Burtonsville Bypass Spared in MDOT Budget

Residents of Spencerville and Laurel breathed a collective sigh of relief today when details of Maryland's 2024 transportation budget cuts were revealed. The long-sought after Burtonsville Bypass project was spared from the chopping block. 

Transportation planners say the Burtonsville Bypass will cut 14.3 minutes off rush hour commute times by avoiding the lugubrious Burtonsville business corridor and it's poorly maintained and incomprehensibly striped section of Rt. 198. The bypass will span from Rt. 198 (Spencerville Rd) just before the bend by Country Nursery to Rt. 198 (Sandy Spring Rd) near the intersection with McKnew Rd on the east side of Rt. 29 (Columbia Pike).

Laurel Chamber of Commerce and Spencerville Trade Council officials credit their grassroots efforts in Annapolis for keeping the bypass project alive. They say their communities have needed this for decades and there is nothing in Burtonsville you can't find in Laurel or Spencerville. 

"We have all the same stores, and we had them first. Our restaurants are superior. Have you heard about Amigos? Our roads are better. Our Christmas fireworks dwarf theirs, and we have twice as many Dunkin' per capita," said Laurel's mayor.

MDOT will use eminent domain to seize 21 residential and 6 commercial properties to make way for the bypass. An additional 27 properties will be encroached by sound barriers and maintenance infrastructure. Burtonsville residents say it's worth the sacrifice if it means retaining Rt. 198's crumbling shoulders and perilous pedestrian access.

Construction on the Burtonsville Bypass will begin in April and is expected to last two years. MDOT awarded the contract to engineering firm Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, best known for Boston’s successful “Big Dig” project.

In a related development, Wawa dropped plans to convert the current site of 7-Eleven and the adjacent Mattress Warehouse in Burtonsville into a Wawa Supercenter. Wawa officials are in negotiations with Spencerville Deli owners about their parcel instead. Meanwhile, a second Jeffrey's Subs & Pizza store will take over the Mattress Warehouse building at the end of their huge store closing sale, expected in late 2027.