Press Releases
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, Congressman John Sarbanes, MCDOT Director Al Roshdieh Lead Dedication of Rebuilt Gold Mine Road Bridge in Brookeville
For Immediate Release: Thursday, August 29, 2019
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, Congressman John Sarbanes and Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Al Roshdieh joined Brookeville residents and community leaders on Aug. 29 to dedicate a new single-span bridge on Gold Mine Road over the Hawlings River. The new bridge expands traffic flow from one to two lanes and will improve pedestrian and bicycle safety by including an eight-foot wide shared path. The new design alleviates conditions that led to bridge flooding several times a year following heavy rains.
The bridge was opened shortly after the dedication ceremonies.
The $3.5 million bridge project, which was supported by funds from the Federal Highway Administration and the County, was finished on schedule by the Department of Transportation—in time to allow for school buses to pass through the neighborhood for the opening of the 2019-20 school year next week. The construction on Gold Mine Road—which provides a connection from Georgia Avenue (Route 97) north of Olney to New Hampshire Avenue (Route 650)—required the closure of the road at the bridge location since October 2018.
The road closure interrupted traffic from the intersection at Chandlee Mill Road and Gold Mine Road. Some additional work around the site will continue into the fall.
The alignment of the new bridge, which replaced the deteriorating bridge that was originally built in 1958, is in accordance with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission 2005 Olney Master Plan. The first community meeting with details on the bridge replacement was held in 2012.
The original bridge was 16 feet wide and could only accommodate one vehicle crossing (from either direction) at a time. Among the issues cited in a bridge inspection report from earlier this decade were the original bridge’s vulnerability to frequent flooding, inadequate sight distance approaching the single-lane bridge and outdated bridge railings for vehicle crash safety.
The project provides safe roadway conditions for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists. The new, higher elevation bridge is 33 feet wide and has two 11-foot wide lanes to handle traffic simultaneously in each direction. It also has the eight-foot shared use path for pedestrians and bicyclists.
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Media Contact: Maureen McNulty 240-777-7199