The San Martin Drive project giveth, and the San Martin project taketh away.
The initial phase of a yearlong, $15 million effort to improve the scenic drive along Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus will end on Sept. 12, giving drivers and bikers access to a safer trip along a section of the roadway that has been closed for seven months. New sidewalks, curbs, and lighting will be in place, as will a new pedestrian-only bridge between Olin Hall and the San Martin Center.
On the same day, however, two now-open road segments will shut down or be restricted. Both the university community and neighbors will need to learn new detours and maneuver around new roadblocks for most of the rest of 2016.
As of Sept. 12:
- The leg of San Martin Drive from the South Garage past the San Martin Garage upper entrance to the West Gate at Bowman Drive will reopen. The entire length of Bowman will also be open, including the West Gate.
- Most of Wyman Park Drive between San Martin and Remington Avenue will close (though the Wyman parking lots, Homewood Early Learning Center, and Carnegie Way will still be accessible).
- San Martin Drive will be closed from University Parkway to the Muller Parking Deck.
You can see a map reflecting these changes on the project website.
Drivers who need to reach the driveway behind Homewood Field or the Muller Parking Deck will be able to do so, but will have to approach from the south and use a single lane shared by northbound and southbound drivers and controlled by flaggers.
Detour signs will direct drivers and pedestrians around the new work areas. Most construction work will be completed and the entire road reopened by the end of December, though final touches, such as landscaping, won't be completed until May 2017.
When the project is finished, San Martin Drive—where in the past some sidewalks abruptly ended and others were too narrow—will be flanked by a continuous path for those on foot, allowing pedestrians to walk safely from University Parkway south to Wyman Park Drive and then on to Remington Avenue.
Additional enhancements will include:
- Better lighting for pedestrians
- Shorter, more easily negotiable crosswalks at three intersections
- A three-way traffic stop along the "S" curve at the West Gate
- Brick gateways at the San Martin/University Parkway and Wyman Park Drive/Remington Avenue intersections
Posted in University News
