Benfield Road Work Starts Friday in Severna Park

Motorists can expect delays and detours along parts of Benfield Road as the Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works (DPW) begins a capital project on Friday (June 24) to reline 4,500 linear feet of sewer main.

The work is part of the annual $5.4 million county-wide Sewer Infrastructure Investigation, Rehabilitation and Replacement Program. Last year, the county placed 20,000 linear feet countywide, said Matt Diehl, DPW spokesman.

Construction beginning on Friday will be on Benfield Road from West Drive to Treslow Glen Drive, (near the Rivendell community) north of  Severna Park High School heading towards Jumpers Hole Road.

The second leg of the work will at Benfield Road from Balsam Drive (Severna Forest and Evergreen Estates areas) to the intersection of Evergreen and Hollyberry Road, (Severna Gardens).

Work will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday and go through early Sunday morning.
"To minimize the weekly commuter effect," said Diehl. Work resumes on Monday (June 27) at 7 p.m. through 6 a.m. Tuesday.  All construction work begins at night and ends early in the morning, said Diehl.

There will be no construction work on July 1,2,3, and 4.

There will be detour signs alerting motorists in advance of required closures and new traffic patterns during the initial stages of construction, said Diehl.  Motorists are asked to use caution during construction and to follow the provided detour signs.

"This work is part of a program that funds replacement and rehabilitation of sewer infrastructure. This one [Benfield] is grouped with other realigning projects in south county," said Diehl. "The total for the three is 1.7 million dollars. Fifty percent of this is for the two projects on Benfield."

During construction, Benfield Road will remain open at all times, said Diehl.  Prior to July 5, several side streets will be temporarily closed and adjusted traffic patterns (see map) will be required for the work to be completed safely. No road closures or traffic pattern adjustments are anticipated after July 4. The project is slated for completion by Sept.1, 2011.

Call the county's onsite inspector, Phillip Schaefer, at 443-871-4052 or DPW Customer Relations at 410-222-7582 or email pwcust00@aacounty.org if you have any questions about the construction.

*Editor's Note: The times of construction have been added to this story.