Route 90 Survey Results To Be Released

BERLIN – State officials say the latest phase in the redevelopment of the Route 90 corridor will conclude later this month.

In November, the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) concluded its public survey to gather input on the proposed alternatives currently being considered for the Route 90 improvement project. Those results, the agency reports, will be available in the coming weeks.

“The survey is still under review and we are targeting the end of the month to release the results,” said Shanteé Felix, MDOT SHA media relations manager. “The survey data will be summarized in the MD 90 study report.”

For years, local officials in Ocean City and Worcester County have advocated for improvements to the Route 90 corridor, including an expansion of the current highway and its two bridges from two lanes to four. Officials have argued those changes would not only ease access in and out of the resort for members of the public but would improve travel for emergency service vehicles.

In August 2021, Gov. Larry Hogan announced funding would be included in the state’s Consolidated Transportation Plan for the planning phase of a Route 90 improvement project. As part of that effort, MDOT SHA initiated a MD 90 Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study to identify long-term transportation needs, including traffic operations, capacity, safety, economic development, pedestrian and bicyclist accessibility and emergency evacuations.

MDOT SHA also opened a public survey last October on preliminary improvement concepts, which include proposals for three-lane, four-lane, and reversible-lane corridors. And while the survey was set to close on Nov. 10, local officials worked with the state agency to extend the deadline another 20 days.

“Improvements along the MD 90 corridor are vital for all stakeholders, and input from the community and those who travel this corridor will be critical to help us develop a strategy to address current and future needs,” said MDOT SHA Administrator Tim Smith.

MDOT SHA said community feedback from the survey will be included in its study report, which will summarize analyses and recommendations.

Those findings will then be used for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for future potential projects along the corridor.

Design concepts, planning timelines and other project details can be found on the MDOT SHA website, under the project portal page.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.