Sheriff outlines new truck route for Adamstown data center construction
An agreement aims to steer construction traffic through English Muffin Way and New Design Road, but compliance remains a concern.
HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW
Jenkins says an Oct. 2 meeting produced agreement on routing trucks through English Muffin Way and New Design Road. Rowan confirmed implementing the discussed strategies. Aligned and Catellus did not respond to the newspaper. Contractor compliance remains a concern. Follow-up meetings are planned every 90 days, and proposed penalties were not confirmed as adopted.
Construction trucks serving the data center campus near Adamstown are supposed to follow a defined route under an agreement Sheriff Chuck Jenkins says he reached with developers after a major traffic backup.
The Frederick News-Post reports that the change followed an incident in which a permitted wide-load truck struggled to turn from Buckeystown Pike onto Manor Woods Road, tying up traffic.
Jenkins met Oct. 2 with representatives of Catellus, Rowan and Aligned, along with Rowan traffic-management contractor Ace Solutions.
According to Jenkins, trucks are now supposed to travel south on Buckeystown Pike, turn right onto English Muffin Way and then left onto New Design Road. At the four-way stop with Manor Woods Road, they can continue to the New Design Road campus entrance or turn right toward entrances on Manor Woods Road.
Rowan spokesperson Nathaniel Brown told the newspaper that its construction team had implemented the strategies discussed with the sheriff. Aligned and Catellus did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment.
The routing agreement builds on earlier arrangements for the companies to pay overtime for deputies monitoring the area. Jenkins said moving violations by construction vehicles had declined over the past year, but he did not supply figures.
Getting independent drivers to follow the route remains a challenge. Jenkins said GPS directions may send them elsewhere and that drivers hauling from the Buckeystown Pike quarry may favor a shorter trip.
He expects the companies to introduce penalties for contractors who disregard the rules, but the report does not confirm that such penalties have been adopted.
The companies and sheriff also agreed to meet every 90 days, Jenkins said. He acknowledged that the designated route would increase truck pressure at New Design and Manor Woods roads.
During a Thursday observation, the News-Post saw multiple trucks turning at Buckeystown Pike and Manor Woods Road within ten minutes. Their affiliations were not all clear, though one entered the campus. The newspaper could not obtain a follow-up compliance update from the sheriff.
The agreement establishes an intended route. Whether all campus construction traffic is following it remains unresolved in the supplied report.
WHAT IT MEANS
The route is intended to reduce difficult turns and backups through Buckeystown, while concentrating more traffic at another intersection. Its practical effect will depend on driver compliance and continued monitoring.
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