by Geoff Fox
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will begin two projects to resurface both Interstate 68 and Interstate 70 in Washington County with completion projected for mid-fall.
The two paving projects will run a combined $5.9 million to complete.
The MDOT SHA will begin a $2.9 million project to resurface I068 between the Allegany County and Washington County line and the bridge over Mountain Road.
Nearly 18,200 vehicles travel this section of I-68 daily. It hasn’t been resurfaced since 1996.
The project also includes patching, paving and restriping the interstate near Sideling Hill.
P&W Excavating, Inc. of McConnellsburg, the MDOT SHA contractor, is permitted to close a single lane and shoulder between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
Arrow boards and construction barrels will also be used to guide motorists through the work zone.
The 1.5-mile project is slated to be complete by the end of summer.
In late July, MDOT SHA’s contractor, C. William Hertzer, Inc. of Hagerstown, will begin a $3.9 million project to resurface the westbound lanes of I-70 between Maryland 615 (Heavenly Acres Road) and Maryland 56 (Big Pool Road) in Big Pool and Hancock. This area is between Exits 12 and Exit 5.
Completion of the safety and resurfacing project is expected to be complete in mid-November.
During the project, crews will patch, mill, pave and restripe the 5.5-miles of westbound I-70 west of Hancock. Other work includes upgrading guardrails in the project limits.
Motorists can expect daytime single lane and shoulder closures Mondays through Fridays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The area being resurfaced on I-70 was last resurfaced in 1995. Approximately 45,000 vehicles a day travel on this section of interstate. A high percentage of those vehicles are commercial truck traffic.
As of June 30, which was the end of the state’s 2018 fiscal year, MDOT SHA has resurfaced or treated half of all state highway lane miles since 2015.
This milestone marks the improvement of nearly 8,500 lane miles, calculated by miles of highway multiplied by the number of lanes, improving safety and enhancing the customer experience for millions of drivers across the state, the MDOT SHA said.
