For Memorial Day, heavy, construction-free traffic

When the rubber meets the road this Memorial Day weekend, it should be minus the buzzing and pounding of excavators, dump trucks and cranes dropping dirt and pouring asphalt or raising and lowering culverts alongside bright orange barrels that barricade motorists to a slower — and sometimes unpaved — single lane.

And thank goodness. The highest Memorial Day holiday traffic volume in years rolls out during the largest road construction program in state history.

The bulk of the nearly 834,000 Marylanders projected to travel during the Memorial Day holiday is likely to go by automobile, says AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Roadway crews won't block the way. Work on state roads is suspended between Thursday, May 25, and Tuesday, May 30, enabling motorists to skirt highway commotion for a safer and smoother drive, said Shanteè Felix, Maryland State Highway Administration spokeswoman.

"We are doing more projects right now," said Felix. "Starting Thursday, we are suspending non-emergency roadwork on state roads. Construction lane closures will resume after 9 p.m. Tuesday. Depending on the project, it could start back at night."

In all, holiday travel is expected to be up in Maryland 2.3 percent this holiday weekend over the period last year, according to AAA. Of the number, almost 744,000 are expected to travel by automobile, an increase over 2016 of 2.1 percent. The trend mirrors the nation, and reflects the period between Thursday, May 25, and Monday, May 29, AAA said.

"Our forecast shows that Marylanders are joining Americans across the country in planning a getaway for the Memorial Day holiday weekend in record numbers not seen since 2005," said Ragina Cooper Averella, manager of public and government affairs at AAA Mid-Atlantic. 

This is the third consecutive year that more than 700,000 Marylanders are expected to hit the road for the pre-summer holiday weekend, AAA said. While 88 percent of travelers are expected to drive, some 9 percent, or 65,300 are projected to fly, the travel agency said.

Averella attributes hikes in recent years of Memorial Day weekend travel to increases in personal income and lowered unemployment rates.

The trends "have led to strong growth in consumer spending, as well as a high level of consumer optimism," she said.

Also, gasoline prices are only pennies higher than this time in 2016, she said. "Maryland's gas prices had been on the decline over the past month, and while there was hope that prices would continue declining to a level lower than year-ago prices, it appears the trend has halted," Averella said.

Motorists to Ocean City should find practically no state roadway construction, said Brett Deane at the SHA regional office in Salisbury.

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A project in Salisbury, though, could have a crew on site overnight Thursday to surface the westbound lane along Route 50 between Boundary and Ward streets near Nanticoke Road.

"All projects tomorrow stop by 3 p.m., but tomorrow, we will try to get one lane surfaced," said Deane.

Work to mill and pave the westbound stretch of Route 50 between Boundary Street and the Route 50 Flyover for the most part is complete, he said.

Recent inclement weather, mostly rain, slowed much of the overall work, preventing crews from completing the jobs by Memorial Day weekend as projected, he said.

Road work across the Lower Shore is part of a Maryland Department of Transportation-SHA program that is investing well over $1 billion on about 400 active construction projects statewide. 

"We should be totally finished the work by next week," Deane said of projects in the Salisbury area. "In Ocean City, we've completed major work, and there is no work on U.S. 50 between Salisbury and Ocean City."

Ocean City Mayor Richard Meehan reminded visitors  in a recent statement that in the region's popular resort, "safety is always our number one priority."

"We want our visitors to arrive in Ocean City safely, stay safe while you're here and return home safely," he said in a summer season kick-off announcement with AAA.

Pedestrian safety was underscored. "Remember to walk smart, using crosswalks and crossing with the pedestrian signal," the mayor also said.

The SHA has unleashed Cheswick, the crab-shaped mascot that roams busy Ocean City streets to remind pedestrians and motorists about responsible travel.

"Look both ways, and use cross walks for pedestrian safety," Felix said. "We always encourage people for this holiday in particular, that if you're heading into Ocean City in particular, to walk smart."

SHA has added an E-Road Roady mapping GIS system that allows motorists to learn about construction projects near their home. Visit roads.maryland.gov for the mapping.

The service would benefit Jordan Smartnick, who travels daily through the road construction project near Ward Street in Salisbury to work.

"I live in Delmar and usually take the Bypass to Naylor Mill Road to Route 50 to work," she said. "There is no quick way around it.

"I hear rocks flying up and the road is uneven," she also said. "I have a brand new car."

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