Bureau of Highways General
About
The Bureau of Highways is broken down into three divisions:
Contact Us
The Howard County Bureau of Highways works with many outside organizations to ensure our roads are safe for everyone. Before calling us, see information below regarding reporting for street lights, state roads, and utility boxes / cables, which are handled by outside organizations. Contact information for these items is listed below.
Report Roadway Concerns With Tell HoCo
Use Tell HoCo to request services and report concerns online, including:
- Road Conditions
- Sidewalks
- Storm drainage issues
- Street tree issues
You can also report highway maintenance concerns by contacting the Highways Operations Division at 410-313-7450.
Report Traffic Control
To report a traffic control concern such as intersection safety, traffic calming, street lights and mis-timed traffic signal or school flasher, contact the Traffic Engineering Division.
Emergency Situations
For urgent and emergency situations, call the Bureau of Highways so that they may immediately respond to your emergency request. Please do not use email or the Tell HoCo website.
Urgent and emergency situations include but are not limited to:
- Flooding
- Fallen stop sign
- Fallen tree blocking road
Maintenance Responsibilities
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Signage Maintenance
- Lane striping
- Replacing/repairing damaged signs
- Updating information on seasonal signs
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Stormwater Management Maintenance
- Aiding in resolving flooding and drainage issues
- Installing stormwater management tools (berms, culverts, etc)
- Maintaining stormwater ponds
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Traffic Engineering Division
- New street sign/markings installation
- Streetlight installation
- Traffic calming
- Traffic signals
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Tree Maintenance
- Stump removal
- Tree removal, replacement, and trimming
- Emerald Ash Borer program
- Street tree elevation
Maintained by Outside Organizations
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BGE is responsible for all street light outages and maintenance (lights that are knocked down, bulb out, or on in daylight). Contact BGE Customer Service at 1-800-685-0123, or online at the button below.
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The State Highway Administration (SHA) is responsible for all the work and maintenance that you see on roads that have a route number (such as MD Route 40 or Route 29).
For an intersection that includes a state and county road, the state takes precedence and has jurisdiction. In Howard County, the SHA can be contacted at the Dayton office at 410-531-5533, or 1-800-635-5119, or online at the button below.
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Utility companies are responsible for maintaining their own boxes and cables, including keeping the cables free from tree branches. To report damage to utility boxes or concerns about utility cables, please contact the appropriate utility company for assistance: VERIZON at 1-800-837-4966, BGE at 1-800-685-0123, or COMCAST at 1-800-934-6489.
Forms & Publications
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Howard County Department of Public Works is committed to providing the citizens of Howard County with a clean and environmentally safe community. Street sweeping is performed on most county roads four times a year. Bureau of Highways road crews consistently travel throughout the county cleaning up debris on county roads. However, they need help.
Volunteers are needed to monitor and pick up litter and other debris thrown onto our roadways by careless or irresponsible citizens. By volunteering to pick up litter at least four times a year on a selected road, you can make a tremendous impact on the appearance of your neighborhood, community and Howard County.
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A permit is needed if changes will be made to the driveway footprint. Highways staff will inspect the proposed driveway plans and confirm that the changes are in accordance with County Code. Permits are not required for regular repairs and maintenance to the existing driveway.
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The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive species of beetle whose larva feed on and destroy ash trees. Its first appearance in the United States occurred in 2002 in Michigan, after which it began spreading across Canada, New England and down the East Coast. Its first confirmed sighting in Maryland was in 2003. An individual borer can live between one to two years.
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Howard County’s Department of Public Works makes every effort to plow and salt County roads quickly and safely during all winter weather emergencies. Because of the road conditions during inclement weather, some property damage is unavoidable.
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Stormwater that runs off our rooftops, driveways, parking lots and streets, plus all the junk and pollution that flows along in it, usually finds its way to the nearest storm drain and then goes directly into a local stream - not to a water treatment plant. Stenciling storm drains can help raise awareness about the runoff connection to our local rivers and help keep pollution out of our streams, rivers and the Bay. Be part of the solutions, stencil storm drains and let people know that there should be “Only Rain Down the Drain.”
Help keep our water bodies, like this beautiful section of the Little Patuxent River, clean by preventing pollution through storm drains!