Baltimore County officials have selected a location for the long-awaited extension of Owings Mills Boulevard to connect the Owings Mills and Randallstown business corridors.
The 1.55-mile extension, chosen from among six possibilities, would run southwest from Lyons Mill Road, cross Scotts Level Branch and meet Liberty Road at a Live Oak Road intersection, said David Fiddler, spokesman for the county?s public works department.
Residents received a letter earlier this month detailing the plan, described as a pressing issue for the community. The route was chosen because it won?t require the county to purchase residential property, minimally affects Wild Wood Park and will relieve traffic on residential streets, Fiddler said.
“We believe it offers a workable compromise for the area?s long-term needs and community interest,” Fiddler said.
The $18 million extension will consist of two travel lanes in each direction, divided by a grass median. Officials are planning sidewalks on both sides, or one sidewalk and one bicycle lane.
County officials said they hope the extension mitigates failing infrastructure on nearby roads. County traffic studies indicate nine major roads will considerably exceed capacity by 2020 if the extension is not built. McDonough Road will operate at 246 percent without the extension, according to the study.
Community leaders said the extension will be an easier, more direct link between Randallstown and Owings Mills, but one called the proposed alignment the “least noxious” of the six options. Some proposals required the demolition of homes, said Bruce Mezger, acting director of the Liberty Randallstown Coalition.
Mezger said residents in the 165-home Lyonswood community worry the alignment will be too close to their backyards.
“We need the road ? the drivers, the businesses, emergency services, everyone needs it,” Mezger said. “But no one likes the change.”
