Storm & Traffic Center
Wind Project May Cause Delays
Constellation Energy is currently building Maryland’s first wind project near the city of Oakland. The 70 megawatt (MW) Criterion Wind energy generation facility will produce emission-free power for the Mid-Atlantic region. The project will consist of 28 wind turbines built over an eight-mile stretch along Garrett County’s Backbone Mountain. Construction on the project is currently underway and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. In addition to major construction, work on the project over the next several months will include the delivery of large components for the wind turbines including the blades and turbine structures. For the next six weeks some of this work will affect traffic on area roads, including:
- Beginning Friday, June 25 turbine components, some of which require specially-permitted vehicles and police escorts, will begin arriving at the Criterion site. The trucks delivering these components will follow a route from Interstate 68 to MD Route 219 south, through Accident, McHenry and Oakland to U.S. Route 50 east, to MD Route 560 north, to Bethlehem Road, continuing on to Eagle Rock Road. Expect traffic delays and flag men during delivery times.
- Road work that is part of the installation of cables that will connect the Criterion wind turbines to the substation currently under construction is also underway on Eagle Rock and Bethlehem Roads. This trenching work is expected to take four-to-six weeks and will require some large equipment and will occasionally require traffic to be stopped on those roads.
- All efforts are being made to minimize inconveniences to neighbors who live along Eagle Rock and Bethlehem Roads, and to ensure this work is being done with the safety of neighbors and workers as a priority.