Grant Awarded to Montgomery County to Help Planning for Safety Improvements on Randolph Road

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 29, 2024

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) has approved funding for multiple safety improvement planning projects including the Randolph Road Safety Improvement Project in Montgomery County. The Fiscal Year 2025 award for $100,000 will support preliminary engineering designs for safety improvements. The award is part of the TPB Regional Roadway Safety Program (RRSP). 

Randolph Road is an arterial roadway that has a history of serious injury and fatal crashes and is identified in the County's High Injury Network. The corridor serves multiple Equity Emphasis Area communities, with high concentrations of underserved communities, such as low-income individuals and/or traditionally disadvantaged racial and ethnic population groups.  

The program’s funding priorities encompass enhancing safety in traditionally underserved communities, promoting better road user behavior, advancing safety data comprehension and implementing cross-jurisdictional safety measures. 

“This award provides funding for critical infrastructure design improvements to enhance pedestrian safety along one of our high-injury networks,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich.  “Projects like this move us toward our Vision Zero goals of eliminating severe and fatal collisions for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicle occupants. Improving safety and walkability benefits communities, helping residents’ quality of life.” 

The proposed improvements incorporate traffic calming measures including enhancing corridor access, strategic lane width reduction and pedestrian safety plans. These plans will address improved pedestrian crossings and ADA compliance for sidewalks, ramps and crosswalks. 

“MCDOT completed a roadway safety audit last year as a first step in advancing this project into preliminary engineering,” said MCDOT Director Chis Conklin. “The corridor is in the top 10 High Injury Network due to the high rates of serious and fatal crashes. The study area along Randolph Road, from Connecticut Avenue to Georgia Avenue, had 5 serious injury crashes, and two fatal crashes between 2018 and 2022. This project is also within an equity emphasis area.” 

The RRSP program offers consultant assistance up to $80,000 for planning projects and up to $100,000 for design projects that address roadway safety issues and contribute to a reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes. This is the fifth round of funding since the program’s inception in 2020. 

For information on MCDOT programs and services visit montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot, follow @MCDOTNow on X, Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to MCDOT’s “Go Montgomery!” newsletter. 

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Release ID: 24-251
Media Contact: Emily DeTitta 240-372-2282
Categories: Transportation