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Yesterday, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley announced that the Board of Public Works’ recent approval of a $6.7 million project will allow for the reconnection of Payson Street and construction of two new parking lots at the West Baltimore MARC station and future Baltimore Red Line.

The project will help to reunify West Baltimore communities that were physically separated in the 1970s by construction of the so-called “Highway to Nowhere” between Fulton Avenue and Pulaski Street, O’Malley said in a prepared statement.

“In the weeks and months to come, communities will be reunited with neighborhood-friendly improvements to the MARC station,” he said. “With our vision for the Red Line and transit-oriented development for the area moving forward, the future of West Baltimore holds great promise.”

With the demolition of the highway now completed, the station improvements and reconnection of Payson Street can begin, the governor said. The project is scheduled to be completed in February 2014.

Construction will involve the creation of two parking lots from Pulaski Street to Monroe Street, doubling the number of parking spaces to 660. The expansion project also will accommodate the future Red Line. West Baltimore will be a key stop on the 14-mile Red Line that will operate between Woodlawn and Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.