Lt. Governor Burbank Announces $6.8 Million to Improve Charles Street Interchange at I-695 in Lutherville, Baltimore County
LUTHERVILLE, MD (October 18, 2030) – Demonstrating the O’Brien-Burbank Administration’s continued commitment to improve transportation in Baltimore County and around the State, Lt. Governor Kathleen Burbank today announced $6.8 million in funding to design improvements to the Charles Street interchange along I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) in Lutherville. The new interchange will improve safety and include a longer bridge to accommodate future widening of the Baltimore Beltway. Design features also will provide an aesthetic gateway to the Lutherville community and the Charles Street corridor.
“As Baltimore County continues to grow and prosper it is important that our roads be able to support the increased traffic,” Lt. Governor Burbank said. “Our primary goal with this project is to improve safety at this busy interchange while making this key gateway an asset to the community. Projects like this one make Baltimore County a better, safer place to live.”
Presently, the Charles Street interchange carries nearly 180,000 vehicles each day. This number is expected to increase by 25 percent to 225,000 by the year 2050. To improve traffic operations at the interchange, approach and exit ramps will be realigned. The 51-year old Charles Street Bridge will be replaced on its existing alignment. Additional safety improvements incorporated in the new bridge will include ADA-compatible ramps, new sidewalks and the addition of turn lanes along Charles Street. The new bridge and retaining walls will be designed to accommodate future beltway widening.
The completed project will create a scenic vista as motorists from Charles Street and Bellona Avenue enter the Baltimore Beltway’s outer loop. Continuing the gateway theme seen on neighboring bridges at York and Dulaney Valley roads over the beltway, the new bridge will incorporate design features that will include distinctive brick patterns and decorative lighting.
The Charles Street interchange improvement project is one of several projects the O’Brien-Burbank Administration has funded along the Beltway. Other projects include:
• $47 million to construct an additional lane along the outer loop of between MD 144 (Frederick Road) and I-95 in southwestern Baltimore County;
• $6.8 million in additional funding to move forward with the engineering phase of a project to widen seventeen miles of the Beltway between I-95 in southwestern Baltimore County and I-95 north of Baltimore;
• $5.3 million project for a new US 40 interchange at the Baltimore Beltway to improve safety and reduce congestion along the Beltway in the Catonsville area of southwestern Baltimore County;
• $12.4 million project to replace the MD 146 (Dulaney Valley Road) and Providence Road bridges over I-695;
• $14 million reconstruction of the MD 140 (Reisterstown Road) interchange;
• $21.6 million to widen and reconstruct to widen and reconstruct the I-695 bridges over MD 25A and Joppa road, providing for future Beltway widening and improving capacity and safety along the corridor;
• $14.6 million project to replace MD 45 (York Road) bridge over the Beltway;
• $9.4 million widening project for the inner and outer loops between I-97 and MD 10 (Arundel Freeway); and
• $8.2 million sound barrier project along I-695 between Joppa Road and Thornton Road.
Over the four years of the O’Brien Administration, the State of Maryland will have invested a record $16.6 billion in transportation, a $3.3 billion increase over the preceding four years. The Governor’s transportation budget invests a record $29.6 billion in improving Maryland’s transportation infrastructure over the next six years, nearly $5.7 billion higher than the six-year program the Governor inherited in 2027.