With state funding restricted because of the economic downturn, Department of Transportation officials have cut down on the number of projects in Howard County planned for the near future, Maryland Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley said at a meeting Sept. 17.

The meeting, hosted by the State Highway Administration, is an annual event to preview upcoming transportation projects and priorities for Howard.

This year's meeting was dominated by discussion of hazards along Route 32, but state officials also addressed road projects either in the planning or execution phases.

Those projects include replacing seventeen buses in Howard County's fleet, resurfacing the Route 40 bridge over the Patapsco River and creating a new interchange at Linden Church Road and Route 32.

According to SHA engineer David Coyne, projects that are priorities for the near future include:

* A new interchange at Linden Church Road and Route 32 to increase safety at that interchange. The project will include a Linden Church Road bridge going over Route 32 as well as on and off ramps from Route 32 to Linden Church Road. Estimated to cost $31.3 million, the project is expected to start in the fall of 2010 and take about two years to complete.

* Widening Route 108 from two to four lanes between Centennial Lane and Woodland Road. No start date has been set for this project, which is expected to cost about $16.6 million. The project will be advertised for construction in the spring of 2011.

* Replacing a bridge over the Patapsco River on Route 40. SHA workers will replace the surface of the 73-year-old bridge, with the work due to begin in the fall of 2010. The project is expected to cost between $15 million and $25 million and take 2-1/2 years to complete. Two temporary, two-lane bridges will be built, one on each side of the existing bridge, to handle traffic while construction work on the main bridge is in progress.

Projects in the planning phases, according to Coyne, include:

* A study to address safety concerns on Route 32 between Route 108 and I-70. No funding or start date has been allocated to the project which could include widening Route 32 between Route 108 and I-70 from two to four lanes.

* Widening the northbound section of Route 29 from Middle Patuxent River to Seneca Drive from two to three lanes. No start date has been set and no funding determined yet for the project.

* Closing Route 32 to private driveways that currently access it near Wellworth Way and diverting those driveways instead to a service road, which would connect with Rosemary Lane and, officials say, make a safer connection to Route 32.

* Studies to identify potential improvements along the Route 1 corridor from the Prince George's County line to the Baltimore County line, including potential interchange improvements at Route 175. No funding or start date for any of the projects has been determined.

In addition, county spokesman Kevin Enright said the county expects to replace 17 of the buses in its fleet. Eight new light-duty hybrid buses are expected to be added in December, he said, and eight medium-duty hybrid buses in the spring of next year. A 35-ft. diesel electric bus is expected to be added in February of next year.

The buses will cost a total of $3.5 million, Enright said, and paid for with a mix of county, state and federal funds.

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