In fact, several years ago during the elementary school redistricting prompted by the opening of Barstow Elementary School, several parents of children being moved from Plum Point Elementary School to Calvert Elementary School cited the dangers posed by Wilson Road as one of their major concerns.

Calvert County Government is about to embark on a four-phase project to make the road safer. Wilson Road connects the east sides of Prince Frederick and Huntingtown and is the access road for several residential neighborhoods.

The estimated cost of the entire project is $6.84 million. The work is expected to take several years.

During the Jan. 12 meeting of the Calvert Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), the Department of Public Works presented the board with an update on the Wilson Road plan.

Project engineer Walter J. “Bud� Dombroski explained the first phase will be to make “spot safety� improvements to Wilson Road from Dares Beach Road to Emmanuel Church Road. Engineering work has been completed on phase one and construction will be done during the winter. The county has $190,000 for the first phase in the fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget. The engineering cost is $90,000 and construction will cost an estimated $100,000. The county has acquired easements from seven properties.

Subsequent phases of the Wilson Road project are:

• Intersection improvements to Allday Road ($700,000)

• Intersection improvements to Emmanuel Church Road ($850,000)

• Spot safety improvements from Emmanuel Church Road to Plum Point Road ($5.1 million)

Dombroski stated the county is using its own money. “We’ll apply for any grants available,� he added. According to Dumbroski, county officials had applied for federal funding to be used for the Wilson Road project but were rejected.

“Maybe the state will help us,� Commissioner Linda L. Kelley [R] chirped, prompting much laughter from the other commissioners.

Recently, Calvert and other jurisdictions had highway user fee revenues for FY 2010 dramatically slashed by state officials. The county uses that revenue to repair and maintain roads.

Kelley then asked about subdivision developers helping pay for the road work. Dombroski explained some developers have made some improvements to the access to their subdivisions and the county was “extracting� the upgrades through its Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, which limits residential growth until such infrastructure components as roads are addressed.

“They [developers] should be part of the correction and improvement,� said Commissioner Barbara A. Stinnett [D].

E-mail Marty Madden at editorial@calvertindependent.com.