If you ever travel over the Bay Bridge on U.S. 50 and take a left onto Route 404 to reach the Delaware beaches or the north end of Ocean City, you're probably familiar with the backups that plague the two-lane stretches of that road.

So it may come as some relief that Maryland has begun the process of widening 404 with the  launch today of a project to widen a mile-long segment of 404 between Tuckahoe Creek (the stream that separates Queen Anne's County from Caroline) to Hillsboro. The $15 million job -- funded thhrough the federal stimulus program -- is the first segment of a planned widening of an 11-mile segment of 404 between U.S. 50 and the Denton Bypass.

That's all the good news for now, because two-lane segments east of Denton are on the back burner because of Delaware's reluctance to widen its part of the road. There's hope, though, that by the time the 11 miles are completed in late 2012, we be able to get to the traffic jams a little faster.

The price  of progress is construction delay, and motorists  traveling 404 can expect to encounter lane closings Mondays from noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon.  Crews wiill not be working on Saturdays or Sundays.