Photo Essay: Northpark Expansion Progress from 2024 to 2025
12/26/2025 – A comparison of drone photos from December 2024 and December 2025 shows considerable progress with the Northpark Expansion project in the last year. There’s still a long way to go, but we’re much closer to the end of Phase 1 now than we were a year ago.
Photos taken today show that the major missing pieces of the puzzle include:
Bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad Tracks and Loop 494
Surface roads over the tracks
Gaps in eastbound surface lanes
Sidewalks in several places
Ponds at entries
A few hundred feet of Loop 494 both north and south of Northpark
Let’s start with today’s shots. 2024’s will follow for comparison.
Pictures Taken 12/26/2025
Going from east to west from the Kingwood Diversion Ditch toward US59, I took the following pictures today.
Phase One starts roughly where the road bends in front of the new Chevron station (r). Note the new lanes coming toward camera on left and going away from camera on right. Gone is the old center ditch, replaced by giant, buried culverts.Slightly farther west, you can see that all but a few driveways are completed. Outbound sidewalks still need a lot of work, but inbound sidewalks are close to done in this part of the project.Still looking toward US59 from over Russell Palmer Road.Farther west, the view from in front of Warren’s NurseryFor several blocks on either side of the entrance to Kings Mill (center left) inbound lanes remain incomplete (left).Farther west, that black spot in the center is where the bridge will start rising.This is where a six lane bridge will carry traffic over the tracks and Loop 494. Equipment for drilling the piers has already arrived (center foreground).However, to make way for the bridge, contractors must first complete four surface lanes over the tracks.
So what’s the holdup with the surface lanes?
Contractors have been waiting for UPRR to move its signals and reroute the electricity that powers them.This is the general area where the bridge will come crest and start to come down. Outbound surface lanes (right) are already complete. But inbound surface lanes (left) still need work.The bridge will reach grade level in this general area near PNC bank.Both entry ponds at US59 still need liners and final landscaping.One of the two turn lanes on to Northpark was re-opened last week in response to readers’ requests.Looking south along 494. Drainage east of the tracks has been completed. But drainage under 494 still needs to be tied in before 494 can be completed.
Photos Taken 12/19/2024
A year ago…
In- and outbound traffic was still using the original lanes while contractors paved over culverts that replaced the old center ditch.All of the work focused on the center lanes in preparation for traffic switches to crews could demolish and repave the outer lanes.Major demolition, driveway and drainage projects were just starting on the outbound side (right). Contractors had to replace both center drainage and lateral drainage to businesses.West of Loop 494, traffic virtually no work had started on the inbound side (left) yet, and most of the outbound side was still being reconstructed.At the end of 2024, the old northbound lanes of Loop 494 carried both directions of traffic temporarily while crews finished the new southbound lanes.
2025 was a year filled with both frustration mostly due to utility and railroad conflicts. But it was also filled with hope for improved safety and commute times for Northpark Drive commuters. Engineers predict Phase One of Northpark expansion should finish this time next year given favorable weather and the cooperation of UPRR.
Unfortunately to date, UPRR has been less predictable than the weather.
