Leonardtown, MD — The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County have asked the state to put a long-dormant road project back on their radar. At their Tuesday, March 17 meeting the commissioners, on a 4-1 vote, agreed to ask the state to partner with the county to discuss the Pegg Road Extension Project instead of pursuing the St. Mary’s River Bridge/Route 5 improvements in Great Mills. Commissioner Todd Morgan [R – 4th District] voted against the motion.

The Pegg Road Extension would go from the road’s intersection with Route 237 (Chancellor’s Run Road) to Route 5 in Callaway just south of the Route 249 intersection. It would allow people traveling on Route 5 from Leonardtown and the 2nd District to use Pegg Road to get to Pax River’s Gate 1 instead of having to travel through Great Mills.

Commissioner Mike Hewitt [R – 2nd District] introduced the idea several weeks ago saying he had heard about it on the campaign trail. Hewitt said he was concerned that improvements at the Great Mills intersection of Route 5 and Great Mills Road would create a years-long bottleneck for commuters.

Commissioner Tom Jarboe [R – 1st District} agreed at Tuesday’s meeting. He represents the lower part of the county and said constituents there would be severely impacted by construction.

Alternate language to the county’s annual letter to the Maryland Department of Transportation was provided to the commissioners by Director of Public Works and Transportation. The state had previously provided design funding for the Great Mills intersection project and that was listed as a priority in last year’s letter to the state.

Commissioner Morgan (shown) objected to the substitution of one project for the other but said he would sign a separate letter urging the state to also look at the Pegg Road Extended project. Morgan had earlier said that Pegg Road would kill businesses along Great Mills Road because people would cease to use that as a commuter route.

Morgan also noted that persons who live along the proposed route of the Pegg Road Extended had complained about the project. The route would potentially go over some land owned by Kings Christian Academy.

Another previous objection was that the road would traverse some wetlands, requiring mitigation. But Hewitt said his review of the project showed only 500 feet would be impacted. Erichsen, while not able to confirm the exact amount, did say the wetlands issue is “surmountable.”

Erichsen suggested that the Pegg Road Extended project was taken off the table several years ago because it was believed that doing both projects was “extremely expensive. It was an affordability issue.”

In pushing for the Pegg Road Extension, Hewitt noted that he would not support putting county money in it; it would have to be a state project.

The other county priorities in the letter to new Maryland Secretary of Transportation Peter Rahn are the Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge and Route 245 in Leonardtown. Other projects called “minor” in the letter are the roundabout in Clements and Route 5 from Camp Brown Road to the Ranger Station at Point Lookout State Park.

Contact Dick Myers at news@thebaynet.com