Published: November 03, 2007 12:31 am         

Oakland bypass still top priority

State Highway officials moving project forward

OAKLAND — The Oakland bypass remains a top priority for the State Highway Administration (SHA) as the agency announced its plans for Garrett County.

“We have a long-standing process for determining the needs and we do intend to move on with this project,” Beverley K. Swaim-Staley, deputy transportation secretary, said.

The bypass remains a top project within the county, along with improvements to the U.S. Route 219 North Corridor, which would include the expansion and relocation of the road from Interstate 68 to the Pennsylvania state line.

Other projects in the plans for the next year were also discussed.

Some projects have been completed, like the rehabilitation of the Kitzmiller Company Store as a visitor center, retrofitting a sidewalk on Oak and Second streets in Oakland and repairing and installing curbs and gutters in the northbound lane of South Yoder Street to Grant Street in Grantsville.

Two projects on Interstate 68 were also listed, including the right of way fencing on the state Route 42 bridge to the west of Old Morgantown Road and a bridge deck overlay on eastbound and westbound at Lower New Germany Road to Water Street.

The streetscape for Oak/Third Street in Oakland has concepts under way and the streetscape of Oakland Drive to Deer Park Avenue in Mountain Lake Park also has preliminary engineering under way.

For fiscal year 2008, additional right of way fencing at the Route 42 bridge will be installed, friction improvement will be done to state Route 135, preliminary engineering will be done on Bittinger Road at Spring Lick Road for intersection improvements and there will be retrofit sidewalks done to Paull Street in Loch Lynn at Alley No. 4.

In fiscal year 2009, the SHA has plans for the rehabilitation to the Casselman bridge on alternate U.S. Route 40 that was originally constructed in 1932.

With these listed, the Oakland Bypass remained a hot topic for those attending.

“I think the citizens need to be heard,” Fannie Johnson of Oakland said. “With the budget deficit and shortage facing us, it makes more sense to fund existing infrastructure. Upgrade it rather than spend on new projects. Certain dollars should be located where they are really needed.”

Suggestions were made to alternate routes, specifically one originally debated in the 1970s through the Meadow Mountain Area.

Neil Pedersen, SHA Administrator, said other routes were looked into, including the proposed Meadow Mountain Parkway, but that the bypass at Oakland still seemed the best route.

Carl Rebele, the regional community traffic safety coordinator, said that he had concerns about the safety of schoolchildren in the area of the bypass and the amount of traffic that would be diverted there.

The county commissioners, however, presented the Oakland Bypass as one of their top projects for the state, and continued their support for the project.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.