Construction On BW Parkway Set For Friday, Follows Push From Lawmakers And Drivers To Repair Roads
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Roadwork to repair the Baltimore-Washington Parkway is set to begin this weekend after a push from local lawmakers and drivers.
The work to repair the parkway has been moved up from the fall to Friday, March 27.
Senator Chris Van Hollen said that the potholes made for dangerous driving conditions, and drivers agreed.
"They just pop up out of nowhere," Shawn Hamlette, a driver, said. "You're driving then boom, boom."
Wednesday the National Park Service announced plans to expedite a two-phase project to repave the roads.
"Lots of flat tires, injuries," Van Hollen said. "It's a really risky situation for motorists."
Van Hollen told WJZ that he met with the National Park Service to put pressure on them to speed up repairs.
"They're now going to get on the job filling potholes with what they call a pothole killer this weekend," Van Hollen said. "Then within weeks, they'll begin the resurfacing."
This comes just days after Gov. Hogan called out the National Park Service and demanded the state take ownership if the National Park Service would not act.
"It should not have taken this long," he said. "But what's important is we get the roads fixed now."
Some drivers said that the repairs to the Baltimore Washington Parkway are a big relief.
"That's very good news," Gilda Hammond, a driver, said. "I had a co-worker whose car got messed up because of a pothole."
Starting Friday, parts of 295-South will be shut down until 5 a.m. Saturday.
The Northbound side will shut down from Saturday night into Sunday.
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