Thirty-seven. That is how many capital projects St. Mary’s County Public Works and Transportation says it is working on right now, and on Oct. 6 the department walked the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County through where they stand.
Director Jon Norris said the list breaks down into 18 highway projects, eight public facilities projects, five airport projects, four marine projects and two recreation and parks projects. Staff logged 256 inspections across those projects in August alone. Norris said the update was meant to answer questions commissioners field about how the county spends on capital work, and the department highlighted five or six projects in depth.
Several of those have had their own Chronicle coverage. FDR Boulevard’s Peg Road is headed toward a November ribbon cutting, the St. Clement’s Island Museum is chasing a Maryland Day 2027 opening, and Charlotte Hall’s library repairs are being scaled back. Here is what else is on the list.
Highways and roads
- Cornfield Harbor bridge. Staff said the bridge is likely to see a reduction in capacity because it is being undermined after the recent nor’easter. State Highway Administration structures staff were expected to perform a periodic inspection within a day or two, and the county asked for interim repair recommendations and a fresh load rating.
- Wildwood Parkway. A roundabout is in final design and right-of-way acquisition. A speed study found some vehicles traveling about 80 mph, Norris said. Deputy Director for Highways Dan Fogel’s plan uses “eyebrow” islands, a refuge island and six crosswalks, designed to slow traffic while still allowing 53-foot tractor-trailers through. The county will pilot it using existing budget.
- Southampton neighborhood revitalization is under way, with the road portion to follow. MS4 and water-quality projects are also under way.
- St. Clement’s/Golden Beach drainage is in design and permitting. A commissioner voiced concern it will be harder than anyone anticipates.
- Buck Hewitt Road is getting sidewalk and widening work on its last stretch toward Chancellor’s Run, with sidewalks on both sides.
- Great Mills Road bus shelters are complete; the Laurel Grove Road/Route 235 shelter awaits an easement. Courthouse Drive is still under discussion with the Town of Leonardtown, and the Route 235 intersection is in early design with the state. Lights are going in on FDR North.
Airport
Repairs to a spot where planes were repeatedly landing are done after the taxiway and runway extension. The airport master plan is in progress, and the loop road and county hangar are in design.
Public facilities
- The bunker grounding project is substantially done but still needs commissioning, with load testing expected within about two weeks.
- The Sheriff’s evidence storage building is ahead of what Norris called an aggressive contractor schedule, though submittal reviews are straining the approval side.
- A slab replacement for the St. Mary’s Transit System bus area began this week; recycled concrete will be used.
- For the Health Department, staff are starting with a storage facility: roughly 7,800 square feet of climate-controlled space plus about 2,400 square feet of outdoor storage, with a possible two-lane vaccination drive-through. It is in the preliminary phase.
- The new emergency operations center is still waiting on grant agreements.
- The Early Learning Center is open.
Water supply for firefighting
Dry hydrant and underground tank projects are under way at several locations, with one tank expected to go into the ground the day of the meeting. Staff are seeking land north of the Callaway town center for a tank. Dry hydrants cost less than in-ground tanks but require a pumper truck to draw from them. The Persimmon Creek project name and some other site names were garbled in the transcript.
Waterways
- St. Jerome Creek: The county applied to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for a grant to cover a recurring dredge. A dredged-material site can take 31,000 cubic yards. A decision is expected in the spring, and staff said one marina owner’s larger boats have left because they cannot get in and out.
- Little Kingston and Kingston: Little Kingston was advanced as a request for a zero-percent DNR loan, which would require a special tax district. A commissioner relayed that about 88% of residents are on board and cited about $118,000 in a maintenance fund. Staff said no amount or scope of work had been set; the filing met a deadline.
- St. Patrick Creek maintenance dredging, a federal earmark, is in design. St. George Creek has five spoil sites identified. The Piney Point Lighthouse shoreline resiliency construction is complete; staff plan a meeting at the museum later this month.
What to watch
DNR’s spring decision on St. Jerome Creek, SHA’s findings on the Cornfield Harbor bridge, and whether the county brings forward a health-storage project to the capital budget working group. Phase 4 of FDR Boulevard has a community meeting Oct. 21.
