"Even with all this, it's going to be a traffic event at the start of this until we get all this ironed out," said Bob Leib, county BRAC coordinator. "It's almost like putting your finger in the dike until help comes through."

Federal, state, county agencies as well as private stakeholders agreed to widen and improve Route 175 beginning this summer, work that should be completed by the time thousands of government workers transfer to new assignments on post next year.

The state also will commit $200,000 a year to the first guaranteed ride-home program for Fort Meade employees with personal emergencies or unexpected overtime to encourage workers to pursue alternative transportation, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown announced Wednesday.

Officials have spent the last year and a half searching for ways to fund critical road improvement projects around Fort Meade in time for the massive growth tied to BRAC.

Several Department of Defense agencies, such as the Defense Information Systems Agency and Defense Media Agency, will open new facilities at Fort Meade next year. Another 20,000 indirect jobs to will move to the region in support of the agencies.

The 1,600-acre, mixed-used development, Odenton Town Center off Route 175 just south of the Army post also will bring additional growth to the area.

Massive state and county budget shortfalls have made finding the $100 million needed for road projects nearly impossible, officials have said.

Developer BRS/EGGERL LLC has agreed to widen Route 175 from two lanes to five lanes from Rockenbach Road to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway interchange, a $15 million project, according to county officials. The company plans to build Parkside, a mixed-use development, along the south side of Route 175.

The state also agreed to upgrade the Rockenbach Road and Disney Road intersections along Route 175, two main entrances into the installation.

Construction on Route 175 intersections, estimated to cost $28.4 million, is expected to start this month and will be open to traffic by 2011 when the BRAC transition must be completed, according to local officials.

"This is significant movement forward," County Executive John R. Leopold said Thursday.

Part of the traffic plan for Fort Meade includes alternative transportation and mass transit.

Fort Meade public and private stakeholders signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday to develop a transportation demand management plan that monitors the best options for alternative transportation for Fort Meade commuters.

As part of that plan, the state will help fund a Guaranteed Ride Home program, similar to the successful program implemented for federal employees in Washington, D.C.

Commuters at Fort Meade who use alternative transportation at least twice a week can register to get a free ride home up to four times a year if they have an unscheduled overtime or emergency.

The program - the first in the Baltimore region - will be managed by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, which also runs the Washington program.

Nearly half of DISA employees transferring to Fort Meade, most of whom live in Northern Virginia, have indicated that they would be interested in pursuing a ride-sharing program, according to Leib.

Fort Meade planners also are working on developing car and van pools for commuters.

The county also is implementing two new bus shuttle lines that circulate from the MARC train station around Odenton neighborhoods.

Local planners hope their cooperative agreements could be a model for planners at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, which also will see an influx of new employees because of BRAC.

"The more cars we can take off the road, the better we are," Leib said.