PIKESVILLE, Md. — State highway officials are urging drivers to avoid I-695 between Stevenson and Joppa roads from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, and from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Crews are working to create an extra travel lane on the Beltway between I-70 and Route 43 (White Marsh Boulevard) for the morning and evening rush hours. The project involves turning parts of the median shoulder on I-695 into the new travel lane.
State Highway Administration is warning drivers to avoid the Stevenson-to-Joppa-Road section of the Beltway when the work is underway, "to help protect construction crews and avoid backups." The agency warns:
Motorists who cannot avoid that area during construction hours should expect significant delays.
The work is expected to continue through the spring.
The project will allow the median shoulders to be used as travel lanes during peak morning and evening rush hours. Lane-use control signals, like the ones on the Bay Bridge and Fort McHenry Tunnel, will indicate when the shoulder can be used for travel. The shoulder will go back to being a shoulder when it's not rush hour.
It's part of a larger project to eliminate nine bottlenecks on the top and west side of the outer loop, between Overlea and Catonsville. Officials say it will save up to 34 minutes for morning commuters and 21 minutes for evening commuters. The overall project is expected to be done by fall of 2025.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said:
We know motorists will be inconvenienced by these off-peak lane closures and speed reductions along I-695, but we all must work together to protect the men and women – our neighbors, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers – who are improving our highway system. The work we’re accomplishing will create a better, safer and more reliable highway network for everyone.
