Davidsonville Park and Ride Expansion Underway

The long-planned expansion of the Davidsonville Park and Ride on Route 424 is officially underway, with contractors clearing land that will be used to nearly double the size of the lot by 2015.

The $1.7 million construction project will add about 200 spaces to the lot, according to Bob Rager, the State Highway Association community liaison for District 5.  The lot is located at John Hanson Highway and Davidsonville Road.

During the week, the Davidsonville Park and Ride is always full, with cars often parking along the on-ramps and off-ramps of the park and ride, or even on the side of the road itself.

"It's just needed," Rager said of the expansion. "You can tell by the commuters that park on the side of the road there there’s just not enough spaces and we always want to encourage more commuting."

Though the project is in full swing now, it won't be completed until sometime in 2015. The actual completion date is dependent on the weather.

"The reality is in the area where we are expanding, we have to raise that up ten feet. So the only way to do that is to go layer by layer and get proper compaction for each layer," Rager said.

SHA will bring in 16,000 cubic yards of fill to do the job, Rager said. 

The lighting in the lot will also be upgraded to LEDs, and underground drainage will be put in to manage stormwater runoff. Once the new addition is completed, the existing lot will also be resurfaced and relined, so the whole lot will look shiny and new, Rager said.

The park and ride lot will remain in use during construction of the expansion, but workers have had to take up about four of the spaces to access the expansion lot.