Several Projects Complete, Stonestreet Avenue and First Street Bridge on Deck
The city is continuing to make progress on over $13 million in infrastructure improvement projects in East Rockville. Bike and pedestrian safety improvements on South Stonestreet Avenue and the replacement of the First Street culvert are scheduled to begin in the coming weeks. The improvements are among 15 road, sewer and pedestrian safety improvements projects upcoming, ongoing or completed.
Upcoming
South Stonestreet Avenue Road Diet: Improves pedestrian safety and access to the Rockville Metro station via South Stronestreet Avenue. Narrows the roadway from four lanes to three to accommodate a new sidewalk while retaining trees on the road’s west (Metro station) side. Adds a bike lane on the east side using sharrows (two arrows above a bicycle symbol, marking a shared lane) and painted lane lines. Construction is scheduled to begin later this fall and continue for six months. Cost: $389,000, with $311,000 funded by a grant through the federal Complete Streets program.
First Street Culvert: Replaces aging infrastructure to mitigate corrosion of the culvert, widens the waterway opening to reduce the risk of flooding, and adds a sidewalk on the east side of First Street and two off-street parking spaces to serve Maryvale Park. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-November and last eight months. Cost: $1.5 million.
Ongoing
East Rockville Sanitary Sewer Capacity Improvements: Renews infrastructure to increase sewer capacity and decrease the risk of sewer overflows and backups, which can create health hazards and damage city infrastructure, private property, and the environment. The project, which currently involves construction on Grandin Avenue west toward Park Road, is expected to be completed in January with night work on Park Road and East Middle Lane to Monroe Street. Cost: $3.2 million, $1.5 million of which is developer-funded.
Baltimore Road Corridor Improvements: Widens the roadway to make it safer and adds pedestrian safety measures at several intersections. Most of the work will be between Route 28 and the city limits, just east of Rockville High School. It is scheduled to begin in summer 2017 and take 18 months. Cost: $5.1 million, $3.6 million of which is covered by a grant.
Completed
Stonestreet Pedestrian Bridge Abutment Removal: Removed remnants of the bridge. Cost: $75,000.
Crabb Avenue Water Main Replacement Improvement: Replaced aging infrastructure and upgraded water mains to deliver adequate flow to fire hydrants. Cost: $962,000.
Douglass Avenue Sewer Replacement: Replaced the previous sewer line, which had significant sag and posed a risk of sewer backups and overflows. Cost: $150,000.
Howard Avenue Water Main Replacement: Replaced aging infrastructure and upgraded water mains to deliver adequate flow to fire hydrants. Cost: $350,000.
Sharrows: Increased the visibility and comfort of people riding bicycles on North Horners Lane by adding shared lane markings. Cost: $80,000, with 100 percent covered by a state grant.
Frog Run Storm Drain Improvement: Repaired 1,900 linear feet of storm drain from the early 1960s to prevent further deterioration and extend its useful life. Cost: $438,000.
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: Provided a countdown pedestrian signal and new push buttons at the intersection of South Stonestreet Avenue and the Rockville Metro station entrance to assist people with impaired vision. Cost: $15,000.
For more information about these and other East Rockville projects, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/eastrockvilleprojects or contact engineering supervisor John Scabis at 240-314-8514 or [email protected].