Following a meeting with residents, Harford County officials have outlined plans to close and improve Wheel Road in two segments, beginning in 2012.
Improvement of the western segment will close Wheel Road between Laurel Bush Road and Patterson Mill Road for at least six months, set to begin in the late spring/early summer of 2012. Jeff Stratmeyer, chief engineer for Harford County, said that the planned starting time is subject to revision to ensure that construction can be completed before the winter.
During the closure of the western segment of Wheel Road, the portion of Patterson Mill Road that is currently one-way will be temporarily converted to two-way, as an alternate route for local traffic. Following completion of the western segment of Wheel Road, the county’s plans are to retain the two-way road on Patterson Mill to approximately the driveway of 445 Patterson Mill Rd; and convert the remainder of Patterson Mill back to one way in the eastbound direction from Wheel Rd. to the driveway of 445 Patterson Mill Rd.
Closure and improvement of the eastern segment of Wheel Road, between Cedar Lane and Glenangus Drive, will follow completion of the western segment and begin sometime in 2013 at the earliest, according to Stratmeyer.
MacPhail Road will be the posted detour route during the closure of both the western and eastern segments of Wheel Road.
Below is a copy of an April 8 letter from Stratmeyer to property owners on Patterson Mill Road. A copy was provided to The Dagger for publication:
Their ruining all the fun driving roads.
I hope they improve Patterson Mill Road before they make it an alternative road.
This is long overdue. Is it too much to ask that there is a middle turn lane, shoulder, and bike/walking path separate from the roadside?
In fact, start putting in bike trail with this project, and extend it to parallel every single fossil fuel guzzling part of our county
Seems like these improvements will make Wheel and Patterson Mill very popular through roads from 543 to the Festival and Wegmans Shopping Center and the location that Walmart is looking to purchase at the corner of 924 and Plumtree.