A section of Md. 450 in Crownsville will be closed for the weekend while work crews continue to install new drainage pipes on the oft-flooded stretch of road.
The Maryland State Highway Administration said in a statement Thursday that Route 450, also known as Defense Highway, will be closed between The Ridges Gateway and Crownsville Road/South Haven Road from 11:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, until 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 12.
Drivers will be detoured onto the John Hanson Highway (U.S. 50/U.S. 301) and Md. 424 (Davidsonville Road), the administration said.
They’ll be putting in larger culverts in order to divert water off the highway. Charlie Gischlar, with the State Highway Administration, told WTOP that the general area surrounding the Bacon Ridge Branch of the South River has seen flooding problems for years. Gischlar said the area of 450 around St. Stephens Church Road was closed 35 times last year.
Last year was one of the wettest on record, and this year is up there as well. “It only takes a little bit of rain to close” the road, Gischlar said.
The stretch of road that will close this weekend was also closed for a weekend the first stage of work in late June, Gischlar said, and there will probably be one more such closure after that to finish it off. About 8,000 vehicles travel that stretch of road per day, he said.
Drivers will notice a newly repaved segment of road, but the real difference, Gischlar said, is in what they won’t see: “You’re not going to get the incidence of standing water as much; we’re going to reduce the chance of flooding — I can’t say it’s going to prevent it, because you never know with these storms we’ve been getting.”
They’re still looking at several options for a long-term fix to flooding in the rest of the area, Gischlar said.
WTOP’s John Domen contributed to this report.
