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Truncation of I-70

Started by Duke87, May 30, 2014, 10:10:54 PM

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Duke87

This was submitted to the recent AASHTO committee: http://ballot.transportation.org/FileDownload.aspx?attachmentType=Item&ID=1166

It sounds from the description like SHA intends to downgrade I-70 inside the beltway to a two-lane road, presumably with an intersection rather than an interchange at MD 122. But other than that document I can't locate any other details about this plan. Does anyone know anything?

If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.


kj3400

I believe the plan to downgrade I-70 has to do with the Baltimore Red Line being built in that right of way, but I'm not completely sure.
Call me Kenny/Kenneth. No, seriously.


Avalanchez71

If you read the document the ramps to MD 122 will be removed and the excess pavement will be revered to forest/meadows.  This is part of a road diet plan.  It appears that they are trying to slow the traffic down.  Sounds like a bunch of commie nonsense from a senseless administration.

froggie

kj's correct...it's related to the Baltimore Red Line project.  The AASHTO application includes a copy of the plan/profile from the Red Line Final EIS for the I-70 end area.  It shows the existing I-70 park-and-ride area being removed entirely, replaced by a new, larger park-and-ride lot south of the SSA access road and west of Ingleside Ave (where the WB on-ramp from Ingleside is located).  A Red Line station will be located at the park-and-ride.  It is also true that the existing I-70/Security Blvd interchange will be replaced by an at-grade intersection.  See below for details.

As for I-70, I grabbed the plans and profile PDFs for the Final EIS off the project website:

- From the AASHTO application, the roadway replacing I-70 will still be under SHA maintenance (anyone's guess what the route number would be) and will be named "Cooks Blvd".  I'll use this name below in explaining the changes.

- Cooks Blvd will more-or-less retain the existing I-70 configuration from I-695 to a point about 1/2 mile east of the Woodlawn Dr underpass...roughly even with where Virginia Pl is south of I-70.  At that location, an at-grade intersection with access to/from 70/695 will be built, connecting directly to the SSA access road (labeled "Parallel Rd" in the plans).  No access from the new connector to Cooks Blvd to/from the east is allowed.  In this area, the Red Line will be built parallel to and immediately north of the existing roadway.

- East of the new intersection to just west of the Ingleside Ave underpass, Cooks Blvd will be rebuilt as a 3-lane divided parkway...1 lane eastbound, 2 lanes westbound.  The parkway will be built along the existing eastbound lanes.  Through this section, the Red Line gradually transitions so that it occupies the existing westbound lanes by the time the new park-and-ride mentioned above is reached.

- The Ingleside Ave underpass is retained, with Cooks Blvd on the existing eastbound lanes and the Red Line on the existing westbound lanes.

- As mentioned above, the existing I-70 park-and-ride plus the ramps to/from MD 122/Security Blvd will be completely removed.

- Cooks Blvd will be built as a 2-lane parkway from the Ingleside Ave underpass to Security Blvd.  The extra westbound lane mentioned above comes from a direct ramp from the new park-and-ride to westbound Cooks Blvd.  There will be no direct access to the new park-and-ride from either Cooks Blvd or Ingleside Ave...drivers must use the SSA access road (named "Parallel Rd") to enter the new park-and-ride.

- The existing Security Blvd/Cooks Ln/Forest Park Ave intersection will be relocated slightly west and rebuilt as a standard 4-leg intersection to incorporate Cooks Blvd.  Cooks Blvd will tie directly into Cooks Ln, while Security Blvd will be rebuilt to tie directly into Forest Park Ave at the new intersection.

- The Red Line will descend into a tunnel in this area, entering the tunnel just northwest of the new intersection mentioned above.  The Red Line will then travel through a tunnel underneath Cooks Ln towards the southeast.

Hope this clears up any confusion.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: Duke87 on May 30, 2014, 10:10:54 PM
It sounds from the description like SHA intends to downgrade I-70 inside the beltway to a two-lane road, presumably with an intersection rather than an interchange at MD 122. But other than that document I can't locate any other details about this plan. Does anyone know anything?

It's really from the Maryland Transit Administration via MDOT and SHA, and yes, they want to put the Baltimore Red Line where the westbound lanes of I-70 are now. 

IMO, this is a big mistake.  Not because there is not room for the Red Line to go where I-70 is now (there is) but because the Red Line is supposed to serve one of the biggest employment centers in the Baltimore Region, the Social Security Administration. 

Putting the Red Line on the I-70 alignment puts it a very long way from much of the SSA campus buildings. If it were my call (and obviously it is not), I would run the Red Line down Md. 122, Security Boulevard, not in the footprint of I-70.
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.

Revive 755

The design shown on Sheet 7 of plans and profile from the FEIS is certainly questionable.  There's really enough traffic to justify a double left from the new Cooks Boulevard to NB, yet not enough volume for two EB through lanes along Cooks Boulevard west of Security Boulevard?  And having a shared left-thru lane on NB Security Boulevard at Cooks Boulevard instead of a dedicated left turn lane?  Is someone trying to get sued when eventually there's a rear end crash or two?  Or does Maryland not believe in efficient traffic signal operations and wants to split phase the NB and SB movements?

froggie

QuotePutting the Red Line on the I-70 alignment puts it a very long way from much of the SSA campus buildings.

About 1000ft, versus ~400ft for a MD 122 routing.  Though none of the parking lots are on the MD 122 side, and the biggest lot is on the I-70 side, so it's a lot more even of a split for where the primary building entrances are.  Plus the SSA-related building in the NE corner of the 70/695 interchange is clearly closer to an I-70 Red Line alignment than a MD 122 alignment.

QuoteThere's really enough traffic to justify a double left from the new Cooks Boulevard to NB, yet not enough volume for two EB through lanes along Cooks Boulevard west of Security Boulevard?

Existing traffic is low enough to where you could single-lane the whole thing.  Traffic projections with the new access point suggest a lot of folks would make that double-left to access the SSA buildings given that it would be more-direct access between 70/695 and the SSA complex.

QuoteOr does Maryland not believe in efficient traffic signal operations and wants to split phase the NB and SB movements?

Maryland does a lot of split-phase in general.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: froggie on May 31, 2014, 12:09:28 AM
QuotePutting the Red Line on the I-70 alignment puts it a very long way from much of the SSA campus buildings.

About 1000ft, versus ~400ft for a MD 122 routing.  Though none of the parking lots are on the MD 122 side, and the biggest lot is on the I-70 side, so it's a lot more even of a split for where the primary building entrances are.  Plus the SSA-related building in the NE corner of the 70/695 interchange is clearly closer to an I-70 Red Line alignment than a MD 122 alignment.

Then there's the matter of the land that could (or maybe should) be developed or redeveloped along Md. 122 between the existing I-70 interchange and I-695.  One of the justifications I hear frequently is that rail transit will "induce" redeveopment and densification, yet that will likely not happen with the Red Line on the I-70 alignment. 
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.

froggie

Commercial/retail zoned land is more likely for such redevelopment.  And plenty of it surrounds the two western Red Line stations (CMS and Security Square).

Avalanchez71

So do folks not commute down I-70 to the Park and Ride?  Was that an experiment that did not meet expectations?

froggie

They do.  But not to the extent that it needs to remain an Interstate east of I-695.

Avalanchez71

So you are going to squeeze these folks from multi lanes down to two lines?

kj3400

It really isn't that much traffic. I mean, when I used it on a regular basis, you'd see maybe 3 cars going in your direction.
Call me Kenny/Kenneth. No, seriously.

Mapmikey

Quote from: Avalanchez71 on May 31, 2014, 09:50:22 PM
So do folks not commute down I-70 to the Park and Ride?  Was that an experiment that did not meet expectations?

It appears that lot only has ~250 spaces and definitely did not require an interstate for its use.

There are commuter lots in Virginia with way more spaces than that served by barely improved 2-lane secondary roads, some nowhere near anything multilane...

Mapmikey

Arkansastravelguy

From a OCD roadgeek point of view, we should be happy about this... Interstates end at interstates. At least in theory.


iPhone

Scott5114

Personally, I'll miss it. It's one of the more unique Interstate termini. I made a point to visit it on the way back from my trip to DC in 2007. My mother, who grew up near I-70 and is not really a roadgeek, was fascinated by the fact that this, of all places, was where I-70 began. (She also found Breezewood really interesting).
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

Mr_Northside

For what it's worth.... from a practical / motorists perspective, Maryland has "said" that I-70 ends at I-695 with this sign for quite some time now....

I don't have opinions anymore. All I know is that no one is better than anyone else, and everyone is the best at everything

1995hoo

Quote from: Mr_Northside on June 01, 2014, 03:12:52 PM
For what it's worth.... from a practical / motorists perspective, Maryland has "said" that I-70 ends at I-695 with this sign for quite some time now....



In terms of guidance useful to most motorists, that's probably not unreasonable.

I'm now torn on whether to try to get up there in July to drive that little piece inside I-695 (the only part of I-70 in Maryland I've never driven) or whether to say "screw it" and wait for it to be crossed off for me!
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

vdeane

Quote from: Avalanchez71 on May 31, 2014, 09:50:22 PM
So do folks not commute down I-70 to the Park and Ride?  Was that an experiment that did not meet expectations?
It's not that I-70 was extended to the Park and Ride as an experiment but rather that the Park and Ride was put I-70's stub after the remainder of the freeway was NIMBYed out of future plans.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

seicer

Quote from: Avalanchez71 on May 30, 2014, 11:19:39 PM
If you read the document the ramps to MD 122 will be removed and the excess pavement will be revered to forest/meadows.  This is part of a road diet plan.  It appears that they are trying to slow the traffic down.  Sounds like a bunch of commie nonsense from a senseless administration.

We got a jackass comment of the month!

Really? This is Communist because it's removing a section of highway that will never be extended east - which would destroy countless neighborhoods via eminent domain (that's not capitalism) and is no longer justifiable due to its extreme cost?

All this is doing is removing an underused section of highway that sees little traffic. It drops from 97,173 west of the beltway to just 30,121 east of it - dipping to just 17,101 at the park-and-ride lot. The park-and-ride lot is being moved so that it can serve highway commuters who will be able to pick up the Red Line to downtown and other points.

Of course, a 23 member commission - all independent, began studies back in 2001. There were countless public meetings held - which you most likely did not attend any of, and those discussions about the removal or modification of just 1.5 miles of highway pavement that is in areas one lane already.

Alex

Well it surely means the end of this remaining sign relic. Get a photo while you can:



Quote from: Mr_Northside on June 01, 2014, 03:12:52 PM
For what it's worth.... from a practical / motorists perspective, Maryland has "said" that I-70 ends at I-695 with this sign for quite some time now....



First noted that sign in 2000, so this truncation is a long time coming...

Henry

Finally, something is being done about it! Too bad it had to come down to this, but that routing was just bad luck for the most part. I could see why they didn't want to trace the entire route of US 40 into the city because it runs through dense commercial and residential areas, but I never liked the fact that its proposed routing would have wiped out an entire city park, which, along with NIMBYism in the inner-city areas, caused its ultimate doom.

Still, it will be interesting what number the new Cooks Boulevard gets, if at all. I'd call it MD 666, but then there'd be the fear of sign theft, so if it were up to me, I'd just sign it as MD 970 and be done with it.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

Alps

Other Park and Rides on freeway ROW: I-95 north of DC, NY 440 south of... NY 440 (Richmond Pkwy.), former end of I-370 MD, and a partially built interchange along NJ 15. It's a big parking lot, and it's going to see most of its traffic during the AM and PM peaks. The AADT says about 9,000 vehicles each way into the Park and Ride - I would figure at least 5,000 of them during the three peak hours. Given that, I would rather see a 1/1/1 with reversible center lane than a fixed 2/1, though I understand what's going on here (PM traffic tends to leave around the same time, and you don't want to back them up into the Park and Ride lot should something happen).
The only other point I'll raise is - why demolish the existing bridges? Take out I-70 WB, but just run two-way traffic EB. You can use the existing ramps with some minor modifications to create intersections along MD 970 (that is the number I am making up) that will connect down to Security Blvd.

If it becomes 970, I want a cookie.

ixnay

#24
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 01, 2014, 02:11:02 PM
Personally, I'll miss it. It's one of the more unique Interstate termini.

I'll miss it too.  I used that stretch in 1994 when my employer sent me to the Baltimore area for training, putting me up at the Holiday Inn (now Best Western) near Security Square Mall.

ixnay
The Washington/Baltimore/Arlington CSA has two Key Bridges, a Minnesota Avenue, and a Mannasota Avenue.



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