Raising Rt. 261 Between 9th Street and Anne Arundel County Line

road work

UPDATE 8/7/2019:  The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will hold a public meeting regarding the Rt. 261 project (from 9th Street to the Anne Arundel County line). The meeting will be Wednesday, September 4, 2019 at Windy Hill Middle School (WHMS) from 6 to 8 pm. WHMS is located at 9560 Boyds Turn Road, Owings, MD. Information on the project can be found on the MDOT SHA website by clicking here. Any questions regarding the project can be directed to:

Mr. John Delaney
Transportation Engineer
410-545-8053 / (TTY users call : 1-800-735-2258)
jdelaney@mdot.maryland.gov
FAX : 410-209-5001
Mailing Address
707 North Calvert Street
Mail Stop C-102
Baltimore MD 21202

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UPDATE 7/3/2019:  At this time, the Town of North Beach does not have significant information to share regarding the project to raise Rt. 261 between 9th Street and the Anne Arundel County Line. Please read the following statement from MDOT State Highway Administration:

“The MDOT SHA recently cancelled a public meeting for this project that was scheduled for May 20, 2019 at the Windy Hill Elementary School.  The meeting was cancelled to allow MDOT SHA more time to study alternatives to address constructability issues that arose after the meeting was originally scheduled.  The constructability issues include utility relocation, embankment settlement, and site constraints.  These issues will have an impact on the road closure duration.  We now anticipate a road closure of up to 20 weeks, but we are working to reduce that as much as possible.  Our construction is expected to begin after Labor Day in 2020, to avoid any road closure during the summer season.  There will also be some utility relocations needed before the MDOT SHA work can begin.  We will coordinate with the utility companies closely and will work with them to convey their construction schedule to the public when it is available.  We expect to schedule a public meeting for this project later this summer.”

Any questions regarding this project can be directed to:

Mr. John Delaney
Transportation Engineer
410-545-8053 / (TTY users call : 1-800-735-2258)
jdelaney@sha.state.md.us
FAX : 410-209-5001
Mailing Address
707 North Calvert Street
Mail Stop C-102
Baltimore MD 21202

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UPDATE 5/6/2019:  The Public Meeting has been postponed. Once a new date is provided, it will be shared.

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The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administrationwill hold a public meeting regarding the Rt. 261 project (from 9th Street to the Anne Arundel County line). The meeting will be Monday, May 20, 2019at Windy Hill Middle School from 7 to 9 pm. At 7:15 pm, there will be a presentation to describe the details of the project. Information on the project can be found on the MDOT SHA website by clicking here. Any questions regarding the project can be directed to:

Mr. John Delaney
Transportation Engineer
410-545-8053 / (TTY users call : 1-800-735-2258)
jdelaney@sha.state.md.us
FAX : 410-209-5001
Mailing Address
707 North Calvert Street
Mail Stop C-102
Baltimore MD 21202

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The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is requesting public comment regarding the proposed impacts related to geometric improvements to MD 261 between 9th Street in North Beach to the Anne Arundel County Line. This project would result in minor impacts to Wetlands Overlook Park and Walton Beach Nature Preserve, which are publicly owned recreation areas protected under Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act. This request for public comment is only for the proposed impacts to Wetlands Overlook Park and Walton Beach Nature Preserve. This is NOT a request for public comment for the entire project. Please refer to the home page of this website for the flyer and location map for more information. Information can also be found on the MDOT SHA website (http://www.roads.maryland.gov/Index.aspx?PageId=848). MDOT SHA will be hosting two meetings in the coming months to address questions from the community. Dates and times for these meetings are yet to be determined.

For questions or comments regarding this project, please contact John Delaney, MDOT SHA Project Manager, (410) 545-8053, toll-free (866) 462-0020, or via email at jdelaney@sha.state.md.us; or Rebecca Chojnacki, MDOT SHA Environmental Manager at (410) 545-8543, toll-free (866) 527-0502, or via email at rchojnacki@sha.state.md.us by February 28, 2019.

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The following is an update regarding the Maryland Department (MDOT) / State Highway Administration (SHA) project to raise MD Rt. 261 between 9th Street and the Anne Arundel County line. MDOT / SHA will be hosting two meetings in the coming months to address questions from the community. The first meeting will be with the homeowners along the lines of disturbance and the second meeting will be in April and open to the public. Dates and times for these meetings are yet to be determined. 

To ensure the most productive meeting for residents and adequate preparation, staff of the Town of North Beach will be collecting questions from the community to pass onto MDOT / SHA before the community meetings. Once MDOT / SHA picks the date and time, we will pass on the deadline for the questions to the community. 

 I look forward to continued communication and keeping you posted as information becomes available.

 Mike Benton, Mayor

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MD State Highway Association's environmental and highway design work is progressing toward a planned construction start for the spring of 2020. The SHA held a design updated meeting on November 17, 2017 and December 15, 2017. SHA made a presentation to Mayor and Town Council in March 2018.

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MD State Highway Association (SHA) is moving forward with design and permitting for a project to raise MD Rt. 261 between 9th Street and the Anne Arundel County line. The purpose of the project is to get the road surface above tidal flooding and provide a high point in roadway to connect the flood dike. Recently, the town staff attended a meeting at the SHA offices in Annapolis. SHA’s environmental and highway design work is progressing. Based on the latest schedule provided by SHA, they will continue with design and permitting through the fall of 2019 and construction will start in the spring of 2020.