On October 30, 2025, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners hosted a Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) tour at the County Office Building, Room 003, starting at 3:30 p.m. The meeting featured presentations from Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) leadership and modal administrators, followed by extensive discussion with local officials and public testimony on transportation priorities, funding, and specific project needs.
Stay out of the wood. We do thank you for having us all here this afternoon. For the records, Mantha Biddle, Acting Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, honored to be here in my home county and provide an overview of our draft six year consolidated transportation program, more commonly known as the CTP. Got a number of members of the MD team here. They will each provide a brief overview of their specific module unit. Um, and really our goal this afternoon is to be pretty concise, much like our meeting down at Miko over the summer, we really want to focus on taking the time to listen, hear how things are going and hear how we can help. Do you want to take a brief moment to talk about the ongoing federal government shutdown and the impact it's having on Maryland families? The administration is taking action to support and protect all Marylanders affected by the lapse in federal funding. Earlier this month, Governor Moore announced that anyone with a federal ED can ride MTA's mark and train and commuter bus for free during the government shutdown. We're also working to ensure that everyone is aware of protections for federal workers and to um try to keep these programs going as long as possible. So all information on unemployment insurance, housing, utilities, and loan programs can be found on the Governor's website, governor.maryland.gov. As for transportation, we're seeing a limited direct impact at MDOT. We're seeing a decrease in our transit ridership, obviously, to and from the Washington DC region, but for now we're operating as usual, and uh we will always work to protect Marylanders, our projects, and our investments. But turning back to that meeting at MACO, we do value that time you all took out of your visit there to spend with us. We were asked about plans for the sidewalks in New Windsor. And since then, uh our district engineer Andrew Radcliffe confirmed with the county that the sidewalk improvements are scheduled for spring of 2027. I also know there was a lot of interest and conversation in the 46 million dollar project to replace the 26 bridges over the Ray Reservoir. Design was initiated this past spring. We spent a bit of time talking about some maintenance of traffic and detour options for that one. We hope to have design completed in fall of 27 and anticipated construction to begin in spring of 2028. Uh the length of construction will depend on how many lanes we're going to need to maintain those traffic needs, and we'll be working closely with you all, emergency services, and the school systems as plans progress. We can talk about that a little bit more as well, but appreciate the partnership there. We know if we work together, we'll we'll certainly get it right. Um, in our draft CTP this year, MDOT is utilizing every dollar to make strategic investments in the Moore Miller administration's transportation priorities. Broadly, those are enhancing safety, maintaining our systems, that it's in a state of good repair, and driving economic growth across the state. The draft CTP is an exciting follow-up to a very productive legislative session. So I want to thank our general A.400 million in annual transportation revenues. And with these additional dollars, we are stretching the funding by combining it and matching it with federal resources and financing options to turn that $400 million into approximately $700 million in annual transportation funding. Without these resources, the department would have seen uh deepened cuts to transportation, and that is not necessary. Thankfully, we are able to share that the draft document includes investments across Maryland and in Carroll County. Getting into the details of the draft program, it is $21.5 billion, which is an increase of nearly $300 million from our final CTP published last January. Any additional dollars are being used towards those safety and state of good repair goals that I mentioned previously. A local highlight to point out is the $220,000 Kim Lamphair Bikeways grant for the town of Mount Erie to advance an east-west multi-use trail at Watkins Park. We're also happy to report that we are keeping highway user revenue funding at the current level through fiscal year 2027. Before turning it over to our Moodle updates, I do want to just talk a little bit about our focus on safety. Um, MDOT is serious about safety, and that is reflected in this draft CTP. We are continuing to push forward to expedite progress to sharply bend the curve on all roadway fatalities and serious injuries. So it's a real partnership across all of the modes. Um, safety being our sort of North Star in guiding everything that we do. I thank you so much for everything that you're doing on the local level to promote safety here in Carroll County and just encourage all those opportunities for partnership going forward. With that, I will turn things over to our state highway administrator, Mr. Will Pines. Well, good afternoon, everyone, and thank you. Uh as was mentioned, I'm Will Pines, Maryland State Highway Administrator, and I'm joined by someone who needs no introduction, the district engineer, Andrew Radcliffe. Uh but before I get started, I also want to thank the town of Mount Airy, the county, emergency crews, and everyone who helped us respond to the recent bridge strike at Maryland 27 and I-70 earlier this month. Um, this was frankly one of the most substantial bridge strikes we've ever experienced. Thanks to all the uh collaborative efforts, we're able to minimize the impact of traffic, and as you know, repairs are underway. In Carroll County this past year, we narrowed travel lanes on Maryland 27 from Nicodemus Road to Bond Street and added shoulder widths to support bicycle accessibility. We also lowered the speed limit from 50 to 40 miles per hour on Maryland 30 business in Hampstead from Maryland 30 to North, excuse me, North Woods Trail. Our district team also upgraded crosswalks on Sykesville Main Street and on Maryland 31 in New Windsor, which ties to our series about safety campaign that the Secretary just mentioned.