Dower House Road Closes at MD 4 in Upper Marlboro for Drainage Repairs

Dower House Road is closed at MD 4 (Pennsylvania Avenue) in Upper Marlboro through April 17 while AB Construction Inc. of Laurel replaces a damaged underground drainage pipe and storm drain system beneath the busy intersection.

The Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration activated the closure on April 2, giving the Laurel-based contractor roughly two weeks to excavate and rebuild the failing drainage infrastructure before the road reopens.

Drivers approaching the Dower House Road/MD 4 intersection are being routed right onto Marlboro Pike, then to MD 223 (Woodyard Road), and back to northbound MD 4. A separate restriction bars left turns from northbound MD 4 onto Dower House Road for the duration of the project. Concrete barriers, electronic message boards, cones, and barrels mark the work zone boundaries.

The closure falls on a corridor that carries daily commuters, school buses, and commercial traffic connecting Upper Marlboro neighborhoods to Pennsylvania Avenue and points north toward Largo and Bowie. The rerouting onto Marlboro Pike and MD 223 is expected to lengthen travel times and push additional volume onto those secondary roads through mid-April.

Replacing the storm drain system is intended to prevent the kind of recurring drainage failures that can undermine pavement and cause flooding, but the two-week construction window creates a sustained chokepoint for residents and fleet operators who depend on the connection daily.

MDOT SHA is asking drivers to allow extra commute time through April 17, observe posted speed limits through the work zone, and call #77 for roadside assistance if needed.