St. Mary's County Department of Public Works and Transportation staff told the Transportation Advisory Committee that FDR Boulevard Phase 3B — the segment between Buck Hewitt Road and Pegg Road — is under construction, with most utilities relocated and storm‑drain and retaining‑wall work underway. Staff said the project should open “about the summer of next year” and include a traffic signal at Pegg Road; under a state agreement the state will maintain that signal while the county pays for maintenance.

County staff said a feasibility study for FDR Boulevard Phase 4 (Pegg Road to Great Mills Road) is included in the Metropolitan Planning Organization's Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) and will proceed to a request for bids. The MPO administrator said funding for the study is in place and the county will advertise for bids to begin the study.

Why it matters: staff described rising traffic on FDR Boulevard and Maryland Route 235, noted that a recent traffic count recorded about 61,000 average daily trips on Route 235 near Town Creek Drive and roughly 18,000 on the FDR segment behind Walmart, and said those volumes are increasingly near parity in peak periods. County staff said a completed feasibility study could recommend either roadway widening or bicycle/pedestrian alternatives depending on the results.

Other projects discussed: a Buck Hewitt sidewalk extension tied into Chancellor's Run Road (awaiting federal/state funding allocation), utility relocation on Maryland Route 5 at Great Mills Road (construction money pending), Pegg Road sidewalk plans at 100% and pending State Highway approval, a planned Tulagi Place connection to Willows Road (RFP under development), and the Wildwood Boulevard third‑lane and sidewalk project currently under daytime construction. Staff said two roundabouts — Wildwood Boulevard at Wildwood Parkway and Peg Road at Westbury — are in design or construction; the county is using a competitive rental‑contractor approach on some work and estimates the approach could save nearly $1 million on the Peg Road roundabout.

Staff also said crash causal information is controlled by the sheriff's office and state records; the county can report before‑and‑after crash counts but may need sheriff cooperation for cause analysis.

What comes next: MPO advertising for Phase 4 bids, state review of Pegg Road 100% plans, property acquisition for Pegg Road construction and continued work on Wildwood and roundabout projects. County staff asked committee members to monitor ROW and easement needs and to expect follow‑up briefings as the feasibility study and bid process move forward.