FEBRUARY 19, 2026
BERLIN • NORTH WORCESTER COUNTY• OCEAN PINES
FREE
Museum preparing for 250th Will highlight state’s role in creating new country
TARA FISCHER/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
A proposed bike and pedestrian bridge over Route 113 could improve safety and connectivity, project leaders told residents at a meeting last week.
Rt. 113 skyway could cost $15M Would present safer way to cross highway, but also host of practical obstacles Tara Fischer Staff Writer (Feb. 19, 2026) While a pedestrian bridge over Route US 113 could reunite disconnected communities with Berlin services, officials and residents continue to debate whether more grounded solutions could be a better
approach than the $15 million skyway. Last week, Berlin and project leaders invited the community to meetings to learn more about the possibility of a bridge over Route 113, which since its installation in the 1950s has physically divided the town. The dual highway’s width limits safe pedestrian and bike access between east-side neighborhoods and destinations such as schools, health-
care facilities, downtown, parks, and the town’s sole grocery store, Food Lion. In an attempt to address the issue, the Town of Berlin has been studying the feasibility of providing a pedestrian bridge for residents cut off from a safe route to key services. Project representatives attended the information session last Wednesday. They presented possible bridge locations: Old Ocean City Boulevard, See BRIDGE Page 2
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By Tara Fischer Staff Writer (Feb. 19, 2026) When the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum reopens its doors this spring, it will welcome guests to exhibits celebrating and recognizing the United States of America’s 250th anniversary and Maryland’s role in it. On April 1, the Taylor House will reopen for its 2026 spring and summer season. This year marks 250 years since the birth of the United States, when, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and the colonies’ political ties to Great Britain were officially severed. Melissa Reid, Taylor House executive director, said that the museum’s new programming was created under the umbrella of the Maryland 250 Commission’s Lower Eastern Shore Division. The Maryland 250 Commission “commemorates Marylanders’ many contributions to American history through events, programs, and opportunities to serve,” its website reads. One of the new exhibits coming to the downtown facility this April highlights the colonial era in Worcester County and around Berlin. The focus, Reid said, will shift to the lives of everyday people. “We’re looking at more of the regular, everyday people, whose stories are not often told,” the director said. Part of that work has involved reSee TAYLOR Page12
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