involved in the development of the Odenton Town Center said they’d like to see the state complete planning of that stretch, so that improvements can be made in a more coordinated way.

“We want 175 designed the way we want it, instead of piece-by-piece mitigation,” said Jamie Fraser, the chairman of the town center committee.

The lack of a clear time line for the Route 175 project has led to uncertainty over the future of some properties in Odenton. that the widening project could present an opportunity to redevelop the stretch of north Odenton known as "Boomtown."