Work Begins on New Arundel Mills Interchange

The State Highway Administration (SHA) is starting work this week on a new traffic pattern designed to accommodate drivers into and out of Arundel Mills.

The SHA plans to install a “diverging diamond” pattern at the interchange of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Arundel Mills Boulevard, replacing the current traffic circles.

Work on the new pattern will result in temporary detours for drivers coming southbound on the parkway into Arundel Mills.

The new pattern—which will be the first of its kind in Maryland—could be at least partially completed in time for when the casino opens at Arundel Mills on June 6.

The project is being funded with $5 million from The Cordish Cos., the casino developer. But officials said the project is designed to improve traffic flow throughout the region and accommodate future growth.

“This is an exciting improvement,” Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold said at a press conference Tuesday. “This is not just a traffic improvement for the mall, but a traffic improvement for the region.”

The new traffic pattern features ramps from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to Arundel Mills Boulevard, and vice versa.

The eastbound and westbound lanes of Arundel Mills Boulevard will cross one another at a traffic light. SHA officials said the configuration will reduce the number of last-minute lane changes and left turns. Sight distance is also longer, which will result in fewer accidents, they said.

The construction work will temporarily close the southbound entrance from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to Arundel Mills Boulevard. Southbound drivers will be detoured to Maryland Route 175, where they can turn around and use the northbound entrance.

State Highway officials said that despite the new light, traffic should move more quickly through the interchange than the current pattern. They said the diverging diamond interchange has been successful in a handful of places across the country, including Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri.

The diverging diamond is the second new traffic pattern to be introduced recently in Anne Arundel County. Last year, the SHA installed a new “Michigan U” traffic pattern—also the first of its kind in the area—on Maryland Route 3 near the Village at Waugh Chapel in Gambrills. The new configuration there has confused some drivers who were unfamiliar with it.

SHA engineer Lee Starkloff said the new diverging diamond is simpler than the Michigan U concept, and that people should be able to adjust to it quickly.

“It takes a little while for people to get used to a new traffic pattern,” Starkloff said. “This is pretty straightforward. It’s not as complicated as Route 3 and Waugh Chapel.”

The new traffic pattern should be established by early June, with full completion by late summer.

The first phase of the Maryland Live! complex is scheduled to open June 6, with more than 3,000 slot machines. Restaurants and a live music venue will follow later in the summer and fall.

Drivers can review plans for the new traffic interchange at www.drivethediamond.com.