Gauging interest for a Baltimore and central Maryland Meet

[tckma]

I'm putting this here to gauge interest in a Baltimore/central MD meet.  Right now this is all in my head.  I haven't thought of dates or routings or anything of the sort.  I'm primarily thinking of focusing on I-70 and MD-32

Some potential sites include:

*** I-70 and NIMBY-ism in Baltimore ***
I-70 Park and Ride
US-40 freeway portion downtown that was intended to be part of I-70
Stub ramps on I-95 where I-70 was to connect to it
US-29 northern terminus at MD-99, and interchange with I-70 (and Department of Redundancy Department ramps from US-29N to I-70W)

*** MD-32 widening/construction ***
New interchange (constructed late 2014) with Linden Church Road
MD-32 aluminum girder bridge in Sykesville ( see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Route_32#Improvements )
Signage for "secret" MD-851 posted recently along MD-32 in Sykesville (drive-by only?) (include MD-851 clinch?)
Interchange improvements with MD-97 in Westminster (don't know that I should include this one -- it doesn't seem all that interesting, but I see the construction progress daily as it's on my commute).

If we want to make this a larger meet, I could potentially include:

MD-30 bypass of Hampstead and Business MD-30

MD-32 truncation and former routing through downtown Westminster
MD-97/MD-140 route number swapping in the 1970s with the decommissioning of US-140 (drive-by only?)
MD-832 as a former routing of MD-32 (drive-by only?)
Over-construction of Antrim Blvd (as part of a cancelled MD-140 Taneytown bypass)

Is there any interest in this?  Any recommendations of other stops, or thumbs-down on any of these?

My experience is almost nil; a single roadgeek meet last weekend, but it got me pretty charged up.

[rawmustard]

You might have more traction with the MD-32 stuff considering Baltimore's been done at least twice in the last six years.

[dgolub]

I'd definitely be up for a Baltimore meet, as long as the logistics work out.

[hbelkins]

I've had to miss every Baltimore meet that's ever been held for various reasons (scheduling conflicts, sick pets, and so on) so I'd be interested. Coordinate with Mr. and Mrs. MDRoads for their past excursions so as to eliminate overlap with those previous meets unless there's something that's changed at a stop on of those prior meets.

Oh yay, another trip up I-79 and I-68! I can ever get enough of those roads! (/sarcasm)

[noelbotevera]

Oh this is easy. It's a simple two hour drive, and I have done it many times. Just make sure it's not in June, I'm gonna be in Richmond.

[tckma]

I've had to miss every Baltimore meet that's ever been held for various reasons (scheduling conflicts, sick pets, and so on) so I'd be interested. Coordinate with Mr. and Mrs. MDRoads for their past excursions so as to eliminate overlap with those previous meets unless there's something that's changed at a stop on of those prior meets.

Oh yay, another trip up I-79 and I-68! I can ever get enough of those roads! (/sarcasm)

If you're bored of 79 and 68, you could always do 64 all the way to 81.  I don't go on any of those interstates terribly often, so I'm not sure it's a great alternative.  Personally I love the scenery on WV I-79, but in fact last weekend was my second time ever on WV I-79 -- and that's only because the closest La Quinta to the meet route (LQ allows 2 dogs for free chain-wide, except for their Central Park hotel in Manhattan, and I generally sneak in my third dog) was in Morgantown, and I'd made Sunday breakfast plans with a fellow license plate collector friend of mine who lives in Fairmont.

I have no idea what mischief those two have gotten up to on previous road meets in Bawlmer Murralin; easy enough to ask them.  I imagine the cancelled bits of I-70 have been done to death.

[kj3400]

I'm down. I missed the last one, but as long as this one is on a favorable weekend, I can make it.

[jpi]

If I happen to be in the area for family\ toy show then I am there

[Alps]

There have been Baltimore meets, but not Central MD to the west of there.

[cl94]

Depending on when it is, I'm down.

[noelbotevera]

Speaking of the examples of NIMBYism, doesn't a large stub with signs for the cancelled I-170 exist? I know it was still there at the 2010 Baltimore road meet from pictures, but I'm not sure now. Also, what about the abrupt end of I-83? Stubs for it exist.

[hbelkins]

If you're bored of 79 and 68, you could always do 64 all the way to 81.  I don't go on any of those interstates terribly often, so I'm not sure it's a great alternative.  Personally I love the scenery on WV I-79, but in fact last weekend was my second time ever on WV I-79 -- and that's only because the closest La Quinta to the meet route (LQ allows 2 dogs for free chain-wide, except for their Central Park hotel in Manhattan, and I generally sneak in my third dog) was in Morgantown, and I'd made Sunday breakfast plans with a fellow license plate collector friend of mine who lives in Fairmont.

My first two times on I-79 were as a passenger (from Charleston to Exit 99 first, then the second time northward on to what was then US 48) and I found it to be a fun drive. My first time to drive I-79 was in 2000 and enjoyed it. I've driven them so many times since then that there's nothing new to be seen unless a sign replacement project, such as that on 79 between I-77 and Exit 34, has been undertaken.

I-64 runs too far south to be a viable route to Baltimore, plus there are the WV Turnpike tolls and the long trek up I-81 without the benefit of a radar detector working against that routing.

Last time I drove to the Baltimore area, I used the Corridor H routing (in large part to check out new construction that had opened up since my last trip on the road) to I-81 to VA 7 to US 340 to I-70.

I wish I could drive my vehicle into a Star Trek cargo transporter and be beamed to any number of spots northeast of here, since every trip in that direction usually involves the by-now-old I-79 and I-68.

[Laura]

Ooh, a Carroll County meet!!! Love the idea. That's an area that I know doesn't get explored enough by out-of-town roadgeeks because it's a bit out of the way.

Oh, and there's some old concrete US 140 bits in and outside Westminster, too, that you could include!!!

We hosted a meet in Baltimore last year and Alps hosted one in 2010. So a lot of the downtown stuff and east side stuff has been done recently-ish, but you could still include the I-70 park and ride and I-170 since it's such a fun oddity.


iPhone

[Laura]

Speaking of the examples of NIMBYism, doesn't a large stub with signs for the cancelled I-170 exist? I know it was still there at the 2010 Baltimore road meet from pictures, but I'm not sure now. Also, what about the abrupt end of I-83? Stubs for it exist.

Yep, the I-170 "highway to nowhere" still exists. The western end was taken out to expand the MARC West Baltimore station parking lot, but the rest of it is still there.

Are you referring to the stubs off of I-95 for the interchange with 83? 83 itself transitions pretty well south of Fayette Street into president street as a multi-lane boulevard.


iPhone

[noelbotevera]

Speaking of the examples of NIMBYism, doesn't a large stub with signs for the cancelled I-170 exist? I know it was still there at the 2010 Baltimore road meet from pictures, but I'm not sure now. Also, what about the abrupt end of I-83? Stubs for it exist.

Yep, the I-170 "highway to nowhere" still exists. The western end was taken out to expand the MARC West Baltimore station parking lot, but the rest of it is still there.

Are you referring to the stubs off of I-95 for the interchange with 83? 83 itself transitions pretty well south of Fayette Street into president street as a multi-lane boulevard.


iPhone

I wanna clarify: I mean the stub where you're forced to exit the highway at Mulberry Street. There was a pretty large stub behind some barricades complete with lighting, empty gantries, and even signs for the next exit at US 1.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

[74/171FAN]

Ooh, a Carroll County meet!!! Love the idea. That's an area that I know doesn't get explored enough by out-of-town roadgeeks because it's a bit out of the way.

Oh, and there's some old concrete US 140 bits in and outside Westminster, too, that you could include!!!

iPhone

I agree on the simple principle that roads such as MD 32, MD 100, MD 140, MD 175, etc. are very low on my clinching list in comparison to many routes in eastern PA and NOVA.  Obviously I could do all the Baltimore sightings that I have not seen yet on a random weekend trip whenever.

[vdeane]

I'm booked for this year, but this could be an interesting idea for next year (not sure what year the DC managed lanes meet would be, but I would hope they'd either be different years or combined into a two meet weekend similar to Hampton Roads/Delmarva).  It would give me a good excuse to clinch more Philly/Baltimore/DC area interstates.

[tckma]

Oh, and there's some old concrete US 140 bits in and outside Westminster, too, that you could include!!!
iPhone

There's a stub of West Main Street that ends at a guardrail at 140 just after WMC Drive.  I'd love to know the history of that.  Probably from when MD-32 went through downtown Westminster via Main Street.  Double yellow line to what is now a dead end, and the city regularly repaints it.  Curious.

I'm not really sure what kinds of things to include either; I imagine a lot of stuff in the area has already been done at your previous meets.  I keep asking myself "is the fact that what is basically a service road off MD-27 is fully signed as MD-852 interesting enough?  What about MD-800?"

My brain is mush right now... my wife got back from South Africa yesterday; her flight was supposed to land at 6:15A but was delayed and I didn't see her until almost 9, then it was noon by the time I got home, and I was too exhausted to go to work by then.  Now I'm at work and kicking myself for not coming in yesterday because of everything that's backed up on my to-do list.  I need to wait for my head to stop spinning!

[tckma]

I wanna clarify: I mean the stub where you're forced to exit the highway at Mulberry Street. There was a pretty large stub behind some barricades complete with lighting, empty gantries, and even signs for the next exit at US 1.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

The "JFX" portion of I-83 has pretty sudden ends on both sides -- you're either suddenly downtown going southbound by the Police HQ on Fayette Street, or suddenly on MD-45 going northbound.  On a map, it doesn't look like it was ever meant to join up with the glorified I-95 exit ramp that is I-395 either.

[lepidopteran]

Count me in

[cpzilliacus]

Another worthwhile stop on a Carroll County meet could be the aluminum bridge that used to carry Md. 32 over the Patapsco River and the CSX Old mainline.  Details here in  Baltimore Sun article from 2003.

[tckma]

Another worthwhile stop on a Carroll County meet could be the aluminum bridge that used to carry Md. 32 over the Patapsco River and the CSX Old mainline.  Details here in  Baltimore Sun article from 2003.

Already thought of that -- see my original post.

[PHLBOS]

As I stated in the MD/VA thread; the main issue with me would be when will this meet take place.  The location of this one's close enough for me to do a day-trip.

[Laura]

Oh, and there's some old concrete US 140 bits in and outside Westminster, too, that you could include!!!
iPhone

There's a stub of West Main Street that ends at a guardrail at 140 just after WMC Drive.  I'd love to know the history of that.  Probably from when MD-32 went through downtown Westminster via Main Street.  Double yellow line to what is now a dead end, and the city regularly repaints it.  Curious.

I'm not really sure what kinds of things to include either; I imagine a lot of stuff in the area has already been done at your previous meets.  I keep asking myself "is the fact that what is basically a service road off MD-27 is fully signed as MD-852 interesting enough?  What about MD-800?"

Haha, I was just thinking about MD-852! That's such a strange oddity that is classic SHA right there. I mean, parts of that alignment look more like a driveway than an actual road at this point!

As for West Main Street, yep, old alignment, and the way they cut it off is so bizarre.

I wanna clarify: I mean the stub where you're forced to exit the highway at Mulberry Street. There was a pretty large stub behind some barricades complete with lighting, empty gantries, and even signs for the next exit at US 1.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

The "JFX" portion of I-83 has pretty sudden ends on both sides -- you're either suddenly downtown going southbound by the Police HQ on Fayette Street, or suddenly on MD-45 going northbound.  On a map, it doesn't look like it was ever meant to join up with the glorified I-95 exit ramp that is I-395 either.

That is correct. I-395 came later in the highway plans as a way to connect I-95 to downtown. I always forget about the northern stub - it never went past the drawing board - but if it had, it would have connected to the rest of I-83 north of Padonia Rd.

I guess you could say the southern end of the JFX is sudden...it never really felt that way to me because of the way the speed drops to 40 once you get near Penn Station and how it becomes a huge boulevard at Fayette St. But that definitely was an afterthough. Funnily enough, from what I understand, I-83 was never officially cancelled - it was more like "well, the only approved alignment would be a huge cost-prohibitive tunnel under Fells Point..." and faded into obscurity with the recession of the early 1980s. I love the viaduct because of all of the button copy, but can see where it could logistically be removed up to Guilford St (with President Street extended north to that point).

[vdeane]

I wanna clarify: I mean the stub where you're forced to exit the highway at Mulberry Street. There was a pretty large stub behind some barricades complete with lighting, empty gantries, and even signs for the next exit at US 1.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

The "JFX" portion of I-83 has pretty sudden ends on both sides -- you're either suddenly downtown going southbound by the Police HQ on Fayette Street, or suddenly on MD-45 going northbound.  On a map, it doesn't look like it was ever meant to join up with the glorified I-95 exit ramp that is I-395 either.

Do you mean MD 25?  I-83 doesn't have an interchange with MD 45 until near the Pennsylvania border.