Friday, January 9, 2015

MCDOT Succeeds in Request to SHA to Reduce Number of Lanes at Old Georgetown Road and Hoya Street


Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) reached an agreement last month to reduce the number of lanes on Old Georgetown Road. There will be two through-lanes in each direction, with one shared left turn lane, at the new intersection at Hoya Street being constructed in the White Flint redevelopment area.

In the most recent Capital Budget, the County included additional funding to connect Hoya Street all the way to Montrose Parkway in order to divert more traffic off of Old Georgetown Road, with the goal of reducing the number of lanes being required by the state on Old Georgetown Road.  Since Old Georgetown is a state road, only the state can make decisions on lane configurations and issue permits for construction.  Original plans called for up to eight lanes at this intersection.

After the additional funding was approved, MCDOT provided a supplemental traffic analysis to SHA that justified its request to reduce the number of lanes to help achieve the vision of the Sector Plan.  After thorough analysis, SHA agreed that the Hoya Street connection will provide enough traffic relief to move ahead with narrowing that segment of Old Georgetown Road sooner than originally planned, and has approved MCDOT’s request. 

The decrease in lanes will significantly improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety by reducing crosswalk distances. In addition, MCDOT will construct on-road bike lanes and an off-road shared use path between Hoya Street and Grand Park Avenue.