BERLIN – Installation of a stoplight at the intersection of Route 113 and South Main Street is expected to begin next month.
Sen. Mary Beth Carozza confirmed last Friday that Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (SHA) crews were expected to being installation of a traffic signal at the South Main Street (Route 818) and Route 113 intersection next month.
“Work will begin in October and weather permitting they plan to have the signal operational by December,” Carozza said.
Local officials have been vocal in their efforts to see safety improvements at the intersection of Route 113 and South Main Street since a fatal traffic accident there claimed the life of a local man in 2020.
In the wake of his death, numerous residents and elected officials have reached out to SHA to advocate for safety improvements.
Carozza said last Friday that during a visit to Wicomico County last week, she’d spoken to SHA officials and they’d confirmed that a traffic signal would be added to the busy intersection.
She praised local elected officials for pushing for changes.
“This just goes to show how community involvement from the very beginning makes a real impact on safety decisions,” she said.
SHA officials also credited local input with making the signal a reality.
“For the last few months, we have been involved in discussions with citizens and the Town of Berlin about how to improve safety at this intersection,” said Shanteé Felix, SHA spokesperson. “We are grateful for the partnership we have with the community and local elected officials who worked to move this project forward.”
Councilman Jack Orris, whose district encompasses the intersection, said seeing a traffic signal there was one of his goals when he was elected.
“I am beyond excited for this safety enhancement at that intersection and am proud, after much time and talk, we are finally able to get things in motion,” Orris said.
Mayor Zack Tyndall said the county’s inclusion of the town’s input in its Consolidated Transportation Plan submission to SHA had included both the signal at Route 113 and South Main Street as well as a signal at the intersection of North Main Street and Route 50.
“We’re glad to see one of those coming to fruition,” he said. “We’re not going to go give up on the other.”
