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The county began work earlier this month on the long-awaited extension of Woodfield Road.

The project will extend Woodfield from its current terminus at the Damascus Post Office, north of Main Street, to Ridge Road (Route 27), where Faith Lane now intersects.

The extension is intended to divert some traffic from heavily-traveled Ridge Road, reduce congestion through downtown Damascus and improve safety.

The 3,600-foot extension will feature two lanes with an off-road bike path along the east side from Main Street to Ridge Road. Faith Lane will be realigned to intersect with Woodfield Road at a point south of Ridge. Ridge Road will be widened at the intersection with Woodfield to add a left-turn lane.

The new alignment will require moving the entrance of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer on Ridge Road at Faith Lane and taking some parking spaces from its upper parking lot, which is used for handicap-accessible parking.

The county will pay the church for the parking spaces and construct a new entrance to the church parking lot, said Bruce Johnston, chief of the Division of Transportation Engineering of the county Department of Transportation.

"Parking spots for the church are really valuable," said church member Debbie Tomilson, who was involved in negotiations for the church.

The church already did not have enough parking available and vehicles sometimes spilled out onto adjacent Faith Lane, she said. In years of negotiations with the county, the church was unable to find a way to expand the lot, Tomlinson said. The church may have to arrange for parking off site and a shuttle bus to carry worshippers to church, she said.

Ridge Road will also be improved from south of the existing intersection of Faith Lane to the Gue Road intersection. It will also be realigned to improve the sight distance along a segment of the road to north of the Woodfield Road extension.

Street lighting, traffic signals and landscaping will be added along Ridge and Woodfield roads.

The new intersection of Woodfield and Ridge roads will define the border between the northern edge of Damascus and the more rural part of town.

The county hired Kibler Construction Co. Inc. of Finksburg, Md., as contractor for the project at a cost of $5.9 million, Johnston said. The county had estimated the cost of construction at $9.6 million, he said.

He thinks bids were lower because contractors need the business.

The entire project, which includes land acquisition, reforestation and engineering, was expected to cost about $14 million, Johnston said.

The project is being done in phases. Phase I involves the relocation of utility poles and service lines along Ridge Road. Traffic on Ridge will shift onto temporary lanes during phases II and III while the permanent lanes are improved.

During that time people trying to enter the church from the north will have to drive into town and turn around, Tomilson said.

Phase II will also involve relocating the water main. Phase IV will involve the realignment of Faith Lane to intersect with the new road.

Construction is expected to be completed in April 2011, Johnston said.

A county representative will be on site throughout the construction to monitor progress, monitor the work zone for safety and be available to answer questions from the community, according to a county report.

During construction, lane closures will be kept to a minimum and driveways and entrances will remain accessible at all times, according to the report.

The project was delayed for more than two years by environmental issues.

Earlier this month the county Planning Board approved a forest conservation easement for a parcel of land that the county bought from the church on Ridge Road for the new road alignment. The land had been part of the church's forest conservation easement. The county will compensate for taking the easement by planting 2 acres of forest off site for every acre it takes.

According to the agreement, the county will plant 3.58 acres of forest off Howard Chapel Road, southeast of Faith Lane, to compensate for the 1.79 acres of easement it took from the forest conservation plan, Johnston said.

Planners estimate the road will carry an average of 20,000 vehicles per day by 2020.

Traffic forecasts predict five intersections in Damascus will fail after 2010 without the Woodfield Road extension.