HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — Plans to rebuild a bridge over the Middle Patuxent River, located in the Gorman Stream Valley Natural Resource Area, are once again a possibility to the concern of some who live nearby.
Howard County has identified this rebuild as a “high priority” project in the BikeHoward 2026 plans, slated for a council vote on Monday, October 5.
Decades ago, a bridge connected Eden Brook Drive in Kings Contrivance to Kindler Road in North Laurel, but it was washed away during Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The remnants of the structure can still be seen in the river valley.
It’s not the first time the county has floated the plans to rebuild and it's not the first time a faction of neighbors have fought against it.
Jason Hummel, who lives in the area, felt the plans were presented as if they’d get no choice in the matter during a meeting in mid-September. Other neighbors who spoke to WMAR-2 News off camera echoed similar sentiments.
Three locations were presented with varying estimated costs, all between $800,000 and $1 million.
“Part of a good feasibility study should be to say, should we even do this at all?” Hummel said. “Not, here's the three locations that we're going to do it.”
After WMAR-2 News’ provided deadline, planning manager and bicycle coordinator with the Howard County Office of Transportation Christopher Eatough clarified that they are still evaluating the “potential for a bridge” and the feasibility study is still “very early in the process.”
He wrote that it “would need to go through a rigorous design review and permitting process before it could be built” which is not underway at this time, with no funding set aside for any part of the project.
Hummel and other neighbors feel potential hidden costs connected to the infrastructure around the bridge and safety concerns would make this project not worthwhile.
The pathway from the neighborhood that leads to the river, frequented by pedestrians and dog walkers, is quite steep and narrow.
He points out the nearby single-lane bridge on Old Columbia Road that may benefit more from the county's investment.
“The original bike plan had bike lanes coming down and using that bridge," Hummel said. "And actually upgrading that bridge to be a little bit wider, so that way you could have vehicle traffic and bike traffic going across that bridge. And I think from a cost perspective, that's a much better solution."
Public comment on the BikeHoward 2026 plan is open through Friday, October 2.
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