The Maryland State Highway Administration advises travlers that a paving project starting Monday, May 13, will require daytime closures of the I-95 Welcome Center rest areas in Howard County.

The closures will affect one welcome center at a time, beginning with the southbound side on May 13. After one to two weeks, weather permitting, work on the southbound Welcome Center will be complete and work will move to the northbound Welcome Center. The paving project will be complete by June 30, weather permitting.

The closures will occur from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. During those hours, the entire rest area will be closed including the Welcome Center, restrooms and all car, truck, RV and bus parking. Overnight truck parking will be permitted and the restrooms will reopen for the evening and overnight hours; however, all vehicles must depart by 8 a.m. SHA will use variable message signs to notify motorists of the closures.

Drivers and motor carriers who use the affected rest areas should plan their travel accordingly. Truck parking and amenities are available at Travel Centers of America at exit 41, four miles north of the Welcome Centers. Information about other Maryland rest areas, ridesharing lots and truck parking locations is available at www.roads.maryland.gov under “Commuter and Travel.”

The I-95 Welcome Centers are at mile marker 37 in the Savage-Laurel area, between the exits for MD 216 and MD 32.

As part of the $1.2 million paving project, crews will resurface and restripe all 76 regular parking spaces, 18 RV spaces and 21 truck spaces at the northbound rest area as well as the 93 regular parking spaces at the southbound rest area.

The RV and truck parking at the southbound rest area is not included because it will be reconfigured as part of a separate project starting later this spring to expand the southbound area to add additional truck parking. The existing parking will remain open during that project.