County commissioners and other local officials used the MDOT presentation to raise operational concerns and funding questions affecting everyday travel in St. Mary’s County.

Signal and timing issues: Commissioners asked about optimization of three linked signals on Route 5 (near John Knight Drive, Sheetz/Golden Beach Road and the Chick‑fil‑A area) after recent configuration changes. Karen Fiasco, SHA deputy district engineer, said SHA had been asked to look at timing and that new signal projects typically take two to three years from early design toward construction; she said the office will provide regular schedule updates. On the Route 5/MD 242 intersection at Morganza, Fiasco said converting the intersection to a full signal was approved and that SHA is targeting construction in 2026, subject to right‑of‑way and design work.

Work scheduling and lane closures: Commissioners raised complaints about a hotel construction entrance on MD 235 that reduced the shoulder into a single lane during daytime hours, causing long backups. They asked SHA to encourage nighttime paving or other work‑hour adjustments where feasible to reduce peak‑period congestion.

Pedestrian crossings and trail safety: Commissioners and local leaders asked SHA to reconsider the flashing yellow at the 3 Notch Trail crossing on Route 5 and to evaluate a user‑activated push‑button red LED signal because drivers can become desensitized to a constant flashing yellow. Fiasco said SHA has used both steady flashing and user‑activated signals at different locations, cited tradeoffs including driver expectancy and pedestrian use of buttons, and agreed to review whether a push‑button system is appropriate for the crossing.

Small safety fixes and striping: Local officials suggested straightforward restriping to create a left‑turn area for Lose Way off Maryland Route 4, near a church, to reduce risky stopping in a travel lane. SHA staff acknowledged the location had a high project score in past prioritization and said they would review the site.

SHA federal‑fund audit and project impacts: Commissioners asked how an audit finding about approximately $359 million in unprocessed federal actions would affect local projects. Will Pines described the audit finding as a procedural shortcoming in receivables processing and said SHA has already reduced the figure through reimbursement work. Pines said SHA has added staff to the federal aid team, implemented new IT tracking and checklists, has authorized overtime and expects to recover the majority of the funds through federal reimbursements. “We do expect based on our conversations with our federal partners to receive reimbursement for the vast majority of those funds,” Pines said, and MDOT reiterated that the draft CTP currently published did not show impacts to programmed projects in St. Mary’s County.

Commissioners requested continued updates, more detailed local construction schedules and quicker responses on short‑term operational fixes.