KNOW YOUR ROADS: Green Means CO

The Street Name Signs throughout Anne Arundel County do more than just tell you what street you’re on. Features of the sign tell you who maintains the road. Blue signs, different shaped signs, and roads identified by numbers indicate non-County roads. But, Green signs indicate roads we, Anne Arundel DPW, have authority to maintain. Whether driving, walking or biking, we want everyone getting from point A to point B safely. With 7,000 roads to maintain, we rely on your help to keep us informed of any potholes needing repair, grass needing trimming, traffic signals needing maintenance and more.

Roads in the County Maintained System are recorded in an official database administered by the Department of Public Works known as the Road Inventory. Please keep in mind there are many roads in Anne Arundel County that are maintained by other entities. Interstates and State Highways (I-95, US50, MD210, etc.) are maintained by MDOT. There are many private roads maintained by property owners, and other public roads, such as those within Annapolis City that are not in the County Maintained System. Additional roadways are maintained by BWI Airport, Fort Meade, the Naval Academy, or under developer warranty. To determine which roads in your community are maintained by DPW, click on the Know Your Roads interactive map graphic above.

The Road Inventory contains key identification and maintenance attribute information for all roads within Anne Arundel County to support Bureau of Highways operations and reporting to the State of Maryland. It is not the official record of legal ownership.

A key challenge to any road inventory is that a “road” is actually a series of “segments”, such as between two intersections, that may be subject to one or several deeds, extended over time, or re-aligned, or widened, or renamed, or transferred; with ownership of each “segment” sometimes known, sometimes unknown, with each segment’s ownership status subject to time consuming land record research. As a result, the County Road Inventory documents maintenance responsibility only for all roads in Anne Arundel County. In instances where proof of ownership is required, research is performed on a case by case basis. We value receiving feedback on any inaccuracy or inconsistency in our data and updates are made to maintain current and correct information upon discovery.

Roads are accepted into the County Maintained System in various ways.

• Historically, roads were acquired by the County Commissioners by a deed transfer of the fee simple right-of-way until ca. 1964 when the current charter form of government was established.
• Many older roads would also be acquired by virtue of a “prescriptive easement”, whereby if the road was used by the public and maintained by the County for a certain period of time, the road was considered as Public. This condition is fairly common. Riva Road, Governors Bridge Road and New Cut Road would be examples.
• Post 1964, roads were acquired by agreement between Developers and the County, referred to as a Subdivision Agreement or Public Works Agreement (PWA).  Under these agreements, the road rights of way were/are deeded to the County in fee simple.
• The County also acquires property and builds roads via the Capital Improvements program.  College Parkway would be an example.
• Roads can also be acquired or abandoned by the County by way of the “Road Petition” process.
   

For more information, visit the DPW Bureau of Highways Webpage at https://www.aacounty.org/public-works/highways