MD: Hampstead Bypass Project

WINNER: Innovative Management – Medium Project
Hampstead Bypass Project
Hampstead, Carroll County, MD

The Hampstead Bypass Project vividly demonstrates how an environmentally sensitive project can be successfully constructed while minimizing environmental impacts. The project relieved severe morning and evening traffic in the town of Hampstead, Carroll County, by diverting an estimated two-thirds of the traffic to the bypass located west of town.

A major obstacle to constructing the bypass was that it passed through a habitat of the bog turtle, a state and federally listed threatened or endangered species. The bypass only received approval providing that several unique design and construction requirements were met. This project successfully accomplished these requirements while providing traffic congestion relief to the citizens of the Town of Hampstead.