The state highway that cuts Easton in half is getting sidewalks and crossings that should have been there already.

The Maryland Department of Transportation has begun a $9.9 million pedestrian-safety project along a 1.7-mile stretch of US 50 in Easton. The work adds sidewalks, signalized crossings, raised medians, and extended turn lanes. Westbound construction near Bartlett Avenue is underway first. The full project is expected to finish in fall 2027.

Drivers should plan for periodic single-lane closures on weekdays for the duration of the work.

US 50 is a state road. The Maryland Department of Transportation owns the schedule and the budget. For Talbot residents who walk, bike, or drive that corridor every day, the local stake is concrete: safer crossings where the highway divides neighborhoods and businesses.

The Talbot County Council does not control the contract. It does control how the county tracks construction impacts on adjacent roads and whether residents know when closures hit. That is the board that has to stay on this until the last median is poured.