March 12, 2020
Media Contacts:
Mark Miller, Administrator, Office of Public Information, 410-313-2022
Bob Linz, Acting Bureau Chief of Capital Project, Park Planning and Construction, Department of Recreation & Parks, 410-313-4709
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – A Howard County Department of Recreation & Parks project to improve the parking lot, sidewalks and stormwater management controls at South Branch Park, located at 350 West Friendship Road in Sykesville, is expected to begin Monday, March 16. Weather permitting, the project is expected to be completed by early July.
The project will include the installation of a new asphalt-surface entrance road and drive lanes, along with 56 permeable-paver parking spaces and associated concrete curbs and gutters. New concrete sidewalks, benches, bio-retention ponds and landscape improvements will also be installed.
While the park and half of the existing parking area will remain open during construction hours, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., there will be several days when the entire parking lot will be closed. Electronic VMS boards will be posted prior to these lot closings to alert the public of the closure.
Motorists along West Friendship Road are advised to use caution when traveling past the park as there will be construction equipment exiting and entering the roadway. Safety signage and construction fencing will be installed at the site by the contractor, HTI construction.
Located along the South Branch of the Patapsco River, South Branch Park is the historic site of early mills and canning industries in Howard County. Several of the property’s historic structures remain in the park and are undergoing a restoration. The 7.5-acre park features a skatepark, children’s playground, walkways, benches and a picnic shelter. The park is popular with visitors and is often the site of special events in cooperation with the Town of Sykesville.
For questions or concerns about the project, contact Project Manager Clara Gouin with the Department of Recreation & Parks’ Capital Projects, Park Planning and Construction Division at 410-313-4687 or email [email protected].