News:

Thank you for your patience during the Forum downtime while we upgraded the software. Welcome back and see this thread for some new features and other changes to the forum.

Main Menu

Washington Post discussion item: Beltway condition

Started by cpzilliacus, March 30, 2013, 06:17:44 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

cpzilliacus

QuoteThe Capital Beltway, near the end of its lifespan, is in need of millions of dollars in repairs. Should transportation officials continue with short-term patchwork solutions or is it time for a major (and very costly, very inconvenient) overhaul?/quote]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/forums#!/topic/1364577679-394-645
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.


cpzilliacus

Washington Post: Beneath the surface, the Beltway crumbles

QuoteThe Capital Beltway, a politically iconic and locally vital highway, is dying beneath your turning wheels.

QuoteUnder the surface of all but some recently restored segments, fissures are spreading, cracks are widening and the once-solid road bed that carries about a quarter-million cars a day is turning to mush.

QuoteIn a perfect world, it would be torn up – the asphalt and concrete, and the bed of crushed stone below – right down to the bare earth. From that fresh start a new and stable highway would grow. But this is the Beltway, and closing down whole sections of it would tie one of the most congested regions in the nation into a Gordian knot.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

SP Cook

While bridges and such have a "lifespan" I am unaware of a lifespan of a paved road.   Certainly periodic repavings and such are needed, but there are plenty of roads far older than the DC Beltway.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: SP Cook on March 31, 2013, 08:36:14 AM
While bridges and such have a "lifespan" I am unaware of a lifespan of a paved road.   Certainly periodic repavings and such are needed, but there are plenty of roads far older than the DC Beltway.

Much of the original portland cement pavement (under a wearing course of asphalt) is in bad condition, and a top-to-bottom reconstruction is going to have to happen, sooner or later.

There are also a fair  number of bridges that need to be redecked.

And instead we spend  billions of dollars of tax money on train projects that help only around the margins, and the train operating deficits eat up money that could be used to for highway reconstruction.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

PHLBOS

GPS does NOT equal GOD

kj3400

It doesn't help half of it's carrying a major north south freeway, and the other half has to deal with another major north-south corridor, and that's just Maryland's side.
Call me Kenny/Kenneth. No, seriously.

cpzilliacus

#6
WTOP Radio: New Telegraph Road interchange promises to ease congestion

QuoteALEXANDRIA, Va. - Work is now finished on a new interchange at Telegraph Road, the final step in the decade-long Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project.

Quote"I can attest to the fact that this was a sorely needed project," says Secretary of Transportation Sean T. Connaugton.

Quote"For anyone who came down that old ramp, you never saw around the line of sight. You be coming off at speed and the next thing you know everyone was stopped to get onto Telegraph Road."

QuoteThe five-year, $265 million project includes 11 new bridges and flyover ramps, along with wide roads and fewer traffic lights.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

jeffandnicole

It's often overlooked that I-95 was never properly completed thru this area as well.

Everyone talks about the un-completed portion in NJ...because they didn't re-assign the I-95 route designation.  I-95 was never supposed to be assigned to half the beltway. 

agentsteel53

Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 05, 2013, 01:58:26 PM
It's often overlooked that I-95 was never properly completed thru this area as well.

Everyone talks about the un-completed portion in NJ...because they didn't re-assign the I-95 route designation.  I-95 was never supposed to be assigned to half the beltway.

the third major missing segment is through Boston.  it now follows the 9 mile ring road.
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

cpzilliacus

Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 05, 2013, 01:58:26 PM
It's often overlooked that I-95 was never properly completed thru this area as well.

Everyone talks about the un-completed portion in NJ...because they didn't re-assign the I-95 route designation.  I-95 was never supposed to be assigned to half the beltway. 

That is absolutely correct, and I know a lot of the history behind it.  Though the east  and south sides (most of which are I-95) are usually less congested than the west and the north sides, especially since the Wilson Bridge project is essentially complete after construction that started back in 1999.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.