Long-Awaited Project Will Enhance Safety and Ease Congestion in Worcester County
Governor Larry Hogan today announced the start of construction on the final phase of widening US 113 (Worcester Highway). This $82.3 million congestion relief project widens US 113 from two lanes to four lanes with a median from MD 365 (Public Landing Road) to Five Mile Branch Road. Governor Hogan added the funding for Worcester County’s top transportation priority in June 2015 as part of the administration’s additional $2 billion investment in roads and bridges across the state.
“This project has been an ongoing priority for thousands of residents and travelers for decades,” said Governor Hogan. “With its completion, this highway will be safer for residents and visitors, encourage tourism, and support economic development not only in Worcester County, but across our entire state. Our administration remains fully committed to bringing congestion relief to all of Maryland.”
Phase Four improvements include a four-lane divided highway with 12-foot lanes and modifying access for residential and commercial properties with service roads, constructing a new bridge over Purnell Branch, stormwater management, and a center median.
This final phase of the dualization of US 113 is a design-build project where the state completes the initial project design and a private sector team is procured to finalize the design and construct the project. The Design-Build Team, Wallace Montgomery and Allan Myers, was awarded the $51.4 million project. The state used an innovative procurement approach that considered price, time, and impacts to the public in award of the project. As a result, the Design-Build Team has committed to completing the project six months sooner and at nearly $2 million less than estimated. The new lanes will open to traffic on the 4.3-mile section in fall 2019, with disincentives to the contractor per day beyond.
This construction is funded under the Hogan administration’s Investment in Highways and Bridges program announced in 2015. A unique feature of this project is the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) partnership with Worcester Technical High School (WTHS), located within the work zone. MDOT SHA, the contractor, and WTHS students and faculty will work jointly to incorporate project design and engineering features into the school’s STEM classes and bring students out to the field for real-world, experiential learning.
US 113 is a 74-mile roadway that serves as an auxiliary route to US 13. The highway has roots dating back to the 18th century and serves as one of the largest roadways on the Delmarva Peninsula, connecting Pocomoke City, MD to Delaware Route 1 in Milford, DE. Currently, US 113 average daily traffic is 13,100 and this is expected to increase to 27,350 by the year 2035. Widening US 113 to four lanes has been Worcester County’s top transportation priority for several years. Construction also continues on Phase Three, a 4.6-mile segment between north of Five Mile Branch Road and north Massey Branch in Newark. Crews are now paving the newly constructed travel lanes. This $52.9 million project is scheduled to fully open to traffic in spring 2018. The Hogan administration currently has nearly 1,000 transportation projects totaling $9 billion dollars under construction across the state, including more than $781 million dollars on the Eastern Shore.
