AARoads Forum

QuoteTwo beams on the southbound Interstate 95 bridge spanning the Baltimore Beltway will need to be replaced following Monday afternoon's crash involving an oversized piece of construction equipment.

QuoteEngineers conducted structural tests overnight and determined that two of three beams over the shoulder of the interstate were damaged by the arm of an excavator being hauled from a nearby construction site, said David Buck, spokesman for the State Highway Administration.

Quote from: PAHighways on May 25, 2011, 06:37:11 PM
MD 32 moves pretty well for a two-laners between MD 108 and I-70, more so now that SHA has eliminated the signals at Burntwoods and Pfefferkorn Roads.

QuoteNew, higher tolls on the Bay Bridge netted the state about $739,000 more last month than during the same month in 2010, according to preliminary statistics released by the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 13, 2011, 02:38:13 PM
I recall reading someplace that this section of 32 has the highest ADT or AADT or AAWDT of any two-lane undivided road in Maryland.  

Quote from: MDRoads on December 28, 2011, 08:54:34 PM
The 2010 AADT for 2-lane MD 32 in Howard Co. was 27,440 south of the new Burnt Woods interchange to MD 108 in Clarksville, and 23,920 up from there to I-70.  It's higher north of the I-70 interchange toward Sykesville, increasing to 24,320.  Would have to think (for now undivided) MD 404 has that beat somehow on AAWDT in summer.

QuoteFive state-owned toll bridges will be getting an $11 million security upgrade, including new lighting, sensors to detect stopped vehicles and cameras to peer above and below the spans.

QuoteWork on the bridges – Bay, Key, Nice, Tydings and Hatem – is expected to begin in late winter and take 18 months. The contract went to SAIC, a Virginia company with offices in Laurel, said Maryland Transportation Authority spokeswoman Teri Moss.

Quote from: 1995hoo on January 19, 2012, 09:15:25 AM
WTOP reports that Maryland may consider whether to create shoulder lanes on I-270 between Frederick and the northern end of the HOV lanes, presumably in a similar style to those on I-66. (http://www.wtop.com/?nid=70&sid=2712537)

I assume if they did that they'd probably decrease the current 65-mph speed limit to 55 mph.

Quote from: 1995hoo on January 19, 2012, 11:47:30 AM
Agreed. I don't like the shoulder lanes on I-66 either, though I will concede that as a general matter they've worked better there than the ones on I-95 did (no doubt due in no small part to the use of lane-control signals on I-66, compared to their reliance on white regulatory signs on I-95). Still way too many people driving in them illegally, and even when they're used properly, you still have a problem with relying on the "emergency pull-off" areas for breakdowns. Cars do not necessarily break down only at the designated spots.

Quote"mtantillo" of this forum has noted in the past that the FHWA originally gave Virginia approval for the shoulder lanes as a temporary measure pending real improvements. That's obviously turned into an indefinite kind of thing, as just about anyone can recognize that trying to take away that sort of "lane" without providing a replacement will simply not work because the driving public won't accept it.

QuoteMaryland has taken the first step toward replacing its two travel plazas on Interstate 95 north of Baltimore with expansive, airy welcome centers filled with amenities and operated by a company with years of experience serving travelers.

QuoteThe two-year, $56 million project to rebuild Maryland House and Chesapeake House as a public-private partnership with Areas USA was approved Monday by the Maryland Transportation Authority board. The deal requires the approval of the Board of Public Works next month and review by the General Assembly.

QuoteThe state would retain ownership and oversight of the plazas, while Areas USA would operate and maintain them through 2047. Areas USA would put up the $56 million, while the state estimates it would receive more than $400 million in revenue over the life of the contract.

Quote from: froggie on January 24, 2012, 01:44:48 PM
At that price, I don't imagine it would include replacing the current left-exits/entrances with right-side exits/entrances.

QuoteThe board of directors of Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) operator of the I-95 Kennedy Highway Toll Road has approved signing of a 35 year concession on its two service plazas. The selected concessionaire Areas USA is a local subsidiary of a large established international company Grupo Areas SA head-officed in Barcelona Spain with major food concessions in 70 airports and 160 other toll and travel service plazas mostly in Europe and Latin America.

QuoteAreas USA is doing eight service plazas on Florida's Turnpike and major food/refreshment concessions at eleven US airports including Los Angeles, Atlanta and Boston.

QuoteMaryland Gov. Martin O'Malley on Monday revealed the first details of his highly anticipated proposal to raise the gas tax, saying he thinks the "best option"  would be to phase in a 6 percent sales tax, effectively raising the price of gasoline in Maryland about 7 cents per year for the next three years.

QuoteThe sales tax would be increased in increments of 2 percent annually, meaning if gas prices remained constant, the combined tax increase would be 21 cents per gallon. The tax would rise and fall proportionally to the price of gas.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 30, 2012, 03:41:08 PM
is this sales tax to go into the state's general coffers, or will it be used for road work?

Quote from: treichard on February 22, 2012, 04:43:05 PM
I'd like to see a B-W Pkwy. study that looked at interchange improvements, such as these, where the interchange configuration serves as a source of congestion:

1. Solve the weaving problem SB between the MD 193 and I-495 interchanges due to the closely spaced interchanges.  Traffic merging on from MD 193 conflicts with traffic exiting onto I-495 WB.  The situation NB isn't much better.

Quote2. Solve the northbound evening rush hour back-up  at the Powder Mill Rd. interchange from merging traffic.  Just a half-mile ahead, a 3rd lane begins quite early for all the Laurel traffic exiting onto MD 197.  I'd like to see if the benefit of connecting the Powder Mill Rd. on-ramp to the MD 197 off-ramp as a 3rd NB lane would justify the cost.  It'd give merging/exiting traffic about a whole mile to safely merge, perhaps at freeway speeds instead of at the current, near stand-still.  On the surface, this looks like a high-benefit/low-cost solution.  There is a similar but less severe problem southbound during the morning rush hour.

Quote3. Solve the back-ups at the MD 32 and I-695 interchanges, which are each old-style cloverleaves that trigger back-ups from the weaving problem at the loop ramp connections to the through lanes. A modern (though expensive) freeway-freeway interchange might solve or alleviate these problem spots.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 15, 2012, 11:01:48 PM
Baltimore Sun: I-95 plaza bidder prompts questions - Fla. work reported late; losing Md. competitors complain (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-bz-travel-plaza-contract-areas-20120214,0,6797371.story)

Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 30, 2012, 03:41:08 PM
is this sales tax to go into the state's general coffers, or will it be used for road work?

Quote from: MASTERNC on February 24, 2012, 11:23:44 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 15, 2012, 11:01:48 PM
Baltimore Sun: I-95 plaza bidder prompts questions - Fla. work reported late; losing Md. competitors complain (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-bz-travel-plaza-contract-areas-20120214,0,6797371.story)

I hope HMSHost doesn't end up winning this bid.  They have a near monopoly on the service plazas in the Northeast and it always seems they have the same restaurants.  The variety that Areas USA offered was refreshing.

Quote from: MDRoads on February 25, 2012, 10:21:38 AM

Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 30, 2012, 03:41:08 PM
is this sales tax to go into the state's general coffers, or will it be used for road work?

Some lawmakers want a guarantee that it will go to road work, but such promises are made to be broken.

QuoteSpending motor fuel tax money on projects that do not benefit highway users

Quote from: froggie on February 26, 2012, 12:35:40 PM

QuoteSpending motor fuel tax money on projects that do not benefit highway users

Do tell how you feel they won't benefit highway users...

Quote from: Steve on May 22, 2011, 12:10:09 AM
Not only that, but it seems fairly well used. Wouldn't you rather use a free-flow loop than a left turn with conflict?

QuoteKentucky spent TEA-21 funds on a museum a few years ago.

Quote from: froggie on February 26, 2012, 12:35:40 PM

QuoteSpending motor fuel tax money on projects that do not benefit highway users

Do tell how you feel they won't benefit highway users...

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 26, 2012, 03:19:38 PM
It has not especially increased trips by transit, but it did very effectively take riders that used to ride transit buses and put them on trains. 

It also appears to have removed a lot of people from car-pools and put them on trains. 

Quote from: NE2 on February 26, 2012, 03:55:53 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 26, 2012, 03:19:38 PM
It has not especially increased trips by transit, but it did very effectively take riders that used to ride transit buses and put them on trains. 

It also appears to have removed a lot of people from car-pools and put them on trains. 

So it clearly benefited highway users, e.g. those in buses and carpools.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 27, 2012, 10:57:07 AM

Quote from: NE2 on February 26, 2012, 03:55:53 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 26, 2012, 03:19:38 PM
It has not especially increased trips by transit, but it did very effectively take riders that used to ride transit buses and put them on trains. 

It also appears to have removed a lot of people from car-pools and put them on trains. 

So it clearly benefited highway users, e.g. those in buses and carpools.

No.

The selling point of Metrorail (in the 1960's through 1980's) was street and highway traffic congestion relief, and the way to get that with transit is to get people in single-occupant vehicles to park their cars and take transit.

Moving people from buses (many of them were express buses), car-pools and van-pools to rail did not provide any congestion relief.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 29, 2012, 09:18:38 AM
I've heard of (and even seen) a few sinkholes in some Maryland counties.

Frederick County, which sits on so-called Karst topography is notorious for sinkholes (including at least one that led to a temporary closure of half of I-70).

But I have never heard of a sinkhole in Prince George's County before.  This one happened on Md. 450 (Annapolis Road) near the so-called Peace Cross monument in the Town of Bladensburg at U.S. 1 Alternate.

QuoteThe repairs include fixing a valve and the 12-inch main, Hudson says.

He says the sinkhole highlights the problem of having to repair aging and failing pipes, rather than replacing them.

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 29, 2012, 09:52:14 AM
WTOP reports that Maryland is seriously considering putting enforcement cameras on school buses to catch the people who ignore the flashing red lights (http://www.wtop.com/?nid=654&sid=2765633).

I'm conflicted on that, although it wouldn't affect me because I always stop for school buses. I don't like automated enforcement and cameras. I think once you allow them for any purpose, the lawmakers will expand them to cover everything (as we're seeing in Maryland with the proliferation of speed cameras now leading to the school bus enforcement). On the other hand, I can't see any justification for blowing past a school bus whose red lights are flashing, assuming of course there's no median separating you from the bus. So I find it hard to sympathize with anyone who might get nailed by these hypothetical cameras.

Quote from: hbelkins on March 01, 2012, 11:02:00 AM

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 29, 2012, 09:52:14 AM
WTOP reports that Maryland is seriously considering putting enforcement cameras on school buses to catch the people who ignore the flashing red lights (http://www.wtop.com/?nid=654&sid=2765633).

I'm conflicted on that, although it wouldn't affect me because I always stop for school buses. I don't like automated enforcement and cameras. I think once you allow them for any purpose, the lawmakers will expand them to cover everything (as we're seeing in Maryland with the proliferation of speed cameras now leading to the school bus enforcement). On the other hand, I can't see any justification for blowing past a school bus whose red lights are flashing, assuming of course there's no median separating you from the bus. So I find it hard to sympathize with anyone who might get nailed by these hypothetical cameras.

Haven't read the link, but these wouldn't need to be automated cameras like speeding and red light cameras, would they? They could just be a consumer quality video camera (like many of us shoot road videos with) that could provide video evidence to support a citation.

QuoteLegislation has been passed in Maryland that allows for automated cameras to be placed on the outside of school buses. Those cameras snap pictures of the license plates of vehicles that pass by school bus stop signs, and the driver can be sent a ticket in the mail. The automated ticketing process works the same way as red-light and speed cameras.

The state bill requires individual counties to approve the bill on their own to set up the program. A majority of Montgomery County councilmembers have already expressed support for the system, and it is expected to be fully approved in the coming weeks.

Quote from: hbelkins on March 01, 2012, 11:02:00 AM

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 29, 2012, 09:52:14 AM
WTOP reports that Maryland is seriously considering putting enforcement cameras on school buses to catch the people who ignore the flashing red lights (http://www.wtop.com/?nid=654&sid=2765633).

I'm conflicted on that, although it wouldn't affect me because I always stop for school buses. I don't like automated enforcement and cameras. I think once you allow them for any purpose, the lawmakers will expand them to cover everything (as we're seeing in Maryland with the proliferation of speed cameras now leading to the school bus enforcement). On the other hand, I can't see any justification for blowing past a school bus whose red lights are flashing, assuming of course there's no median separating you from the bus. So I find it hard to sympathize with anyone who might get nailed by these hypothetical cameras.

Haven't read the link, but these wouldn't need to be automated cameras like speeding and red light cameras, would they? They could just be a consumer quality video camera (like many of us shoot road videos with) that could provide video evidence to support a citation.

Quote from: bsmart on March 02, 2012, 07:03:34 AM
I believe the review process will take care of false positives such as you mentioned.  The median or barrier would be visible in the photo and the reviewing officer should not send the ticket out.  If the ticket is sent out the photo that goes along with it will provide proof when the defendant fights the ticket.

QuoteA Montgomery County circuit judge cleared the way Friday for the state Board of Public Works to vote next week on a half-billion-dollar contract to rebuild and operate the two Interstate 95 travel plazas north of Baltimore.

QuoteJudge Eric Johnson lifted the restraining order he issued nearly two weeks ago, saying state case law did not allow him to interfere with the board's constitutional authority to act on the contract, which is expected to be awarded to Miami-based Areas USA.

QuoteBut he delayed ruling on a motion by the Maryland Transportation Authority and Areas to move the case to Circuit Court in Baltimore, where the majority of the defendants have offices and where all of the bid evaluation work took place.

QuoteThe state Board of Public Works approved a half-billion-dollar contract on Wednesday to replace the two travel plazas on Interstate 95 north of Baltimore over the objection of a losing bidder that has vowed a legal battle to stop the deal.

QuoteBy a 2-1 vote, with Comptroller Peter Franchot opposed, the board awarded Miami-based Areas USA the 35-year contract to replace and operate Chesapeake House in Cecil County and Maryland House in Harford County. Areas will take over operation of the plazas – two of the nation's busiest – in September, with construction to begin almost immediately.

Quote"We are pleased that we prevailed and look forward to getting started and giving the people of Maryland travel areas that are welcoming gateways and that they can be proud of," said Xavier Rabell, CEO of Areas USA.

QuoteBut executives at HMSHost, based in Bethesda and operator of the plazas since 1987, contend the bidding process was illegal and biased. They say they will file suit in Baltimore Circuit Court seeking to get the vote overturned and the project rebid.

QuoteMaryland may eventually do away with tollbooths on the state's highways, bridges and tunnels and switch to electronic toll collection.

QuoteA preliminary report by the Maryland Transportation Authority concluded that converting its seven toll plazas is feasible but would cost as much as $180 million.

QuoteTransportation officials initiated the study as they look for long-term savings and ways to reduce travel time and increase highway safety.

Quote"It's something we're interested in doing. It's something the industry is moving toward. But it's complicated and we're in the earliest stages," said Harold Bartlett, the transportation authority's executive secretary.

QuoteMaryland seems likely to take a gradual, facility-by-facility approach going toward all-electronic tolling (AET). The state tolling agency Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) already has one AET facility - the Inter County Connector (MD200) an 18 mile, 29km long 8-interchange facility whose AET toll system has worked apparently flawlessly since it opened to traffic, the first stretch a year ago, the rest late 2011. There are always issues being worked by technical staff but no problems reaching public attention have surfaced.

QuoteAnother all-electronic toll project on the way is express toll lanes on I-95 from the I-95/895 split north of the two Baltimore harbor tunnels through the rebuilt Beltway I-695 interchange to Ikea.

QuoteBut the seven older toll facilities are mostly slow-speed single lane E-ZPass and cash lanes. At the Key Bridge and McHenry Tunnels they have left lanes wider and marked off as higher speed E-ZPass Only lanes, posted for 30mph. And on I-95 at the Susquehanna River toll point the left E-ZPass-only toll lane is marked off with a solid line, and is treated by motorists as a higher speed toll lane.

QuoteBut no real open road toll lanes alongside cash.

QuoteHarold Bartlett, chief executive told us they're only part way through an AET Conversion and Prioritization Study for the seven mixed toll collection facilities - consultants are RK&K, URS - but they put together some preliminary thoughts recently at the request of people in the state General Assembly.

QuoteMaryland's top transportation priority should be a $5.8 billion project to widen the entire Capital Beltway, from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to the American Legion Bridge, a leading national transportation group said Wednesday.

Quote from: froggie on April 05, 2012, 07:47:45 AM
In my experience (because I commute on it), the southeast side of the Beltway doesn't need widening.  From Landover to Oxon Hill, the only time the Beltway gets bad is when there's a major crash.

Quote from: Beltway on April 05, 2012, 10:40:29 AM

Quote from: froggie on April 05, 2012, 07:47:45 AM
In my experience (because I commute on it), the southeast side of the Beltway doesn't need widening.  From Landover to Oxon Hill, the only time the Beltway gets bad is when there's a major crash.

Maybe not today, but looking at a 20 year design year, it could be widened by adding a 5th inner lane each way and making it a managed lane.  That would match the WWB inner lanes which are reserved for future transit, and VA would need to do similar widening to connect to managed lanes at Springfield.  Express bus and HOV would be a much better use of WWB transit than any form of rail, IMHO.  Rail would be overkill for that corridor and HOV/busway would be much more flexible in that the express buses could seamlessly access local roads as well.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on April 07, 2012, 03:37:05 PM

Quote from: Beltway on April 05, 2012, 10:40:29 AM

Quote from: froggie on April 05, 2012, 07:47:45 AM
In my experience (because I commute on it), the southeast side of the Beltway doesn't need widening.  From Landover to Oxon Hill, the only time the Beltway gets bad is when there's a major crash.

Maybe not today, but looking at a 20 year design year, it could be widened by adding a 5th inner lane each way and making it a managed lane.  That would match the WWB inner lanes which are reserved for future transit, and VA would need to do similar widening to connect to managed lanes at Springfield.  Express bus and HOV would be a much better use of WWB transit than any form of rail, IMHO.  Rail would be overkill for that corridor and HOV/busway would be much more flexible in that the express buses could seamlessly access local roads as well.

Managed lanes are fine, but I have come to harbor an intense dislike of single managed lanes, for a variety of operational reasons.  

In most cases, there should be two managed lanes if traffic warrants one such lane (exceptions for lanes that are bus-only, like the contraflow bus lanes approach to the Lincoln Tunnel from New Jersey).

QuoteIs it a coincidence? The closure of one lane in each direction on the Jones Falls Expressway begins on Friday the 13th.

QuoteAt 7 p.m., to be precise.

QuoteThe lanes will be closed near 29th St. and Druid Lake Drive to permit repairs to damaged drainage pipes under the expressway, said the Baltimore Department of Transportation, which expects the project to take as many as eight weeks.

Quote"The remaining two lanes in each direction will not provide sufficient capacity to accommodate traffic demand and, accordingly, severe congestion will result unless there is a significant traffic diversion," the department said in a statement.

Quote from: Beltway on April 07, 2012, 09:01:41 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on April 07, 2012, 03:37:05 PM

Quote from: Beltway on April 05, 2012, 10:40:29 AM

Quote from: froggie on April 05, 2012, 07:47:45 AM
In my experience (because I commute on it), the southeast side of the Beltway doesn't need widening.  From Landover to Oxon Hill, the only time the Beltway gets bad is when there's a major crash.

Maybe not today, but looking at a 20 year design year, it could be widened by adding a 5th inner lane each way and making it a managed lane.  That would match the WWB inner lanes which are reserved for future transit, and VA would need to do similar widening to connect to managed lanes at Springfield.  Express bus and HOV would be a much better use of WWB transit than any form of rail, IMHO.  Rail would be overkill for that corridor and HOV/busway would be much more flexible in that the express buses could seamlessly access local roads as well.

Managed lanes are fine, but I have come to harbor an intense dislike of single managed lanes, for a variety of operational reasons. 

In most cases, there should be two managed lanes if traffic warrants one such lane (exceptions for lanes that are bus-only, like the contraflow bus lanes approach to the Lincoln Tunnel from New Jersey).

Managed lanes across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge will be limited to one lane each way, as that is they way that the new WWB design was approved.

QuoteThe inner lane on each WWB express roadway is reserved for either HOV/busway or rail transit.  Those inner lanes were built on the land portions of the 7.5 mile long WWB project as well.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on April 12, 2012, 08:02:48 PM

Quote from: Beltway on April 07, 2012, 09:01:41 PM
The inner lane on each WWB express roadway is reserved for either HOV/busway or rail transit.  Those inner lanes were built on the land portions of the 7.5 mile long WWB project as well.

Correct.  

But without barrier separation, I have come to the conclusion that concurrent-flow managed lanes don't serve their users very well.  

Quote from: cpzilliacus on April 12, 2012, 08:02:48 PM
....

That is correct.  And even if they are put to use as managed lanes, they will probably work well, since there's not much recurring congestion there any longer. 

This morning being an exception, when a crash on the 11th Street Bridge (I-695 over the Anacostia River) took a very long time for District of Columbia officials to resolve, backing up traffic all the way south on I-295 to the Capital Beltway, and congesting the Outer Loop of the Beltway (I-95 N) as far west [south] as Va. 613 (S. Van Dorn Street) and the Inner Loop (I-95 S) as far east [north] as Md. 414 (St. Barnabas Road).

....

Quote from: 1995hoo on April 13, 2012, 08:57:49 AM
Which, to be fair, is not something you can chalk up to the design of the Beltway or the Wilson Bridge.

QuoteThe single lane wood decked Oldtown Bridge brings in about $100,000/year in tolls on about 200,000 tolled vehicle crossings a year (530/day average).

Quote from: algorerhythms on April 20, 2012, 12:11:02 AM

QuoteThe single lane wood decked Oldtown Bridge brings in about $100,000/year in tolls on about 200,000 tolled vehicle crossings a year (530/day average).

I was a bit surprised to find out that bridge got that much traffic. Oldtown is a very small town, but I guess it makes sense since the nearest crossing is about 30 miles away. I've crossed that bridge several times (my sister used to live in Green Spring).

Quote from: cpzilliacus on April 12, 2012, 07:55:40 PM
Baltimore Sun on the impending partial closure of I-83 (Jones Falls Expressway)
in Baltimore City: JFX jammed? Try these alternate routes to downtown (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-jfx-alternate-routes-20120412-5,0,4211602.story)

QuoteIs it a coincidence? The closure of one lane in each direction on the Jones Falls Expressway begins on Friday the 13th.

QuoteAt 7 p.m., to be precise.

QuoteThe lanes will be closed near 29th St. and Druid Lake Drive to permit repairs to damaged drainage pipes under the expressway, said the Baltimore Department of Transportation, which expects the project to take as many as eight weeks.

Quote"The remaining two lanes in each direction will not provide sufficient capacity to accommodate traffic demand and, accordingly, severe congestion will result unless there is a significant traffic diversion," the department said in a statement.

Quote from: 1995hoo on May 01, 2012, 06:12:18 PM
The Washington Post's Dr. Gridlock reports Maryland is building a DDI at the BW Parkway junction with Arundel Mills Boulevard (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/post/new-interchange-underway-on-bw-parkway-near-arundel-mills-casino/2012/05/01/gIQAopptuT_blog.html).

QuoteThe first of the travel season's "go early, go late" advisories for the Bay Bridge is in effect this weekend as thousands of visitors head for Springfest 2012 in Ocean City.

QuoteThe Maryland Transportation Authority said motorists should avoid high traffic volume Thursday through Sunday by traveling to the annual spring block party during off-peak hours. If eastbound traffic conditions warrant it, the westbound span will operate with two-way traffic.

QuoteWith the clock ticking toward Thursday afternoon rush hour, state crews raced to right a tractor-trailer truck and clear the debris that closed all four lanes of the inner loop of Interstate 695 near U.S. 1.

QuoteThe truck was drained of fuel and hitched to a tow truck, and all lanes were open just 2 1/2 hours after the accident happened, the State Highway Administration said.

QuoteThe flat-bed truck, hauling pipes and lumber, tipped over and landed on the driver's side at 12:48 p.m., according to State Police spokesman Greg Shipley. A preliminary investigation indicated that the truck may have been going too fast as it entered the inner loop from the Washington Boulevard eastbound ramp, he said.

QuoteJust after dawn Tuesday, law enforcement officers began yanking hundreds of trucks off the Capital Beltway and funneling them to an inspection lot a long touchdown pass from FedEx Field.

QuoteThe truck-safety dragnet pulled over 420 rigs and resulted in 12 drivers and 87 vehicles being taken off the road. Offenses ranged from falsified log books and drivers spending too many hours behind the wheel to bad tires and defective brakes.

Quote"Within an hour, drivers from Maine to Florida will know we're out here," said State Police Capt. Norman Dofflemyer as the first truck pulled into a makeshift inspection lane at 7:24 a.m. "They get on the radio and on their phones. News travels fast."

Quote from: froggie on May 14, 2012, 10:12:06 AM
I wonder how many of them detoured over to the west side of the Beltway as a result...

Quote from: froggie on May 20, 2012, 10:18:29 PM
The median barrier is only in the immediate vicinity of the Greenbelt Rd interchange...there's only about 400ft or so of the metal barrier shown in some of the TV photos.  So it's quite possible (and likely) that the driver who crossed over wound up doing so just north of where the median barrier ends.

QuoteA 28-year-old Pennsylvania man charged with taking pictures of children in bathroom rest stops along Interstate 95 in Maryland has been indicted by a federal grand jury and ordered detained by a judge in Philadelphia.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 21, 2012, 09:57:05 PM
Baltimore Sun: Banned Md. vanity plates include HEROIN; SUX2BU allowed (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/sun-investigates/bs-md-vanity-tags-20120521,0,3268796.story)

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 15, 2012, 01:42:13 PM
Baltimore Sun: Man charged with photographing children in rest stop bathrooms indicted federally (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bal-man-charged-with-photographing-children-in-rest-stop-bathrooms-indicted-federally-20120614,0,2217182.story)

QuoteA 28-year-old Pennsylvania man charged with taking pictures of children in bathroom rest stops along Interstate 95 in Maryland has been indicted by a federal grand jury and ordered detained by a judge in Philadelphia.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 15, 2012, 02:18:06 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 15, 2012, 01:42:13 PM
Baltimore Sun: Man charged with photographing children in rest stop bathrooms indicted federally (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bal-man-charged-with-photographing-children-in-rest-stop-bathrooms-indicted-federally-20120614,0,2217182.story)

QuoteA 28-year-old Pennsylvania man charged with taking pictures of children in bathroom rest stops along Interstate 95 in Maryland has been indicted by a federal grand jury and ordered detained by a judge in Philadelphia.

a brief glance at that mug shot made me think the dude's name was "Barack M. JFK", which I wouldn't put past some of the more wacky ones.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 17, 2012, 09:19:20 PMWrong way fatal: 'There are so many ways to ask "what the fuck is wrong with you people"'

Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 18, 2012, 10:52:14 AM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 17, 2012, 09:19:20 PMWrong way fatal: 'There are so many ways to ask "what the fuck is wrong with you people"'

Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 18, 2012, 01:52:28 PM
still, though ... the logistics of entering a freeway the wrong way are quite impressive.  you go down a ramp and then you are suddenly expected to merge right ... and there's another carriageway to the right of you?

if this doesn't instantly feel viscerally wrong, you should not be driving.

QuoteTraffic on the Bay and Key bridges will be temporarily stopped Wednesday afternoon as tugboats push a cargo ship carrying four massive cranes beneath the spans on the way to the port of Baltimore, the Maryland Transportation Authority said Monday.

QuoteCoast Guard and state transportation officials were concerned that motorists would become distracted by the sight of the 14-story-tall cranes approaching the bridges and stop to gawk or cause an accident. The cranes stand 178 feet high. The Bay Bridge clearance is 182 feet and the Key Bridge's is 185 feet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 18, 2012, 10:24:50 PM
Baltimore Sun: people are fucking stupid (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-bridges-shut-20120618,0,1985701.story)

QuoteCoast Guard and state transportation officials were concerned that motorists would become distracted by the sight of the 14-story-tall cranes approaching the bridges and stop to gawk or cause an accident.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 19, 2012, 10:55:37 AM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 18, 2012, 10:24:50 PM
Baltimore Sun: people are fucking stupid (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-bridges-shut-20120618,0,1985701.story)

QuoteCoast Guard and state transportation officials were concerned that motorists would become distracted by the sight of the 14-story-tall cranes approaching the bridges and stop to gawk or cause an accident.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 19, 2012, 10:55:37 AM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 18, 2012, 10:24:50 PM
Baltimore Sun: people are fucking stupid (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-bridges-shut-20120618,0,1985701.story)

QuoteCoast Guard and state transportation officials were concerned that motorists would become distracted by the sight of the 14-story-tall cranes approaching the bridges and stop to gawk or cause an accident.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 19, 2012, 07:39:12 PM
I have no problem with an intelligent observer deciding to sit down at a favorable vantage point.  but for the people who do not want to look, the road should remain open so that they may proceed at their convenience.

Quote from: 1995hoo on June 21, 2012, 10:58:34 PM

Problem is, when you already have so many signs up and people miss them, what else can you do? Maybe post another round of "DO NOT ENTER" signs further along the ramp where it "narrows" (from the wrong-way driver's perspective), perhaps with a new sign like "TURN AROUND NOW!!!!!"?

Quote from: 1995hoo on June 21, 2012, 10:58:34 PM
Regarding the "wrong-way drivers" discussion on Page 4:

I nearly had a head-on collision exiting I-75 in Venice, Florida, on Sunday. Took Exit 193 (Jacaranda Boulevard) and was coming down the ramp only to find an elderly couple coming the other way up the off-ramp. Scared the shit out of me, but thankfully it was a multiple-lane ramp and I was able to avoid them. Blasting the horn insanely and flashing my lights umpteen times failed to get his attention.....thankfully, I saw in the rearview that they suddenly came to their senses when the car behind us came right at them, as they cut a U-turn.

QuoteObviously I didn't get to see where they were coming from to wind up on the ramp, but I noted that there was no shortage of "DO NOT ENTER" and "WRONG WAY" and "No Left/Right Turn" signs. We concluded that they were probably just oblivious elderly people and that it was very lucky they turned around when they did....traffic on I-75 was heavy enough, and fast enough, that a head-on wreck would have happened almost instantly since the road is under construction through there (widening project).

QuoteProblem is, when you already have so many signs up and people miss them, what else can you do? Maybe post another round of "DO NOT ENTER" signs further along the ramp where it "narrows" (from the wrong-way driver's perspective), perhaps with a new sign like "TURN AROUND NOW!!!!!"?

QuoteState Highway Administration officials abruptly closed around noon Tuesday the state Route 313 bridge over Marshyhope Creek in Federalsburg because of deterioration.

QuoteDavid Buck, a spokesman for SHA, said the bridge will most likely be closed until October. Until then, passenger cars and light trucks will be detoured through town, but large vehicles and tractor-trailers will be detoured to Hurlock, due to the sharp turns on narrow town streets, he said.

QuoteThe bridge is undergoing a $2.3 million renovation, including a fresh coat of paint and a new deck, or driving surface.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 27, 2012, 09:30:51 PM
The Star Democrat, Easton, Md.: Deterioration closes Federalsburg bridge (http://www.stardem.com/news/local_news/article_e22c21e8-c007-11e1-b1b3-0019bb2963f4.html)

QuoteState Highway Administration officials abruptly closed around noon Tuesday the state Route 313 bridge over Marshyhope Creek in Federalsburg because of deterioration.

QuoteDavid Buck, a spokesman for SHA, said the bridge will most likely be closed until October. Until then, passenger cars and light trucks will be detoured through town, but large vehicles and tractor-trailers will be detoured to Hurlock, due to the sharp turns on narrow town streets, he said.

QuoteThe bridge is undergoing a $2.3 million renovation, including a fresh coat of paint and a new deck, or driving surface.

Quote from: Steve on June 27, 2012, 11:39:48 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 27, 2012, 09:30:51 PM
The Star Democrat, Easton, Md.: Deterioration closes Federalsburg bridge (http://www.stardem.com/news/local_news/article_e22c21e8-c007-11e1-b1b3-0019bb2963f4.html)

QuoteState Highway Administration officials abruptly closed around noon Tuesday the state Route 313 bridge over Marshyhope Creek in Federalsburg because of deterioration.

QuoteDavid Buck, a spokesman for SHA, said the bridge will most likely be closed until October. Until then, passenger cars and light trucks will be detoured through town, but large vehicles and tractor-trailers will be detoured to Hurlock, due to the sharp turns on narrow town streets, he said.

QuoteThe bridge is undergoing a $2.3 million renovation, including a fresh coat of paint and a new deck, or driving surface.

Wonder if that's the main creek to the south or one of the branches to the northwest? I thought the bypass would be new enough to avoid an issue like this.

Quote from: Beltway on June 28, 2012, 06:22:04 AM

Quote from: Steve on June 27, 2012, 11:39:48 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 27, 2012, 09:30:51 PM
The Star Democrat, Easton, Md.: Deterioration closes Federalsburg bridge (http://www.stardem.com/news/local_news/article_e22c21e8-c007-11e1-b1b3-0019bb2963f4.html)

QuoteState Highway Administration officials abruptly closed around noon Tuesday the state Route 313 bridge over Marshyhope Creek in Federalsburg because of deterioration.

QuoteDavid Buck, a spokesman for SHA, said the bridge will most likely be closed until October. Until then, passenger cars and light trucks will be detoured through town, but large vehicles and tractor-trailers will be detoured to Hurlock, due to the sharp turns on narrow town streets, he said.

QuoteThe bridge is undergoing a $2.3 million renovation, including a fresh coat of paint and a new deck, or driving surface.

Wonder if that's the main creek to the south or one of the branches to the northwest? I thought the bypass would be new enough to avoid an issue like this.

The Federalsburg bypass was built in the late 1960s.  That is plenty old enough to need a project like this.

QuotePennsylvania State Police say that the northbound lanes of Interstate 83 from the Maryland line to the Shrewsbury exit in York County have been reopened to traffic. The highway was shutdown for about 90 minutes this afternoon while haz mat crews cleaned up an estimated 100 gallons of spill diesel fuel. A tractor trailer jack knifed and overturned rupturing its fuel tanks.

Quote from: Beltway on June 28, 2012, 12:07:59 PM
[[[The Federalsburg bypass was built in the late 1960s.  That is plenty old enough to need a project like this.]]]

<<<The word "deterioration" is sticking out at me. For a bridge that new, it tells me MdSHA really dropped the ball on maintenance.>>>

It is at least 45 years old.  That is plenty of time on a busy highway to need a $2.3 million redecking.

QuoteMillions of people in the path of Friday's powerful storm knew what was coming and braced for the worst. Many hunkered down in their basements, warned by meteorologists who had tracked the storm over 600 miles as it gathered speed and strength and drew a bead on the Mid-Atlantic.

QuoteBut just outside Annapolis, the Maryland Transportation Authority never considered temporarily closing the Bay Bridge, because an instrument atop the bridge was recording winds around 30 mph in the minutes before the storm.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 05, 2012, 06:55:26 AM
Baltimore Sun: Bay Bridge closure policy criticized by those buffeted in storm (http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-md-bay-bridge-accident-20120702,0,5489010.story)

QuoteMillions of people in the path of Friday's powerful storm knew what was coming and braced for the worst. Many hunkered down in their basements, warned by meteorologists who had tracked the storm over 600 miles as it gathered speed and strength and drew a bead on the Mid-Atlantic.

QuoteBut just outside Annapolis, the Maryland Transportation Authority never considered temporarily closing the Bay Bridge, because an instrument atop the bridge was recording winds around 30 mph in the minutes before the storm.

QuoteMany federal workers in and around Washington make their home in the Baltimore area, so when two of them get together at a party, they immediately begin swapping commuting strategies.

Quote"Invariably, the first question that I get when I say I commute to D.C. is 'Oh, do you take the train?'" said Elaine Papp, a Federal Hill resident who works for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in southeast Washington. "When I say, 'No,' then they say, 'How do you get there?'"

QuoteHow to get "there" is a question thousands of Marylanders must figure out. About 101,370 federal employees in Maryland commute to Washington, according to 2010 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. And around 17,465 of them live in Baltimore and the surrounding counties.

Quote from: MASTERNC on July 10, 2012, 10:28:28 PM
Warning: Maryland's work zone speed cameras are creeping west.  For the first time, they will be west of the Baltimore-Washington-Frederick triangle.  There will be a work zone on I-70 west of Hagerstown for bridge widening.  The speed limit will be reduced to 55 MPH.

http://www.herald-mail.com/news/local/hm-i70-bridge-over-conococheague-creek-to-be-widened-20120701,0,7026825.story

QuoteWestminster police will deactivate two of the remaining three red-light cameras in the city, citing more crashes caused by rear-end collisions than by running red lights.

The Common Council unanimously approved the measure on Monday. The camera at southbound Md. 97 and Nursery Road will remain in operation. Police Chief Jeffrey Spaulding says there has been an increase in the number of vehicles running red lights at that intersection.

In March 2010, five red light cameras were installed. After a one-year review, two were deactivated.

According to the Carroll County Times, the three cameras brought in $216,553 in revenue from fines. The program cost the city $137,831.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 10, 2012, 10:49:31 PM
So far, I have seen one as far west as Frederick County, in the (long) work zone on I-270 at Md. 80 (Urbana) and south of Urbana down to the Little Bennett Creek bridge.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 17, 2012, 09:19:20 PM
There was another wrong-way fatal crash on a Maryland Interstate last week (earlier this year, there was one on "secret" I-595 (commonly known as U.S. 50).

Annapolis Capital: Wrong way fatal: 'There are so many unanswered questions' (http://www.capitalgazette.com/maryland_gazette/news/for_the_record/wrong-way-fatal-there-are-so-many-unanswered-questions/article_ae149896-f24c-58eb-bcb3-da61c0ff5ba2.html)

QuotePolice suspect a drunken motorist drove the wrong way on Interstate 97, getting on the highway via the Exit 10B off ramp at Benfield Boulevard – the second time this year that police think this happened.

QuoteMaryland State Police have confirmed that 24-year-old Kelley Whitt was under the influence of alcohol the morning of June 13 when she drove southbound on the northbound side of the expressway, killing an oncoming motorist, Jianguo Pan, two miles down I-97.

Quote"At this point, we have determined (alcohol) ... played a significant role in the crash, but we are still investigating,"  said state police spokesman Lt. Elena Russo.

Quote from: Mr_Northside on July 11, 2012, 01:40:33 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 10, 2012, 10:49:31 PM
So far, I have seen one as far west as Frederick County, in the (long) work zone on I-270 at Md. 80 (Urbana) and south of Urbana down to the Little Bennett Creek bridge.

There is also one on I-70 just east of I-270 in the Frederick area.  (They appear to be rebuilding a substandard interchange and probably widening I-70 to three lanes.)

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 11, 2012, 03:08:33 PM
The State Highway Administration is indeed finally reconstructing the last part of I-70 that was built years ago (maybe pre-Interstate) as the U.S. 40 Frederick Bypass, .....

Quote from: MDRoads on July 15, 2012, 12:23:56 AM
There is a new 45 mph work zone camera on MD 43 at the I-95 ETL interchange, between Honeygo Blvd and MD 7.  Even as Westminster shuts off its MD 140@97 camera, Baltimore County just announced 3 or 4 new ones in school zones this week.

Quote from: Mr_Northside on July 22, 2012, 01:04:18 PM
On the way back from Chincoteague yesterday, the congestion heading across the Bay Bridge TO Delmarva was the worst I have ever seen.  (Bridge traffic was actually surprisingly fine for us heading back west...)

I've seen it backed up pretty far on occasion over the years, and will get pissed if things get thick before the Severn River bridge when I'm headed in that direction...

But yesterday (Saturday) it was a solid line of traffic from the bridge, not only to I-97, but the line started forming about three-quarters mile south of the MD-32 merge on I-97. (I can only imagine that US-50/301 had a queue a couple miles west of I-97 as well....) Didn't see any kind of accidents or incidents either... Driving past it all in the other direction, all I could think is "You poor bastards".

Maybe backups THAT immense happen more often than I realize, but I pray I never have a trip to the beach where I'm sitting in a ~15 mile long queue just to cross the bay.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 22, 2012, 02:55:09 PM
Because of the rain (which persisted most of the day yesterday), MdTA may have limited eastbound traffic to the two lanes on the eastbound (original) span, which would make matters worse than normal.

QuoteI am old enough to remember the massive backups at the bridge prior to 1973, when there were only two lanes across the Bay.  In those days, bridge operators would sometimes run both lanes in one-way operation to clear some of the backup, especially westbound on Sundays, but also eastbound on some peak days.

Quote from: Mr_Northside on July 23, 2012, 05:16:11 PM

Even if they can't get the money or local support for more limited access stretches, the signals between the 50/301 split & MD-404 (including MD-404) need to be converted to interchanges, at least.  But I digress.....

Quote from: Beltway on July 23, 2012, 05:34:15 PM

Quote from: Mr_Northside on July 23, 2012, 05:16:11 PM

Even if they can't get the money or local support for more limited access stretches, the signals between the 50/301 split & MD-404 (including MD-404) need to be converted to interchanges, at least.  But I digress.....

That has been planned for over 30 years, but not yet funded.  Widen to 6 lanes (3 each way) and convert to freeway with interchanges at the outlet stores, MD-213, and MD-404.

QuoteAn overturned beer truck wreaked havoc on Interstate 270 after spilling its load on the highway early Thursday.

QuoteAccording to police, the 18-wheel tractor-trailer was carrying cases of beer on I-270 North when it crashed near the Frederick County-Montgomery County border around 4 a.m.

Quote from: 1995hoo on July 26, 2012, 03:35:01 PM
I'd like an update on the beer spill this afternoon given the hot weather–how much of a traffic jam will there be when people have to stop their cars to puke after being nauseated by the smell of all that cheap beer evaporating in the hot sun today? (I saw a report saying it was Budweiser.)

Quote from: froggie on July 27, 2012, 03:40:16 AM
Regarding the signals at 213 and 404, I went east a couple of Sundays ago, late morning, and noted that it was a pretty solid 3 mile westbound backup, starting from the signal at 213, and continuing through the 404 signal to about a mile and a half south of 404.  Surprisingly, there was no backup at the outlet mall signal.

Quote from: froggie on July 27, 2012, 03:40:16 AM
Surprisingly, there was no backup at the outlet mall signal.

Quote from: Beltway on July 27, 2012, 12:29:00 PM
The green phase is very long, but at peak summer times it is common for the intersection to fail, causing long backups on US-50, to where it can take 2 or 3 cycles for queued vehicles to reach the intersection.  Can happen in either direction when peak times in that direction.

Quote from: Beltway on July 27, 2012, 02:47:54 PM
The US-50 intersections with MD-213 and MD-404, simply will fail during peak hours.  For the last 20 years, they have needed (at least) to be grade-separated interchanges.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 27, 2012, 05:31:28 PM

Quote from: Beltway on July 27, 2012, 02:47:54 PM
The US-50 intersections with MD-213 and MD-404, simply will fail during peak hours.  For the last 20 years, they have needed (at least) to be grade-separated interchanges.

Also would be good for safety reasons.  Probably 404 (which carries much heavier traffic, plenty of it bound for Delaware) more than 213, but it would make little sense to do one and not the other.

Quote from: Beltway on July 27, 2012, 05:51:40 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 27, 2012, 05:31:28 PM

Quote from: Beltway on July 27, 2012, 02:47:54 PM
The US-50 intersections with MD-213 and MD-404, simply will fail during peak hours.  For the last 20 years, they have needed (at least) to be grade-separated interchanges.

Also would be good for safety reasons.  Probably 404 (which carries much heavier traffic, plenty of it bound for Delaware) more than 213, but it would make little sense to do one and not the other.

The "at least" would be building the two interchanges on the existing 4-lane nonlimited-access highway.

QuoteThere would be the option of upgrading the highway to limited access, and the option of adding one lane each way.

MSHA proposed doing all those in a study over 30 years ago, on the segment between US-301 and south of MD-404, upgrading the highway to a 6-lane freeway, with interchanges at the malls, MD-213, and MD-404.  That is how it is currently programmed in the Consolidated Transportation Program, but with funding only for engineering and right-of-way.  Traffic warrants it.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 27, 2012, 06:28:52 PM
Though there is still the problem of access to U.S. 50 from every other intersecting highway because of the heavy volumes of traffic on 50 (sometimes both ways).

Quote
There are a few homes and businesses that depend on direct access to U.S. 50 (and do not face any other roads), but I suppose that could be dealt with.  Though I don't know what would be done with access to St. Peter's Catholic Church (Google Maps here (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=queenstown+md&hl=en&ll=38.977798,-76.133516&spn=0.002381,0.003283&hnear=Queenstown,+Queen+Anne%27s,+Maryland&gl=us&t=h&z=18)), which stands hard by the westbound lanes of the highway (and has no other access to the highway network).

QuoteGrout used to protect steel support cables in the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which carries Interstate 95 over the Potomac River, may be contaminated with an excessive level of chloride, a corroding substance known to accelerate rusting.

QuoteThe Federal Highway Administration warned 21 states – including Maryland –that as many as three dozen bridges were built with possibly defective grout manufactured in Ohio between November 2002 and March 2010.

QuoteChloride-contaminated grout was blamed in the collapse of a pedestrian walkway at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. in 2000, injuring more than 100 fans.

QuoteThe Maryland Transportation Authority is considering placing safety barriers on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge when there is two-way traffic.

QuoteRoxanne Hollis of Centreville, Md. uses the bridge every week. She says, barriers between lanes would make people feel more comfortable.

Quote from: D-Dey65 on September 05, 2012, 01:24:37 AM
"Unusual movement?" This "movement" wouldn't happened to have been triggered by the Virginia Earthquake from last year, was it?

:hmmm:

QuoteWith the announcement by Comptroller Peter Franchot last week that the state of Maryland has a $500 million surplus ("State budget surplus greater than expected," Sept. 1), AAA Mid-Atlantic is calling upon Gov. Martin O'Malley and Comptroller Franchot to work together on a plan to dedicate those funds to transportation and return them to the state's Transportation Trust Fund, which is used to fund Maryland's roads and mass transit projects.

QuoteWe have a terrible transportation funding crisis in the state that is so bad that the governor and the legislature impaneled a Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding to spend over a year examining the issues and make recommendations, which it did in its final report of November, 2011.

Quote from: MASTERNC on September 08, 2012, 11:23:17 AM
Baltimore Sun: Maryland House on I-95 to Close Sept. 15 for Reconstruction

http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-maryland-house-closing-0907-20120906,0,6817819.story (http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-maryland-house-closing-0907-20120906,0,6817819.story)

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 08, 2012, 01:12:08 PM

Quote from: MASTERNC on September 08, 2012, 11:23:17 AM
Baltimore Sun: Maryland House on I-95 to Close Sept. 15 for Reconstruction

http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-maryland-house-closing-0907-20120906,0,6817819.story (http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-maryland-house-closing-0907-20120906,0,6817819.story)

That's the end of a (long) era, dating back to 1963. 

Maryland House has long been one of the busiest (and most-profitable) turnpike service plazas, probably because it is the last one on I-95 headed south, and the first one headed north.

Quote from: mtantillo on September 08, 2012, 06:46:48 PM
Also, for me personally, this means there will be no good place for me to pull over to swap out my regular Virginia E-ZPass with my MD Hatem Bridge only E-ZPass tag between the Baltimore tunnels and the Susquehanna when heading north.  I suppose I can do it while I wait at the long light at MD 155/US 40.

Quote from: hbelkins on September 08, 2012, 08:28:55 PM

Quote from: mtantillo on September 08, 2012, 06:46:48 PM
Also, for me personally, this means there will be no good place for me to pull over to swap out my regular Virginia E-ZPass with my MD Hatem Bridge only E-ZPass tag between the Baltimore tunnels and the Susquehanna when heading north.  I suppose I can do it while I wait at the long light at MD 155/US 40.

Can't do it on the fly? I've gotten pretty good at mounting/unmounting my radar detector when I cross the Virginia state line without stopping.

Quote from: MASTERNC on September 08, 2012, 11:23:17 AM
Baltimore Sun: Maryland House on I-95 to Close Sept. 15 for Reconstruction

http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-maryland-house-closing-0907-20120906,0,6817819.story (http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-maryland-house-closing-0907-20120906,0,6817819.story)

Quote from: D-Dey65 on September 09, 2012, 01:58:06 PM

Quote from: MASTERNC on September 08, 2012, 11:23:17 AM
Baltimore Sun: Maryland House on I-95 to Close Sept. 15 for Reconstruction

http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-maryland-house-closing-0907-20120906,0,6817819.story (http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-maryland-house-closing-0907-20120906,0,6817819.story)

Guess I can cross that off my list of places to stop.

:no:  :-(

I also saw the proposed replacement. It's going to suck.

Quote from: MASTERNC on September 08, 2012, 11:23:17 AM
Baltimore Sun: Maryland House on I-95 to Close Sept. 15 for Reconstruction

http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-maryland-house-closing-0907-20120906,0,6817819.story (http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/news/ph-ag-maryland-house-closing-0907-20120906,0,6817819.story)

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 10, 2012, 09:16:28 AM
I remember the old days when the Maryland House was a spiffy restaurant.

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 10, 2012, 09:16:28 AM
I also remember the time my brother somehow managed to lose one of his stuffed animals there (presumably it fell out the car door when we were getting in or out and nobody noticed). The rest of THAT drive to New York was extremely unpleasant with him screaming and crying the whole way.

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 10, 2012, 10:37:31 AM
I'm going to have to remember that Triggerburger line. My wife is a huge fan of Roy Rogers the actor, and there also happens to be a Roy Rogers about two miles from our house and we eat there occasionally. I'm gonna have to use that line next time we go there.....though I might find myself sleeping on the couch that night.  :biggrin:

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 09, 2012, 03:24:20 PM
The MdTA's I-95 Travel Plazas (http://www.i95mdtravelplazas.com/) site has renderings of what the Maryland House and Chesapeake House service plazas will look like.  In my opinion, they look pretty nice.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 09, 2012, 03:24:20 PM
I went up there before the storm yesterday and snapped some images of the Maryland House just before its closure for reconstruction, which I will post here within a few days.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 10, 2012, 10:52:36 AM
if he really loved Trigger all that much, why didn't he give the horse a decent burial instead of taking his remains to the taxidermist?

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 10, 2012, 10:11:06 AM
I suppose that the last Triggerburger (on I-95) will have been served when the place closes on the 15th.

QuoteThousands of vehicles are repeatedly blowing through Maryland E-ZPass lanes without an ­E-ZPass transponder, and the state is doing little to collect the millions of dollars in unpaid tolls.

QuoteOne car-rental company owes the state nearly $209,000 in unpaid tolls and penalties despite having received nearly 7,000 letters over four years, according to state figures. Eight other rental companies owe between $80,000 and $200,000 each, with some violations dating back eight years.

QuoteIndividual vehicle owners aren't paying up, either. About 15,000 owe more than $500 each.

QuoteMore than a few might have caught on to the fact that the letters sent by the state are paper tigers.

Quote from: NJRoadfan on September 10, 2012, 08:46:04 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 10, 2012, 10:11:06 AM
I suppose that the last Triggerburger (on I-95) will have been served when the place closes on the 15th.

There are still plenty of Roy Rogers left on the New Jersey Turnpike. Besides the one remaining stand alone location in Pine Beach, NJ, they are the only remaining locations left in NJ. They used to be a lot more common back in the 80s.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 10, 2012, 10:52:36 AM

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 10, 2012, 10:37:31 AM
I'm going to have to remember that Triggerburger line. My wife is a huge fan of Roy Rogers the actor, and there also happens to be a Roy Rogers about two miles from our house and we eat there occasionally. I'm gonna have to use that line next time we go there.....though I might find myself sleeping on the couch that night.  :biggrin:

I never thought Roy Rogers himself was all that lovable of a guy, and if he really loved Trigger all that much, why didn't he give the horse a decent burial instead of taking his remains to the taxidermist?

I will go out of my way to stop for a Triggerburger if I am in the vicinity of a "surviving" Roy Rogers.  I sometimes visit the one near Fort Hunt Road and Belle View Boulevard in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County; or south of there at U.S. 1 (Richmond Highway) and Va. 235 (Mount Vernon Highway) in the Woodlawn section of Fairfax County; or the one on Md. 85 (Buckeystown Pike) north of I-270 in Frederick County.

The brand loyalty to Roy Rogers is pretty impressive.  Their outlets always seem to be busy.

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 11, 2012, 09:10:35 AM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 10, 2012, 10:52:36 AM

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 10, 2012, 10:37:31 AM
I'm going to have to remember that Triggerburger line. My wife is a huge fan of Roy Rogers the actor, and there also happens to be a Roy Rogers about two miles from our house and we eat there occasionally. I'm gonna have to use that line next time we go there.....though I might find myself sleeping on the couch that night.  :biggrin:

I never thought Roy Rogers himself was all that lovable of a guy, and if he really loved Trigger all that much, why didn't he give the horse a decent burial instead of taking his remains to the taxidermist?

I will go out of my way to stop for a Triggerburger if I am in the vicinity of a "surviving" Roy Rogers.  I sometimes visit the one near Fort Hunt Road and Belle View Boulevard in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County; or south of there at U.S. 1 (Richmond Highway) and Va. 235 (Mount Vernon Highway) in the Woodlawn section of Fairfax County; or the one on Md. 85 (Buckeystown Pike) north of I-270 in Frederick County.

The brand loyalty to Roy Rogers is pretty impressive.  Their outlets always seem to be busy.

The one we visit most often is the one in the Manchester Lakes shopping center, corner of Manchester Boulevard/Franconia—Springfield Parkway and Beulah Street (Manchester becomes the Parkway when it crosses Beulah). It's interesting, a Boardwalk Burgers and Fries opened up in the same strip mall and the Roy's is usually a lot more crowded. Boardwalk has better fries, Roy's has better burgers and more varied menu items.

Quote from: ARMOURERERIC on September 11, 2012, 01:59:28 PM
I went to Roy's frequently for lunch at Rockville's C0ngressional Plaza fromn 1986-1991, was always a big fan of the horseradish.

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 11, 2012, 02:14:30 PM
One thing I've always liked at Roy's is that they don't schmeck up the burgers/sandwiches and instead offer the Fixins Bar–in other words, you get a plain sandwich and you can schmeck it up or not schmeck it up as you wish, as opposed to most fast-food places where they put a bunch of slop on the sandwich by default and you have to place a special order if you don't want all that stuff.

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 11, 2012, 02:14:30 PM
One thing I've always liked at Roy's is that they don't schmeck up the burgers/sandwiches and instead offer the Fixins Bar–in other words, you get a plain sandwich and you can schmeck it up or not schmeck it up as you wish, as opposed to most fast-food places where they put a bunch of slop on the sandwich by default and you have to place a special order if you don't want all that stuff.

Quote from: D-Dey65 on September 10, 2012, 06:45:50 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 09, 2012, 03:24:20 PM
I went up there before the storm yesterday and snapped some images of the Maryland House just before its closure for reconstruction, which I will post here within a few days.

I'm looking forward to that.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 12, 2012, 11:19:04 AM
Baltimore Sun: City gets nearly $20 million from speed camera tickets, irritating critics - 83 cameras in Baltimore issue $40 fines (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-speed-cameras-20120911,0,91928.story)

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 11, 2012, 12:27:19 AM
Washington Post:  As toll cheating increases, Maryland does little to enforce rules (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/as-toll-cheating-increases-maryland-does-little-to-enforce-rules/2012/09/10/b2b0e19c-d1cd-11e1-a2ec-7d5ab0136ccb_story.html)

QuoteMaryland's tolling agency is investigating whether it can publicize the names of the worst toll scofflaws in a "Hall of Shame"  and resume suspending the vehicle registrations of repeat offenders, the state's top tolling official said Wednesday.

QuoteThe chairman of a Maryland General Assembly transportation panel also said Wednesday that he will push legislation to target the thousands of motorists who are repeatedly blowing through E-ZPass lanes without a transponder and refusing to pay millions of dollars in unpaid tolls.

QuoteThe Maryland House on I-95 near Aberdeen may be known more for its fast food and bevy of bathrooms than for fine artwork, but its murals portraying Maryland history, that have adorned the travel plaza for more than 40 years, have a significant history of their own.

QuoteWhen the Maryland House went into what will be at least a one-year hibernation this past weekend, so did the mural pieces done by artist William A. Smith that depict significant events in Maryland's history and have long hung around the building.

QuoteThe Maryland Transportation Authority says it is working to ensure the mural panels will survive the plaza's demolition and reconstruction. They will not, however, be a part of the new Maryland House.

QuoteExpanded High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on Interstate 270 could be a considered as a quick fix to slow Montgomery County traffic's crawl toward total gridlock.

QuoteMembers of the County Council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment committee asked council and executive staff on Sept. 20 to draft a letter to Maryland's State Highway Administration asking for detailed consideration of HOV and High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane additions and expansions on I-270 between Clarksburg and the Interstate 370 exit, but also harping for SHA to finally craft a long-term solution to the corridor's congestion.

QuoteEvery day, just before dawn, you can spot Christian Kuete, a 24-year-old pre-med student and home health aide from Cameroon, sprinting in his beat-up sneakers to catch Metro Bus 20 as it bumps to a stop along University Boulevard in Langley Park. At 8 a.m., two more buses and two hours later, Kuete arrives at work. By dusk, he's back on mass transit, headed to his night classes at Montgomery College.

QuoteOn this sunny fall afternoon, however, he's trying to seize his piece of the American dream. Seize it by the steering wheel. Kuete is a student at the Riteway Driving School in Hyattsville, and his goal is to take its Toyota Corolla onto the open highway – the ultimate metaphor for American independence.

QuoteThe last day to use AVI decals for crossing the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge into Cecil County is Sept. 30.

QuoteThose who still need to switch from the decal to the E-ZPass have two options.

QuoteDrivers who do not want to use their E-ZPass account at any other Maryland toll facilities can obtain a transponder with the Hatem Bridge-only plan.

QuoteLast month, state transportation officials began their annual series of meetings to explain to elected leaders in Baltimore City and the state's 23 counties what projects for their jurisdictions are included in the newly-drafted six-year capital budget for transportation.

QuoteThis is a yearly exercise that must be increasingly frustrating for both Maryland Department of Transportation officials and local leaders. It's also a process that produces a compelling irony.

QuoteFive meetings have been held so far, with three held this week in St. Mary's, Prince George's and Montgomery counties. In late September, meetings were held with officials in Caroline and Harford counties.

QuoteActing MDOT Secretary Darrell Mobley, who is leading the meetings around the state, is focusing on the transportation funding situation. Both federal and state revenues for transportation remain flat, so system maintenance and preservation is the first priority, he is reporting.

QuoteOver the last two weekends of October, highway crews will replace two bridges over the Baltimore-Washington Parkway that serve the airport and hotel district by rolling the old ones out and rolling the new ones in.

QuoteThe "bridge on wheels" swap, used in other states but making its debut in Maryland, saves time and money, reduces traffic disruptions and cuts the potential for work-zone accidents, State Highway Administration officials said.

Quote from: amroad17 on October 18, 2012, 09:20:06 PM
Some sleepy trucker may have used the exit ramp as an on-ramp at one of the northern MD interchanges.  A friend told me about a similar occurrence on I-75 north of Exit 156 on Pine or Jellico Mountain (cannot remember at the moment) in TN where a trucker, after resting or sleeping and still probably groggy, went down the SB exit ramp and had a head-on about 1/2 mile down the road.

QuoteA deer darting across I-83 near Old York Road early Thursday caused a chain reaction crash that involved three tractor-trailers and halted traffic on the highway throughout the morning rush hour. All lanes were reopened by 9 a.m., according to Maryland State Police.

QuoteThe driver of a northbound tractor-trailer swerved to avoid the deer at about 3:30 a.m. He lost control of the semi rig, destroyed the guardrail and went through the median into the southbound lanes. There, he hit another tractor-trailer head-on. The driver of the southbound truck was trapped and had to be extricated.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on October 18, 2012, 10:56:50 PM

QuoteA deer darting across I-83 near Old York Road early Thursday caused a chain reaction crash that involved three tractor-trailers and halted traffic on the highway throughout the morning rush hour. All lanes were reopened by 9 a.m., according to Maryland State Police.

QuoteThe driver of a northbound tractor-trailer swerved to avoid the deer at about 3:30 a.m. He lost control of the semi rig, destroyed the guardrail and went through the median into the southbound lanes. There, he hit another tractor-trailer head-on. The driver of the southbound truck was trapped and had to be extricated.

Quote from: hbelkins on October 19, 2012, 10:13:00 AM
I hate deer.

Quote from: Steve on October 20, 2012, 01:46:30 PM

Quote from: hbelkins on October 19, 2012, 10:13:00 AM
I hate deer.

Too bad. Deer are tasty.

Quote from: hbelkins on October 20, 2012, 08:34:00 PM

Quote from: Steve on October 20, 2012, 01:46:30 PM

Quote from: hbelkins on October 19, 2012, 10:13:00 AM
I hate deer.

Too bad. Deer are tasty.

You should follow me around. If you know how to field dress one, you might get some fresh venison, given my luck lately.

I have eaten venison but am not a big fan of it.

Quote from: MASTERNC on October 21, 2012, 10:55:57 PM
On another positive, the Delaware tolls are no longer a surprise, as Maryland has posted "Last Exit Before Toll" on its new Exit 109 signs.

QuoteAt this time of year, it is an unfortunate fact of nature that a deer in the headlights often becomes a highway casualty.

QuoteWhat happens afterward is a story of renewal involving wood chips, horse manure and state workers, like Tyrone Henderson, with cast-iron constitutions.

QuoteEvery day, Henderson hoists himself into a massive yellow dump truck and checks his list before rolling out of the State Highway Administration's Sykesville garage. He is a man on a mission; or, as he likes to say, it's "time to find the stinkees."

QuoteOAKLAND, Md. - The Maryland State Highway Administration says westbound lanes of Interstate 68 in far western Maryland have reopened after a 40-mile stretch was closed due to snow-related problems.

QuoteThe westbound lanes reopened shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday. Those lanes were closed for about 11 hours overnight and into the morning.

QuoteFor the second consecutive year, transportation crews got their winter tune-up before Halloween, battling blinding rain and high winds as well as slick roads and whiteout conditions.

QuoteAt the height of the storm overnight, 132 state roads were closed and 111 signals were dark, according to the State Highway Administration. As snow piled up at more than an inch an hour in Western Maryland, Interstate 68 was closed as trucks with snowblower attachments and a "towplow," a double-wide snowplow, cleared the way.

Quote"We were prepared," said Melinda Peters, SHA administrator. "We had the right assets in the right location to succeed."

QuoteLittle by little, the transportation system is returning to normal.

QuoteAfter some trouble on the first attempt, the State Highway Administration removed the 300-ton West Nursery Road bridge over the northbound lanes of Baltimore-Washington Parkway overnight and reopened the road early Saturday.

QuoteCrews used hydraulic equipment to lift the bridge deck out of place, after an attempt two weeks ago that failed when the load shifted and the Highway Administration had to assemble a massive crane on the parkway to lift the deck back into place.

QuoteThe parkway reopened at 7:30 a.m. after the bridge was carried several hundred feet north on the parkway, also called Route 295, and dropped off in the median. It will be demolished and turned into scrap this week, said Melinda B. Peters, highway administrator.

Quote from: MASTERNC on July 10, 2012, 10:28:28 PM
Warning: Maryland's work zone speed cameras are creeping west.  For the first time, they will be west of the Baltimore-Washington-Frederick triangle.  There will be a work zone on I-70 west of Hagerstown for bridge widening.  The speed limit will be reduced to 55 MPH.

http://www.herald-mail.com/news/local/hm-i70-bridge-over-conococheague-creek-to-be-widened-20120701,0,7026825.story

Quote from: MASTERNC on November 09, 2012, 09:22:58 PM

Quote from: MASTERNC on July 10, 2012, 10:28:28 PM
Warning: Maryland's work zone speed cameras are creeping west.  For the first time, they will be west of the Baltimore-Washington-Frederick triangle.  There will be a work zone on I-70 west of Hagerstown for bridge widening.  The speed limit will be reduced to 55 MPH.

http://www.herald-mail.com/news/local/hm-i70-bridge-over-conococheague-creek-to-be-widened-20120701,0,7026825.story

The DOT just put out a press release announcing the start of camera enforcement.  There will be two work zones within a mile of each other that will use the cameras.

Quote from: hbelkins on November 09, 2012, 10:00:40 PM

Quote from: MASTERNC on November 09, 2012, 09:22:58 PM

Quote from: MASTERNC on July 10, 2012, 10:28:28 PM
Warning: Maryland's work zone speed cameras are creeping west.  For the first time, they will be west of the Baltimore-Washington-Frederick triangle.  There will be a work zone on I-70 west of Hagerstown for bridge widening.  The speed limit will be reduced to 55 MPH.

http://www.herald-mail.com/news/local/hm-i70-bridge-over-conococheague-creek-to-be-widened-20120701,0,7026825.story

The DOT just put out a press release announcing the start of camera enforcement.  There will be two work zones within a mile of each other that will use the cameras.

Remind me to obscure my license plate if I use that route going to or from the Doylestown meet.  :sombrero:

QuoteState budget analysts painted a bleak picture of Maryland transportation funding, warning lawmakers in Annapolis Tuesday that alternate revenue sources should be considered to fund major transit projects.

QuoteAnalysts from the Department of Legislative Services told members of the joint Spending Affordability Committee that projections in the special fund transportion program for fiscal 2013-2018 from the state Department of Transportation may be overstated.

QuoteMontgomery County planners have proposed converting some lanes on the county's busiest roads to buses-only. Eager to avoid widening roads, the planners say bus-only lanes would be a faster and more affordable way to improve transit and limit growing traffic congestion.

QuoteThe idea of taking asphalt from private vehicles in one of the country's most traffic-clogged regions is likely to draw protests from some motorists. But Larry Cole, a Montgomery transportation planner, said the county's continued population growth will require persuading more people to forgo the convenience of driving by making buses faster and more reliable – even if that means motorists get less room on the road.

QuoteIt is good to know that Montgomery County's planners recognize the importance of buses, but bus-only lanes are a bad idea. Implementation of this proposal would result in a huge waste of scarce road capacity.

QuoteThe proposition that "one transit vehicle would take up to 72 cars off the road"  is fantasy – a triumph of hope over experience. Travelers do indeed seek to save time, but the travel times they value are total trip times, from starts to destinations, which would be little affected by speeding up buses on a few main roads.

QuoteIt is heartening to see conversations about adding dedicated bus lanes in Montgomery County. A stronger commitment to public transportation is the only way to combat the ever-worsening traffic that plagues the region. But I was dismayed that the article did not mention the environmental benefits of removing so many cars from the road. Carbon dioxide is being released into our atmosphere at an alarming rate, and yet, even in the wake of dramatic climactic events such as Hurricane Sandy, scant attention is being paid to climate change.

QuoteNBC4 TV: Envy in Maryland Over 495 Express Lanes (http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Envy-in-Maryland-Over-495-Express-Lanes-179658781.html)

Quote from: cpzilliacus on November 16, 2012, 02:44:50 PM
Washington  Post: Montgomery County considers giving more of the road to buses (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/montgomery-county-considers-giving-more-of-the-road-to-buses/2012/11/11/c4a1eeec-2906-11e2-b4e0-346287b7e56c_story.html)

QuoteMontgomery County planners have proposed converting some lanes on the county's busiest roads to buses-only. Eager to avoid widening roads, the planners say bus-only lanes would be a faster and more affordable way to improve transit and limit growing traffic congestion.

QuoteThe idea of taking asphalt from private vehicles in one of the country's most traffic-clogged regions is likely to draw protests from some motorists. But Larry Cole, a Montgomery transportation planner, said the county's continued population growth will require persuading more people to forgo the convenience of driving by making buses faster and more reliable – even if that means motorists get less room on the road.

Quote from: oscar on November 16, 2012, 04:43:44 PM
That reminds me of Virginia's first attempt to establish HOV lanes on the Dulles Toll Road, by converting one of the three existing through lanes in each direction to HOV-only (in rush hour) use.  The blowback from motorists was fierce, they complained that three general-purpose lanes in each direction was barely adequate, and only two would be grossly inadequate.  VDOT (which then ran the toll road) pulled back, and built a fourth lane in each direction reserved from the outset for HOV.

Quote from: oscar on November 16, 2012, 04:43:44 PM
Something like that happened with I-270 in Maryland, which got HOV lanes only when the freeway was widened, and I think also on US 50 between the Beltway and Bowie.  One nice thing about doing it that way is that it gives motorists time to change their travel patterns to take advantage of the new lanes, and gradually shift as general-purpose lane congestion increases, rather than expect motorists to change abruptly as existing lanes are taken away from them.

Quote from: 1995hoo on November 16, 2012, 05:07:20 PM
DC constantly tries taking away existing lanes. The bus lanes on 7th and 9th Streets NW are a good example. Everyone (myself included) ignores those restrictions because otherwise you can't get anywhere.

Quote from: 1995hoo on November 16, 2012, 05:07:20 PM
The problem is that DC refuses to enforce other traffic laws in their eagerness to make driving as miserable as possible. So on 9th Street, for example, there are supposed to be two lanes plus a bus lane, but the left lane of the two is always blocked by double-parkers and by the valet parker at Zaytinya. If you obey the bus lane, it means you effectively have a single lane where there used to be three. Fuck that! On 7th Street, the problem is that left turns are allowed but there are no left-turn lanes. So you either go around people using the bus lane or you get stuck.

Quote from: 1995hoo on November 16, 2012, 05:07:20 PM
Hopefully Montgomery County will have better sense than to attempt to do it the way DC does. Reducing traffic capacity for a bus lane is a recipe for a driver revolt. (If you take away a lane of parking, and strictly enforce the no-parking rule with bollards or some such while maintaining the same number of lanes for traffic, that's a totally different story. But I doubt that's what Montgomery County has in mind.)

Quote from: 1995hoo on November 16, 2012, 05:07:20 PM
I think the biggest two problems with buses are not a lack of dedicated lanes but rather a lack of frequent service and the unreliability of the Metrorail in getting people to the bus. The Fairfax Connector bus that stops half a mile from my house generally runs once an hour. If there's a problem on the Metrorail, it means you're stuck either waiting an hour or paying for a cab (assuming you don't have some other way home). That's simply not a wager most people are willing to make, and I can't blame them. The other thing that has to be remembered is that in the downtown white-collar business community a LOT of people cannot necessarily rely on always leaving at the same time every night, and they often won't know in advance when they might get stuck at the office. Taking a bus is a lot more problematic when you can't plan on keeping to a fixed work schedule. I think a lot of the transitphiles and the anti-car crowd tend to overlook such issues.

Quote from: 1995hoo on November 16, 2012, 05:07:20 PM
Don't get me wrong, I love having that Fairfax Connector bus as an option when I've needed it (usually when I've taken my 1988 RX-7 to the mechanic in Arlington and he has to keep it overnight while he obtains parts). But I view it as just that–a backup option in a pinch. It would never be my primary mode of transportation unless my circumstances change DRASTICALLY. I think the same is true for a lot of other people.

QuoteThe tractor-trailer hit 70 mph as it passed the Poly-Western high school campus on Cold Spring Lane, barreling down a turn lane at twice the legal speed limit. Or so the $40 citation claimed. Just before Falls Road, a pole-mounted speed camera clocked the truck with radar and snapped some pictures. A ticket soon went out in the mail.

QuoteOn paper it seemed like just the kind of blatant, dangerous school-zone speeding violation that the ubiquitous enforcement cameras are designed to catch and deter.

QuoteExcept the truck wasn't going 70 mph that September morning – or even fast enough to get a ticket, The Baltimore Sun determined after examining the camera's time-stamped photos and measuring how far the vehicle traveled. Simple math proves the automated camera was off the mark.

QuoteSpeed enforcement cameras in Silver Spring were targeted by vandals over the weekend, but it wasn't long before technicians had the high-tech devices busting speeders again.

QuoteMontgomery County police say the vandals attacked three portable speed cameras on 16th Street early Sunday morning.

QuoteLast Tuesday when Warren Deschenaux, Maryland's top government policy and budget analyst, told lawmakers that the state was running out of money for new transportation projects, it might have seemed like an overly dire warning to some.

QuoteBut to anyone who has been paying close attention to our state's escalating transportation funding crisis, it was hardly a surprise.

QuoteDeschenaux's warning to members of the Maryland General Assembly's Spending Affordability Committee quantified the looming inevitability to be derived from decades of stagnating state transportation revenue by forecasting a hard number to swallow — zero.

Quote from: MASTERNC on October 21, 2012, 10:55:57 PM
On another positive, the Delaware tolls are no longer a surprise, as Maryland has posted "Last Exit Before Toll" on its new Exit 109 signs.

Quote from: amroad17 on November 24, 2012, 11:38:17 AM
Shouldn't the exit tab read EXITS 109A-B?

QuoteOver months of investigating the proliferation of speed cameras in Maryland, many of The Baltimore Sun's attempts to get data and other information from government officials were met with delays, detours and dead ends.

QuoteHoward County, for example, refused to provide the license tag numbers of the vehicles that its cameras have nailed for speeding. By contrast, Baltimore, Baltimore County and the State Highway Administration – which fall under the same public-records law that Howard does – all provided tag numbers, even if it took some prodding and multiple attempts to get the correct figures.

QuoteWhy the difference? Howard's lawyers said their hands were tied, and invoked a provision of state law that bars government from releasing speed camera photos. While The Sun's wasn't asking for the photos, the images happen to show a vehicle's license plate. So, the lawyers argued, the tag numbers themselves couldn't be released even as part an electronic database – and even though a car's tag doesn't identify its owner or reveal any personal information.

QuoteA sedan driving the wrong way on eastbound Interstate 695 near the Curtis Creek drawbridge struck an SUV carrying a mother and two small children, killing one of them, the sedan's driver, late Sunday.

QuoteThe sedan, driven by 21-year-old Victoria Lynn DeAngelo of Dundalk, entered the outer loop of 695 near exit 1 driving in the wrong direction around 10 p.m. Sunday and crashed into an SUV, Maryland Transportation Authority Police Sgt. Jonathan Green said. The SUV carried Kimberly Kaye Taylor, 29, of White Marsh, and her two daughters, Lily Joseven Kelley, 3, and Mackenzie Grace Kelley, almost 3 months old.

QuoteContinuous rumble strips and a vividly painted buffer will be added to the Bay Bridge to protect motorists when the westbound span is running with two-way traffic.

QuoteThe Maryland Transportation Authority board voted unanimously to accept the recommendations of a safety committee that evaluated the conditions surrounding five fatal crashes over the last 12 years and looked at modifications – from permanent barriers to temporary markers – to protect the public.

QuoteThe rumble strip installation and paint job, expected to cost less than $500,000, will be carried out next spring in time for summer vacation traffic, officials said. The painted buffer will make lane changes between the left lane and the center lane illegal, even when all three lanes are westbound.

QuoteFinishing touches were made Monday to the bridge over the Marshyhope Creek in Federalsburg. The bridge, which cost $2.3 million to renovate, opened 5 p.m. Monday for the first time since May.

QuoteMichael White of Sharpton said that with tractor-trailers being detoured, small towns have dealt with more traffic than usual while the bridge was under construction.

QuoteThe Maryland State Highway Administration is defending its speed cameras after a state lawmaker called for local jurisdictions to audit the devices and submit the results to the General Assembly.

Quote"The calibrations are done on the equipment every day," says Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) spokeswoman Valerie Edgar about the department's speed cameras.

QuoteWhile SHA's speed cameras don't record times down to the tenth of a second, Edgar says they are accurate.

QuoteGov. Martin O'Malley said Tuesday that state law bars speed camera contractors from being paid based on the number of citations issued or paid – a so-called bounty system approach used by Baltimore City, Baltimore County and elsewhere in Maryland.

Quote"The law says you're not supposed to charge by volume. I don't think we should charge by volume," O'Malley said. "If any county is, they need to change their program."

QuoteIn brief comments, O'Malley weighed in for the first time on criticism of speed cameras since The Baltimore Sun published an investigation of the devices, focusing on the city's network of 83 radar-equipped cameras. Several state lawmakers have since proposed changing state law that governs how counties and cities operate speed camera programs. Among the proposals is to add language clearly barring payments per citation.

QuoteThe new owner of the Oldtown MD toll bridge seems likely to get approval from regulators in Baltimore to triple toll rates after 35 years. Lori Roberts a local realtor and businesswoman formed the Historical Oldtown Bridge Preservation LLC company to buy the toll bridge in 2010 for $60,000 from a man fed up with what he called the "endless paperwork" of dealing with regulators. After nearly a year of "paperwork" she has apparently done better with them than the former owner.

QuoteThe Oldtown toll bridge is a 74 year old crossing of the Potomac between Oldtown Maryland in Allegany County and Green Spring West Virginia in the mountainous panhandle of Maryland.

QuoteIt is about 100 miles northwest of Washington DC, almost midway, as the crow flies, between Pittsburgh PA and the national capital.

QuoteMore than 40 percent of all speed camera tickets issued to drivers in Maryland highway work zones have been doled out between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., times when crews often aren't on the job.

QuoteThat picture emerged when The Baltimore Sun graphed, hour by hour, all million or so work-zone citations generated by the State Highway Administration between December 2009 and June 30.

QuoteWatkins Mill Interchange in engineering stage

QuoteConstruction would not begin until 2015 or 2016

Quote from: BrianP on December 13, 2012, 11:39:38 AM
New interchange on I-270 could relieve gridlock on Md. 355 (http://www.gazette.net/article/20121212/NEWS/712129552/1022/new-interchange-on-i-270-could-relieve-gridlock-on-md-355&template=gazette)

QuoteWatkins Mill Interchange in engineering stage

QuoteConstruction would not begin until 2015 or 2016

The worst part of the MD 124 & 355 intersection is heading south on MD 124.  Even outside of rush hour you may need to wait for more than one green to get past the intersection.

I was hoping that the state was further along with this project.  I was under the impression they had the preconstruction activities completed and were just waiting for construction money.  This has been the #1 priority for Montgomery County since the completion of the ICC and the Montrose Parkway.   

Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 13, 2012, 01:00:52 PM

Quote from: BrianP on December 13, 2012, 11:39:38 AM
New interchange on I-270 could relieve gridlock on Md. 355 (http://www.gazette.net/article/20121212/NEWS/712129552/1022/new-interchange-on-i-270-could-relieve-gridlock-on-md-355&template=gazette)

QuoteWatkins Mill Interchange in engineering stage

QuoteConstruction would not begin until 2015 or 2016

The worst part of the MD 124 & 355 intersection is heading south on MD 124.  Even outside of rush hour you may need to wait for more than one green to get past the intersection.

I was hoping that the state was further along with this project.  I was under the impression they had the preconstruction activities completed and were just waiting for construction money.  This has been the #1 priority for Montgomery County since the completion of the ICC and the Montrose Parkway.   

I don't get to Gaithersburg all that often, but I think you are right about 124 and 355.

QuoteMaryland Sen. Ron Young, D-Frederick, introduced legislation that would place a toll on the highway near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. The toll would pay for widening the road through Frederick, as well as for building interchanges, bridges and underpasses.

Quote from: froggie on December 21, 2012, 11:28:06 AM
Washington Examiner article today (http://washingtonexaminer.com/tolls-sought-for-route-15-in-md.-to-help-pay-for-road-work/article/2516572#.UNSNxUJ0WNM) on a state senator's proposal to put tolls on US 15 to pay for improvements.  From the article:

QuoteMaryland Sen. Ron Young, D-Frederick, introduced legislation that would place a toll on the highway near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. The toll would pay for widening the road through Frederick, as well as for building interchanges, bridges and underpasses.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 21, 2012, 12:31:54 PM
The federal government and Congress need to put the states on notice that tolls at or near state borders are not an acceptable substitute for raising motor fuel taxes.  Not that it is ever going to happen.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 22, 2012, 07:33:40 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 21, 2012, 12:31:54 PM
The federal government and Congress need to put the states on notice that tolls at or near state borders are not an acceptable substitute for raising motor fuel taxes.  Not that it is ever going to happen.

Why would -- or should -- the feds have any say in what a state does with its own roads? Yes, FHWA has its rules on what can and cannot be signed as an interstate and how interstates can be tolled, but why can't states decide on their own if they want to toll existing non-interstates?

QuoteGriping about gridlock is common in the Capital region, where commutes can last hours.

QuoteBut Maryland lawmakers continue to struggle to offer a solution. And whether building more roads or expanding transit options, both require more revenue to refill the state's depleted Transportation Trust Fund.

QuoteDuring a year-end review with reporters this week, Governor Martin O'Malley expressed frustration with state legislators' unwillingness to boost the gas tax, which hasn't been increased since 1992.

QuoteO'Malley has set a goal of doubling the number of transit users by 2020.

Quote from: bsmart on December 24, 2012, 09:33:36 AM
Delaware used to have coin booths at each of the entrances but removed them years ago.

Quote from: bsmart on December 24, 2012, 09:33:36 AM
My wifes family is from Elkton and I cannot get them to use I-95 to go anywhere in Delaware.  They insist on using Rt 7 all the way up to Christiana instead of hopping on 95 at Rt 896.  When I ask why they say 'its faster' (It isn't usually) or 'that is the way we always go' .  I think it goes back to when they had to throw a quarter in th bin as they got on I 95.

Quote from: bsmart on December 24, 2012, 09:33:36 AM
Of course I have been known to get off at Elkton get on Muddy Lane (it used to be a dirt road) over to Rt 7 then get back on at 896.  By the way what is the toll at the Delaware line these days?  I can't remember the last time I went through the plaza.

Quote from: bsmart on December 24, 2012, 12:54:01 PM
Southbound I like the Delaware 2-Delaware 4 alternative.  Northbound I still tend to use Rt 7.  But usually I've stopped in Elkton Anyway so which rt I take depends on my next stop.  Since the Parents have passed on we don't go up as much as we used to.

Quote from: bsmart on December 24, 2012, 12:54:01 PM
As I remember it Maryland removed the toll booths on ramps a while before Delaware did.  But it was a long time ago for both.

QuoteState senator Ron Young (Dem, Frederick), a former mayor of Frederick City and long the most prominent local pol has introduced a bill in the Maryland state Senate (SB15) to seek the federal OK for a toll on US15 at a single toll point at the Pennsylvania border. The bill scheduled for a first reading January 9 specifies that the toll revenues raised be used for:

Quote(1) a US15 interchange at Monocacy Boulevard on the immediate northside of Frederick city

Quote(2) widening the US15 expressway within the city of Frederick from 2x2 lanes to three lanes each direction

Quote(3) upgrading US15 between immediately north of Frederick from surface arterial to full expressway standard  with grade separations up to the Pennsylvania border.

QuoteThe first two projects here in the city are almost through the planning and permitting processes, and have only stalled because of the total lack of money in Annapolis or DC to actually build anything major.

QuoteA new toll could be added one of the D.C. region's busy roads, if a state lawmaker gets his way.

QuoteThe idea is to add a new toll at the Maryland border with Pennsylvania along U.S. Route 15, and it comes in a bill introduced by Maryland Sen. Ron Young.

QuoteHe wants the money to help pay for three road projects, including a Route 15 interchange at Monocacy Boulevard north of the city of Frederick, and the widening of Route 15 in the city of Frederick from two to three lanes in each direction.

QuoteTollRoads News reports both of these projects are basically on hold because of a lack of money to pay for them.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 25, 2012, 05:57:04 PM
WTOP Radio: Ready for a new toll in Maryland? (http://www.wtop.com/46/3171299/Ready-for-a-new-toll-in-Maryland)

QuoteTollRoads News reports both of these projects are basically on hold because of a lack of money to pay for them.

Quote from: Steve on December 26, 2012, 04:58:47 AM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 25, 2012, 05:57:04 PM
WTOP Radio: Ready for a new toll in Maryland? (http://www.wtop.com/46/3171299/Ready-for-a-new-toll-in-Maryland)

QuoteTollRoads News reports both of these projects are basically on hold because of a lack of money to pay for them.

Makes me question WTOP's journalism when they cite someone's opinion as fact. It's a bad sign that this is spreading in US journalism in general.

Quote from: bsmart on December 26, 2012, 05:47:15 PM
What irritates me about US 15 in Frederick (and yes it is my local road also) is that when they rebuilt the 5 bridges mentioned in teh article 10 years  ago they didn't widen them then! They took each bridge and closed 1/2 of it at a time to completly replace the structure and rebuilt it to the '50s capacity.  Since they were doing so much work why didn't they add the extra structure to allow it to be widened in the future if they weren't going to do it then.

Quote from: bsmart on December 26, 2012, 05:47:15 PM
I also think they need a high speed road from the east side of Frederick  (East of the airport) that would connect with 15 north of Hayward Road (I would like to see the interchange they are calling for at Monocacy Blvd to be where it joins in.  This would reduce the traffic on I-70 to 15 (which backs up every day now) and get northbound thru traffic off 15.  Monocacy Blvd (now pretty much complete from I-70 to Rt 26) is good but it really isn't meant for thru traffic (especially trucks)

Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 26, 2012, 09:02:35 AM

Quote from: Steve on December 26, 2012, 04:58:47 AM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 25, 2012, 05:57:04 PM
WTOP Radio: Ready for a new toll in Maryland? (http://www.wtop.com/46/3171299/Ready-for-a-new-toll-in-Maryland)

QuoteTollRoads News reports both of these projects are basically on hold because of a lack of money to pay for them.

Makes me question WTOP's journalism when they cite someone's opinion as fact. It's a bad sign that this is spreading in US journalism in general.

I know you don't like Peter and the things he writes, and I am not going to defend him here. 

But there are two facts here:

(1) The state of Maryland does not have money to fund projects like this (and train projects like the Baltimore Red Line and the Purple Line in the suburbs of D.C.) with the current low motor fuel tax rates; and

(2) State Sen. Young has pre-filed a bill in the Maryland General Assembly on this - don't take my word for it, you  can look it up yourself here (http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=billpage&stab=01&id=sb0015&tab=subject3&ys=2013RS).

QuoteKirby said over the next 27 years, dramatic job growth is expect to occur in Loudoun and Prince William counties in Virginia, and Montgomery and Prince George's counties, but not in Frederick County.

QuoteKirby said Loudoun County will see the most growth in jobs because of its proximity to the Dulles Airport and the Dulles Toll Road.

"There is also a big influx of high-tech jobs and defense spending in Virginia,"  he said. "It is the fastest-growing area in the region."

QuoteMARYLAND HASN'T been quite the laggard that Virginia has been in terms of raising enough money for the state's roads, rails, bridges and tunnels, but it's close. Virginia last raised its per gallon gas tax – the major source of transportation funding – in 1986. Maryland last raised its own levy, albeit to a higher level, in 1992. In both cases the outlook is bleak.

QuoteAt current trends, Virginia will run out of funds to design and build new transportation projects in 2017; Maryland's fund will be empty a year later. And neither Richmond nor Annapolis seems to have the political spine to come to grips with what amounts to a breakdown in the government's basic obligation to provide adequate infrastructure.

Quote from: BrianP on December 27, 2012, 02:45:51 PM
Staying on the Frederick County subject:
Study: Frederick traffic congestion likely to get worse
http://www.gazette.net/article/20121227/NEWS/712279936/1016/study-frederick-traffic-congestion-likely-to-get-worse&template=gazette

QuoteKirby said over the next 27 years, dramatic job growth is expect to occur in Loudoun and Prince William counties in Virginia, and Montgomery and Prince George's counties, but not in Frederick County.

QuoteKirby said Loudoun County will see the most growth in jobs because of its proximity to the Dulles Airport and the Dulles Toll Road.

"There is also a big influx of high-tech jobs and defense spending in Virginia,"  he said. "It is the fastest-growing area in the region."

Ron Kirby is the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board's transportation planning director.

This makes me think that if a Potomac crossing west of the beltway is built it is more likely to happen in Frederick County.  Although I admit this could be what Maryland would want and not what Virginia wants.  Virginia probably would push for a crossing further east.   The new highway would probably involve the US 15 corridor.  It could be as far east as MD 85.  But I would think that is less likely.  There already is a US 15 tie into US 340.  Although that would have to be reconstructed.  And US 15 south of there is much like a super-2 that can be upgraded.  But the actual river crossing would have to east of Point of Rocks and the Heaters Island Wildlife Management Area.  I don't think you could use the current crossing since there is a tight turn on the Virginia side.  Also in Virginia I think you would have to have a new highway alignment.  US 15 there is a vital north-south artery for local traffic.  Then the highway could tie into the north end of the Leesburg bypass. 

Then Frederick residents would be more likely to look for work in Northern Virgina than now.

Quote from: bsmart on December 31, 2012, 05:22:15 PM
Has anyone here received an invitation to Maryland's '2035 Transportation Plan Roundtable Workshops'?  I received one recently to the email address I used to take an online 'Planning course' that was required of all members of local Planning and Zoning boards.  I'm not sure if they are by invitation only or open to anyone (I assume open to everyone).  It is by preregistration only here is the link
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e6rr84ig9037655a&llr=zpx5yolab

There being held in 4 locations Frederick SHA District Office (Jan 10), MDOT HQ (Jan 22), Chestertown District office (Jan 25), Greenbelt District Office (Jan 29).  They are during the day (9am -11:30 am).  Since Frederick is the furthest west one I guess they aren't interested in input from really Western MD :-)

Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 01, 2013, 07:32:24 PM

Quote from: bsmart on December 31, 2012, 05:22:15 PM
Has anyone here received an invitation to Maryland's '2035 Transportation Plan Roundtable Workshops'?  I received one recently to the email address I used to take an online 'Planning course' that was required of all members of local Planning and Zoning boards.  I'm not sure if they are by invitation only or open to anyone (I assume open to everyone).  It is by preregistration only here is the link
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e6rr84ig9037655a&llr=zpx5yolab

There being held in 4 locations Frederick SHA District Office (Jan 10), MDOT HQ (Jan 22), Chestertown District office (Jan 25), Greenbelt District Office (Jan 29).  They are during the day (9am -11:30 am).  Since Frederick is the furthest west one I guess they aren't interested in input from really Western MD :-)

There's not much recurring highway traffic congestion in Maryland west of the crest of the Blue Ridge (South Mountain).

Quote from: bsmart on January 01, 2013, 09:05:35 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 01, 2013, 07:32:24 PM

Quote from: bsmart on December 31, 2012, 05:22:15 PM
Has anyone here received an invitation to Maryland's '2035 Transportation Plan Roundtable Workshops'?  I received one recently to the email address I used to take an online 'Planning course' that was required of all members of local Planning and Zoning boards.  I'm not sure if they are by invitation only or open to anyone (I assume open to everyone).  It is by preregistration only here is the link
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e6rr84ig9037655a&llr=zpx5yolab

There being held in 4 locations Frederick SHA District Office (Jan 10), MDOT HQ (Jan 22), Chestertown District office (Jan 25), Greenbelt District Office (Jan 29).  They are during the day (9am -11:30 am).  Since Frederick is the furthest west one I guess they aren't interested in input from really Western MD :-)

There's not much recurring highway traffic congestion in Maryland west of the crest of the Blue Ridge (South Mountain).

But does that mean they shouldn't be included in the planning for the next 20 years?

QuoteMAJOR TRAFFIC SWITCH THIS WEEKEND AT I-95/MD 43 INTERCHANGE
New temporary traffic pattern part of I-95 Express Toll LanesSM Project

QuoteWHAT: Weather-permitting, the ramp from northbound I-95 to westbound MD 43 (Exit 67B, White Marsh Boulevard) will be temporarily closed to switch MD 43 to a new traffic pattern.  Traffic will be detoured to eastbound MD 43 (Exit 67A, White Marsh Boulevard), to eastbound MD 7 (Philadelphia Road), to westbound MD 43.

QuoteInterstate 270 is considered one of the most choked roads in the Washington region, but solutions for the gridlock are few and far between.

QuoteFigures from the Maryland Department of Transportation show about 114,000 cars use I-270 daily, and that number is expected to jump to 200,000 in the next 10 to 15 years.

Quote"Everyone who is familiar with 270 knows it is jammed up in the morning rush hour and evening rush hour," says Gus Bauman, who studies transportation and funding and who chaired a Maryland Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 08, 2013, 02:31:58 AM
WTOP Radio: I-270 gridlock cries out for solutions (http://www.wtop.com/654/3183311/I-270-gridlock-cries-out-for-solutions)

QuoteInterstate 270 is considered one of the most choked roads in the Washington region, but solutions for the gridlock are few and far between.

QuoteFigures from the Maryland Department of Transportation show about 114,000 cars use I-270 daily, and that number is expected to jump to 200,000 in the next 10 to 15 years.

Quote"Everyone who is familiar with 270 knows it is jammed up in the morning rush hour and evening rush hour," says Gus Bauman, who studies transportation and funding and who chaired a Maryland Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding.

Quote from: Steve on January 08, 2013, 07:21:32 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 08, 2013, 02:31:58 AM
WTOP Radio: I-270 gridlock cries out for solutions (http://www.wtop.com/654/3183311/I-270-gridlock-cries-out-for-solutions)

QuoteInterstate 270 is considered one of the most choked roads in the Washington region, but solutions for the gridlock are few and far between.

QuoteFigures from the Maryland Department of Transportation show about 114,000 cars use I-270 daily, and that number is expected to jump to 200,000 in the next 10 to 15 years.

Quote"Everyone who is familiar with 270 knows it is jammed up in the morning rush hour and evening rush hour," says Gus Bauman, who studies transportation and funding and who chaired a Maryland Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding.

Short of a dual/dual like the NJ Turnpike, I don't see an easy solution. Linking I-370 and VA 28 or Fairfax Co. Pkwy. would be of limited benefit because of how far west in the metro area they run.

Quote from: bsmart on January 08, 2013, 08:16:36 PM
The streams and waterways aren't the problem - The private estates are

QuoteTwo highway workers under contract to the state were killed Wednesday morning along Pulaski Highway in Northeast when a car plowed into a marked construction zone, state police said.

QuoteInvestigators reported that around 9 a.m., a 2006 Ford Focus westbound on Pulaski Highway near Belvidere Road crossed into the work zone and struck the two workers. Both workers were pronounced dead at the scene by Cecil County emergency medical personnel; there was no word on the condition of the driver of the Ford.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 09, 2013, 01:50:32 PM
Always sad when people are killed or injured.

QuoteThe General Assembly returned to Annapolis today, and the biggest idea floating around comes from across the Potomac. With the details of Gov. Martin O'Malley's agenda a mystery for the time being, lawmakers in Maryland's capital find themselves confronted by a bold, if not altogether sound, idea from Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell to increase the commonwealth's transportation funding by $3.1 billion over the next five years. On Tuesday, he proposed eliminating the politically unpopular gas tax altogether and replacing it with higher sales taxes, a variety of fees and as-yet nonexistent revenue from taxing sales over the Internet. It may not produce enough revenue to address gridlock that's as bad as or worse than Maryland's. It raises serious questions about equity and would likely force cuts to other priorities. But it represents a much more forceful attempt to tackle a long-term threat to than the regional economy than Mr. O'Malley appears inclined to muster.

QuoteFor a fourth straight year, Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin has sponsored a bill to study the need for a third bridge over the Chesapeake Bay. The measure would cost $35 million to have the Maryland Transportation Authority complete the study by 2018.

Quote"We need to talk about this,"  Pipkin said in a phone interview with the Spy on Tuesday. "We need to bring those who don't want a new bridge together with the people who do, and have a discussion. We need to study its viability and its economic and environmental impact, and whether we should build or not build."

Quote"Not having the discussion and sticking our heads in the sand won't get us anything,"  Pipkin, R-Upper Shore, said. "If we're not going to get another span, we need to talk about that because it has policy implications...if we're going to go forward, it would be 13 to 15 years before it would get done."

QuoteA report in 2004 projected Bay Bridge crossings by 2025 to increase by 25,000 on weekdays to 86,000. Saturday and Sunday crossings would increase to 140,000 during the summer months, up from the current 95,000.

QuoteMontgomery County Council members, looking for ways to pay for a light-rail Purple Line and a countywide network of bus lanes, sought ideas Thursday from Northern Virginia, where new lanes just opened on the Capital Beltway and where the Silver Line Metrorail extension is almost half-finished.

QuoteDuring a briefing by Northern Virginia transportation officials, County Council members' questions boiled down to one: If local and state governments across the country are hurting for money, how did Virginia afford to build a $2 billion Beltway expansion and a $5.6 billion subway line?

Quote"Why aren't we able to come up with these financing packages?"  council member George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) asked the panel.

QuoteA bill just introduced in the Maryland state Senate requires the Maryland (Toll) Transportation Authority (MdTA) to start the EIS process of studies, outreach, planning and permits needed for a new Chesapeake Bay bridge. The bill SB0093 is introduced by the Majority Minority (Republican) Leader of the state Senate E J PIpkin and other eastern shore delegates.

QuoteBaltimore's speed and red light camera system has experienced a near-complete shutdown during what city officials are calling a problematic transition to a new contractor, records show, and the city's new vendor says it could take four months to get a new system running.

QuoteCity officials acknowledged Tuesday that Baltimore's network of 83 speed cameras — which issued an average of about 2,300 tickets each weekday last year — has yet to issue any in 2013. And records posted on a city website show that red light cameras have issued just 17 tickets, all in the first two days of the year.

QuoteMaryland's powerful Senate president sought Tuesday to jump-start a stalled debate over transportation funding, offering a plan to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and urging the governor to work harder on an issue "crying out to be addressed."

QuoteIn an interview with The Washington Post, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) also floated the idea of leasing the $2.6 billion Intercounty Connector (ICC) to a private operator as he outlined an approach to raising new revenue to help alleviate traffic congestion and covering the state's share of long-planned rail projects.

Quote from: algorerhythms on January 24, 2013, 09:25:01 PM
George Edwards has introduced a bill to the Maryland Senate that would allow the speed limit on I-68 to be raised to 70 mph (http://times-news.com/latest_news/x503832129/Edwards-bill-would-increase-speed-limit-on-Interstate-68). I doubt it will pass, though.

QuoteMiller also proposed Thursday leasing a state toll highway to a private operator to raise money for mass-transit projects in Baltimore and the Washington suburbs.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 24, 2013, 10:13:57 PM

Quote from: algorerhythms on January 24, 2013, 09:25:01 PM
George Edwards has introduced a bill to the Maryland Senate that would allow the speed limit on I-68 to be raised to 70 mph (http://times-news.com/latest_news/x503832129/Edwards-bill-would-increase-speed-limit-on-Interstate-68). I doubt it will pass, though.

IMO, that is the wrong way to go about it.  Much better if the Maryland General Assembly just increases the statutory maximum limit in Maryland to 70 or even 75 MPH. Then the engineers at SHA and MdTA can determine where the speed limits can be that high. 

In my opinion, 70 MPH is not appropriate for most of I-68 in Allegany County.  Especially not the substandard segment through  Cumberland.  Especially not for the long (mostly) eastbound downgrade from Finzel to Cumberland.

Quote from: algorerhythms on January 25, 2013, 02:04:51 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 24, 2013, 10:13:57 PM

Quote from: algorerhythms on January 24, 2013, 09:25:01 PM
George Edwards has introduced a bill to the Maryland Senate that would allow the speed limit on I-68 to be raised to 70 mph (http://times-news.com/latest_news/x503832129/Edwards-bill-would-increase-speed-limit-on-Interstate-68). I doubt it will pass, though.

IMO, that is the wrong way to go about it.  Much better if the Maryland General Assembly just increases the statutory maximum limit in Maryland to 70 or even 75 MPH. Then the engineers at SHA and MdTA can determine where the speed limits can be that high. 

In my opinion, 70 MPH is not appropriate for most of I-68 in Allegany County.  Especially not the substandard segment through  Cumberland.  Especially not for the long (mostly) eastbound downgrade from Finzel to Cumberland.

I would assume that if any of I-68 were to have its speed limit raised, it would be in Garrett County and eastern Allegany County, not in western Allegany County, or especially Cumberland.

Quote from: algorerhythms on January 25, 2013, 02:04:51 PM
or especially Cumberland.

Quote from: deanej on January 26, 2013, 10:25:48 AM

Quote from: algorerhythms on January 25, 2013, 02:04:51 PM
or especially Cumberland.

I think King Radical (http://mcninja.wikia.com/wiki/King_Radical) would approve of 70 mph.  It's most rad!

Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 25, 2013, 09:56:24 PM

Quote from: algorerhythms on January 25, 2013, 02:04:51 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 24, 2013, 10:13:57 PM

Quote from: algorerhythms on January 24, 2013, 09:25:01 PM
George Edwards has introduced a bill to the Maryland Senate that would allow the speed limit on I-68 to be raised to 70 mph (http://times-news.com/latest_news/x503832129/Edwards-bill-would-increase-speed-limit-on-Interstate-68). I doubt it will pass, though.

IMO, that is the wrong way to go about it.  Much better if the Maryland General Assembly just increases the statutory maximum limit in Maryland to 70 or even 75 MPH. Then the engineers at SHA and MdTA can determine where the speed limits can be that high. 

In my opinion, 70 MPH is not appropriate for most of I-68 in Allegany County.  Especially not the substandard segment through  Cumberland.  Especially not for the long (mostly) eastbound downgrade from Finzel to Cumberland.

I would assume that if any of I-68 were to have its speed limit raised, it would be in Garrett County and eastern Allegany County, not in western Allegany County, or especially Cumberland.

70 MPH or even 75 MPH would seem to be fine along I-68 in most (all?) of Garrett County. 

Eastern Allegany, perhaps. I have driven all of I-68 in Maryland and West Virginia, but not for a few years, and I have a hard time drawing a line in my mind where a higher limit would be appropriate. Perhaps east of the M V Smith Road (Exit 64, Green Ridge State Forest) interchange?

QuoteThose things that make Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller a formidable adversary in Annapolis can sure come in handy sometimes. This week, he single-handedly restored to relevancy one of the most important issues facing Maryland – a looming shortfall in transportation funding – that others in his party seem to regard as radioactive.

QuoteCall him irascible, call him egotistical, call him a bull in a china shop, but the real lesson here is to always call on the longest-serving Senate leader in Maryland history when it's time to pick up an unpopular cause like raising the gas tax. The veteran Prince George's County politician may often be wrong, but he's never in doubt.

QuoteMind you, what President Miller is actually proposing – essentially splitting the gas tax increase between state and local governments so that, in theory, the metropolitan area could have a higher rate to finance metropolitan public transit – is not a good idea for a variety of reasons. But at least the bill, which is expected to be formally submitted next week, keeps the issue alive, providing lawmakers time to reason out a better alternative.

QuoteThe Senate president also calls on the state to lease the Intercounty Connector to private interests to help provide a short-term boost in transportation funds. Such a move would be fraught with complications (including paying off the bonds that financed the project), so it's difficult to know whether that might be a wise choice for the state or not. But based on experience elsewhere, legislators should be skeptical that it would do much more than provide some short-term cash in exchange for a much larger pile of long-term toll revenue that goes to private investors and not back into local transportation projects.

QuoteA grisly crash involving a tractor-trailer and a Prince George's County fire truck sent seven people, including four volunteer firefighters, to the hospital early Wednesday and caused major backups on the Capital Beltway for hours, authorities said.

QuoteOne of the firefighters, a 29-year-old from Lanham, suffered a severed arm and remained in "very critical condition"  Wednesday, said Chief John Alter of the West Lanham Hills fire station. He was undergoing surgery at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Alter said.

Quoteand was headed back to the station when it was rear ended by a tractor-trailer.

Quotethe (fire) truck was actually pulling up to the scene of that crash

QuoteLate Wednesday afternoon, Prince George's County Police released their preliminary findings on the accident which had the Beltway closed for hours, saying the fire engine was just leaving an accident call when it tried to make a U-turn at an emergency vehicle access point. Police say the engine collided with a tractor trailer, which sources say had the right of way.

Quote from: BrianP on January 30, 2013, 06:49:15 PM
CP its better to find out what happened before trying to assign blame.

QuoteQuick: Name the school closest to North Charles Street and Lake Avenue in North Baltimore.

QuoteStumped? The city's Department of Transportation has the answer: It's the Bryn Mawr School, less than a half-mile southwest of the intersection as the crow flies over the trees and side streets.

QuoteThe distance matters. Charles and Lake is the site of one of the city's 75 permanent speed cameras. Under state law, the devices must lie within a half-mile of a school, or 2,640 feet. With its hundreds of schools, Baltimore is essentially one giant potential school zone, as the accompanying map shows.

QuoteThere's a Starbucks and an Outback Steakhouse and a growing young tech company. Soon, a Harris Teeter grocery store and a Target will be built. All are helping to draw new residents to Canton.

QuoteBut where to park?

Quote"I don't know of any small part of Canton where there isn't a parking problem," said Darryl Jurkiewicz, president of the Canton Community Association. His organization has been pushing city officials for months to find solutions.

QuoteAs the General Assembly nears the halfway point in its 90-day session, Gov. Martin O'Malley and key legislators have yet to agree on a plan to pay for new roads, bridges and transit lines – a decision many consider critical to Maryland's economy.

QuoteBusiness leaders and others are warning that a longstanding erosion of the fund that finances transportation projects is becoming a crisis. Without new money in the form of higher taxes and fees, they say, work on critically needed projects – including Baltimore's Red Line and suburban Washington's Purple Line – will come to a halt.

QuoteMaryland lawmakers might finally have found the inspiration they need to get moving on a transportation funding package – in Virginia.

QuoteThe passage last weekend of a plan to infuse about $880 million a year into Virginia's roads and mass transit is likely to energize the debate across the Potomac, Maryland leaders said, citing the competition for jobs and the shared traffic congestion.

QuoteMaryland officials have renewed their push to revise the state's toll-collection policy, a move they say is necessary to pursue millions of dollars in unpaid tolls.

QuoteThe Maryland Transportation Authority is seeking stricter penalties for drivers who have toll citations mailed to them but don't pay up, and a House subcommittee is expected to act on the proposal Tuesday.

Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 27, 2013, 08:36:10 AM
Since the camera snaps a pic of the tag, can they really go after the unknown driver?  Or do they mean the vehicle's registration could be suspended?

Quote from: deanej on February 27, 2013, 11:48:14 AM
What do they do in case of someone driving a vehicle not registered to them?

Eliminating the yearly fee on E-ZPass would probably help here.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 10, 2013, 04:48:40 PM
Baltimore Sun: Bill would force changes to city speed camera sites - Sen. Brochin wants speed cameras limited to 500 feet of schools (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-sun-investigates-school-zones-20130209,0,6591604.story)

QuoteThe distance matters. Charles and Lake is the site of one of the city's 75 permanent speed cameras. Under state law, the devices must lie within a half-mile of a school, or 2,640 feet. With its hundreds of schools, Baltimore is essentially one giant potential school zone, as the accompanying map shows.

Quote from: MDRoads on February 28, 2013, 08:38:15 PM
This map was mentioned in an article just before the law was implemented, that the 1/2 mile radius accounts for 86% of the city's land area.

Quote from: kj3400 on March 02, 2013, 12:44:29 PM
It's a shame, the state of some of the city's streets. You can always tell when you leave the city because the pavement quality usually gets better. And instead of repaving the whole street (which would make more sense) they just patch up areas, making it that much worse when it deteriorates more.

QuoteGov. O'Malley's Transportation Funding Plan

Effective July 1, the transportation funding plan proposed Monday by Gov. Martin O'Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and House Speaker Michael E. Busch would do the following, effective July 1:

• Reduce the state excise tax on gasoline by five cents from 23.5-cents-per-gallon to 18.5-cents-per-gallon;
• Index the 18.5-cents-per-gallon state excise tax on gas to be linked to the inflation rate measured by the Consumer Price Index;
• Create a 2 percent sales tax on gas at the wholesale level, increasing to 4 percent on July 1, 2014;
• Index transit fares charged by the Maryland Transit Administration to the inflation rate measured by the Consumer Price Index;
• If Marketplace Equity Act passes, transportation would receive a percentage of revenue generated by its implementation. The Marketplace Equity Act would enable states to apply their sales tax to internet sales;
• State Treasury to issue General Obligation Bonds for federally required environmental improvements.

QuoteGov. Martin O'Malley and the Democratic leaders of the General Assembly are proposing to raise taxes on gasoline by $2 billion over five years to finance highways, transit and other transportation projects.

QuoteThe plan endorsed by the governor, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch would add 2 cents to the cost of a gallon of gasoline July 1 and another 7 cents a year later. In 2015, it would rise by another 7 cents unless Congress passes a bill that would allow states to apply sales taxes to Internet sales. Transit fares would also rise under the plan.

QuoteO'Malley decried "the worst traffic congestion in the country"  in his State of the State address in late January but did not endorse a specific plan to address it. Legislation he offered last year, which would have applied a 6 percent sales tax to gas, went nowhere.

QuoteDuring this session, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) has been the most vocal proponent of moving forward, crafting his own plan and publicly trying to goad O'Malley to take a leadership role.

QuoteIt's not much of a surprise that the Maryland State Highway Administration is again looking at making I-95 wider in Harford County from the Route 24 interchange south to the Baltimore County line and beyond.

QuoteThe state has dozens of projects in the long-term planning phase at any given moment and, depending on the politics of the moment, any such project can be jumped to the head of the line, or bumped back. The latest series of I-95 construction projects that have included major upgrades of the Route 24, White Marsh Boulevard and Baltimore Beltway interchanges, as well as the addition of extra lanes, was a low priority early in Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s administration, then it suddenly became a high priority and construction was begun.

QuoteLegislators in Maryland have filed bills to privatize via longterm P3 concession the Intercounty Connector (ICC) and the I-95 toll express lanes. Both would benefit by the greater respect for customers of private enterprise in place of the arrogant we-know-better stance of the MdTA as exemplified by their nannyish low speed limits for example, that dub the majority of motorists irresponsible speedsters.

QuoteBut the legislative initiative is unlikely to be successful. The ICC was funded in a complex set of arrangements so federal, state and county governments and bondholders would have to sign off on any deals. Also it seems unlikely they would come anywhere near to recouping the money the governments have put into them at this point. The ICC is only getting started as an operating pike and the I-95 Express Lanes aren't even open yet.

QuoteYet legislators do have an uncomplicated, surefire way to unlock value - in the state's only real turnpike.

Quote50th anniversary in the fall

QuoteNovember 14th will be the 50th anniversary of the opening by President John F Kennedy of what was called at the ceremony the "Delaware-Maryland Turnpike." The ribbon cutting was at the state border since the two states had collaborated to build their big turnpikes to open simultaneously since they depended on one another for connectivity and traffic. So the theme of Kennedy's speech was of the new highway as an exemplar of interstate cooperation. In Maryland the highway was known in construction as the Northeast Expressway. Opening the DE-MD Turnpike was Kennedy's last official act because only a few days later he died in Dallas TX at the hand of an assassin's bullets.

QuoteMaryland soon renamed the Northeast Expressway the John F Kennedy Memorial Highway in his honor, and it has been known ever since locally as the "JFK" or just as I-95.

Quote from: kj3400 on March 08, 2013, 03:17:57 PM
I never really thought of 95 as a turnpike. I've always just thought of it as the way north with a toll for the Tidings Bridge. 50 years, geez, that part of 95's almost as old as the M6 :P

Quote from: kj3400 on March 08, 2013, 03:17:57 PM
I never really thought of 95 as a turnpike. I've always just thought of it as the way north with a toll for the Tidings Bridge. 50 years, geez, that part of 95's almost as old as the M6 :P

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 08, 2013, 04:38:24 PM

Quote from: kj3400 on March 08, 2013, 03:17:57 PM
I never really thought of 95 as a turnpike. I've always just thought of it as the way north with a toll for the Tidings Bridge. 50 years, geez, that part of 95's almost as old as the M6 :P

Once upon a time there were ramp tolls, but they were removed around 30 years ago or so.

Quote from: kj3400 on March 08, 2013, 05:44:11 PM
This sounds like one of the few cases where a toll road was downgraded into a regular freeway. I bet if 95 were still a toll road today they would not be considering removing the tolls now. Not that they removed them completely, considering the NB toll still in place across the Tidings.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 08, 2013, 10:27:04 PM
Maryland has not fully de-tolled any toll roads or toll crossings

Quote from: kj3400 on March 08, 2013, 05:44:11 PM
This sounds like one of the few cases where a toll road was downgraded into a regular freeway. I bet if 95 were still a toll road today they would not be considering removing the tolls now. Not that they removed them completely, considering the NB toll still in place across the Tidings.

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 08, 2013, 04:38:24 PM

Quote from: kj3400 on March 08, 2013, 03:17:57 PM
I never really thought of 95 as a turnpike. I've always just thought of it as the way north with a toll for the Tidings Bridge. 50 years, geez, that part of 95's almost as old as the M6 :P

Once upon a time there were ramp tolls, but they were removed around 30 years ago or so.

Quote from: Steve on March 11, 2013, 08:43:31 PM

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 08, 2013, 04:38:24 PM

Quote from: kj3400 on March 08, 2013, 03:17:57 PM
I never really thought of 95 as a turnpike. I've always just thought of it as the way north with a toll for the Tidings Bridge. 50 years, geez, that part of 95's almost as old as the M6 :P

Once upon a time there were ramp tolls, but they were removed around 30 years ago or so.

Did Delaware have ramp tolls at Exit 1? I swear there's a toll plaza "mat" (large concrete area) right at the top of the I-95 SB ramp to DE 896 NB. Why would those have been removed? It would have cut down on shunpiking!

Quote from: Steve on March 11, 2013, 08:43:31 PM

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 08, 2013, 04:38:24 PM

Quote from: kj3400 on March 08, 2013, 03:17:57 PM
I never really thought of 95 as a turnpike. I've always just thought of it as the way north with a toll for the Tidings Bridge. 50 years, geez, that part of 95's almost as old as the M6 :P

Once upon a time there were ramp tolls, but they were removed around 30 years ago or so.

Did Delaware have ramp tolls at Exit 1? I swear there's a toll plaza "mat" (large concrete area) right at the top of the I-95 SB ramp to DE 896 NB. Why would those have been removed? It would have cut down on shunpiking!

Quote from: amroad17 on March 11, 2013, 11:56:50 PM
I notice today's exit 109 in MD was exit 9 when I-95 was tolled.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 12, 2013, 10:59:38 AM

Quote from: amroad17 on March 11, 2013, 11:56:50 PM
I notice today's exit 109 in MD was exit 9 when I-95 was tolled.

Yeah.  Prior to sometime in the 1980's, the  JFK Highway had its own set of exit numbers, starting with Exit 1, which I believe was I-695, and Exit 2 at Md. 43 at White Marsh. 

See snippet of the 1979/1980 Maryland SHA map below, which shows the fully-tolled JFK Highway with exit numbers starting at 3 (large file, about 1.7 MB, which is why you have to click the link to see it):

http://www.toward.com/cpz/jfkmap.jpg (http://www.toward.com/cpz/jfkmap.jpg)

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 12, 2013, 10:53:50 AM
Channel 4 news last night had a story about a woman who's outraged that she got a ticket for going 63 mph in the 65-mph zone "between the Beltways" on I-95. What they don't emphasize enough is that she was driving in the left lane. They mention it, but it's almost certainly her failure to keep to the right that motivated the cop to write the ticket–to which I say, good for the cop. It's too bad more of them don't enforce this sort of thing.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Driving-2-MPH-Under-Speed-Limit_-Md_-Woman-Gets-Ticket_Washington-DC.html

Quoteb)   On every roadway, except while overtaking and passing another vehicle going in the same direction or when preparing for a lawful left turn, any vehicle going 10 miles an hour or more below the applicable maximum speed limit or, if any existing conditions reasonably require a speed below that of the applicable maximum, at less than the normal speed of traffic under these conditions, shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.

QuoteCENTREVILLE — The community is invited and encouraged to attend a State Highway Administration meeting about the proposed overpass at Routes 301 and 304. It will be held in the cafeteria of Queen Anne's County High School on Tuesday April 30, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

QuoteThe public meeting will include visual displays of the project, a presentation given by SHA, and an opportunity for public comments and questions. "We are urging citizens to come to the high school for this meeting, and that would include those in the western part of the county as well,"  said County Commissioner Phil Dumenil. "This is a county wide public safety issue and we need this over-pass."

QuoteSILVER SPRING, Md. - It's known by several names: U.S. 29, Colesville Road and Columbia Pike. It's a road many people use to commute between D.C. and Baltimore to avoid the hassle of Interstate 95 or the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

Quote"I use it almost every day to commute because I work in Olney and I live inside the Beltway," says Jessie Manning of Silver Spring.

QuoteShe takes U.S. 29 to the InterCounty Connector to Interstate 370 and consciously chooses it over I-95. And she's not alone.

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 12, 2013, 11:09:17 AM
IIRC, that situation was part of what motivated Maryland to switch to milepost numbering in the early 1980s: Much like I-87 in New York or I-95 in Maine, Maryland's portion of I-95 had three different sets of exit numbers at that time–the Capital Beltway sequential numbers that ascended clockwise around the loop from US-1 in Virginia (Exit 1) to I-295 in Maryland (Exit 38), the "between-the-Beltways" numbers that (I believe) ascended northbound, and then a third set of sequential numbers on the JFK Highway. I don't remember how the numbers worked on the "between-the-Beltways" segment back then (and it also bears noting that I-95 was discontinuous at that time because the Fort McHenry Tunnel wasn't finished).

QuoteCHESTERTOWN - For the second year, the Kent County Sheriff's Office has reported on commercial vehicle inspection stops.

QuoteIn 2012, there were 352 commercial vehicle stops. Most were on U.S. Route 301 or state Route 213, especially around Galena and Massey, where some truckers try to avoid weigh stations.

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 12, 2013, 11:09:17 AM

IIRC, that situation was part of what motivated Maryland to switch to milepost numbering in the early 1980s: Much like I-87 in New York or I-95 in Maine, Maryland's portion of I-95 had three different sets of exit numbers at that time—the Capital Beltway sequential numbers that ascended clockwise around the loop from US-1 in Virginia (Exit 1) to I-295 in Maryland (Exit 38), the "between-the-Beltways" numbers that (I believe) ascended northbound, and then a third set of sequential numbers on the JFK Highway. I don't remember how the numbers worked on the "between-the-Beltways" segment back then (and it also bears noting that I-95 was discontinuous at that time because the Fort McHenry Tunnel wasn't finished).

Quote from: kj3400 on March 13, 2013, 03:29:00 PM

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 12, 2013, 11:09:17 AM

IIRC, that situation was part of what motivated Maryland to switch to milepost numbering in the early 1980s: Much like I-87 in New York or I-95 in Maine, Maryland's portion of I-95 had three different sets of exit numbers at that time—the Capital Beltway sequential numbers that ascended clockwise around the loop from US-1 in Virginia (Exit 1) to I-295 in Maryland (Exit 38), the "between-the-Beltways" numbers that (I believe) ascended northbound, and then a third set of sequential numbers on the JFK Highway. I don't remember how the numbers worked on the "between-the-Beltways" segment back then (and it also bears noting that I-95 was discontinuous at that time because the Fort McHenry Tunnel wasn't finished).

I haven't been to the west side of the Capital Beltway, so I wouldn't know, but does 95's numbering around the beltway screw with 495's numbering?

Quote from: deanej on March 13, 2013, 05:23:58 PM
Probably because the state lines are very poorly signed there.  The only crossing that has them is the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, probably because of I-95.  As far as I know, there is no other state welcome sign on any highway in the area.  Unless you can tell the difference between the road signs (and let's be honest, Joe driver probably can't), you can't even tell you crossed a state boundary.

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 13, 2013, 05:31:11 PM
Street View here for Inner Loop (the Maryland welcome sign is in the distance on the right; you can see it underneath the BGS with the distances): http://goo.gl/maps/WgSDW  If you pan it around and click into Virginia, you'll see the Virginia welcome sign below and to the right of the BGS for the first two exits.

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 13, 2013, 04:17:34 PM
There was no Exit 22; it was planned but never built.

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 13, 2013, 05:31:11 PM

Quote from: deanej on March 13, 2013, 05:23:58 PM
Probably because the state lines are very poorly signed there.  The only crossing that has them is the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, probably because of I-95.  As far as I know, there is no other state welcome sign on any highway in the area.  Unless you can tell the difference between the road signs (and let's be honest, Joe driver probably can't), you can't even tell you crossed a state boundary.

The American Legion Bridge has welcome signs. At least it always has for as long as I can remember. To be fair, the one on the Inner Loop (entering Maryland) appears after you pass the first exit.

Street View here for Inner Loop (the Maryland welcome sign is in the distance on the right; you can see it underneath the BGS with the distances): http://goo.gl/maps/WgSDW  If you pan it around and click into Virginia, you'll see the Virginia welcome sign below and to the right of the BGS for the first two exits.

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 12, 2013, 10:53:50 AM
Channel 4 news last night had a story about a woman who's outraged that she got a ticket for going 63 mph in the 65-mph zone "between the Beltways" on I-95. What they don't emphasize enough is that she was driving in the left lane. They mention it, but it's almost certainly her failure to keep to the right that motivated the cop to write the ticket–to which I say, good for the cop. It's too bad more of them don't enforce this sort of thing.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Driving-2-MPH-Under-Speed-Limit_-Md_-Woman-Gets-Ticket_Washington-DC.html

Quote from: NE2 on March 15, 2013, 07:49:30 AM
Good. Cops should enforce the laws as written, not as they think they read. Ignorance of the law and all that.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 15, 2013, 09:15:38 AM

Quote from: NE2 on March 15, 2013, 07:49:30 AM
Good. Cops should enforce the laws as written, not as they think they read. Ignorance of the law and all that.

a speeding ticket for 63 in a 65 seems awfully suspect.  "driving too fast for conditions" might apply but it seems to be stretching it.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 15, 2013, 09:15:38 AM
does Maryland have a "failure to keep right" law?  if so, they should have cited her based on that.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 15, 2013, 12:20:48 PM
Going 62 in the left lane is Nestoring, and the State Police were right to issue her a ticket.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 15, 2013, 12:55:27 PM
by not having a "slow traffic keep right" law, Maryland is setting itself up for failure.

Quote from: oscar on March 15, 2013, 01:11:53 PM

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 15, 2013, 12:55:27 PM
by not having a "slow traffic keep right" law, Maryland is setting itself up for failure.

Or at least a law like Virginia's, generally requiring left-lane traffic to move right to yield to overtaking traffic.

Best would be to adopt Texas' "left lane for passing only" (or "only for passing", I forget the exact language) signs, which I saw a lot of earlier this month driving through the panhandle.  Lane discipline there is noticeably better than in adjacent states such as New Mexico.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 15, 2013, 01:13:41 PM

Quote from: oscar on March 15, 2013, 01:11:53 PM

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 15, 2013, 12:55:27 PM
by not having a "slow traffic keep right" law, Maryland is setting itself up for failure.

Or at least a law like Virginia's, generally requiring left-lane traffic to move right to yield to overtaking traffic.

Best would be to adopt Texas' "left lane for passing only" (or "only for passing", I forget the exact language) signs, which I saw a lot of earlier this month driving through the panhandle.  Lane discipline there is noticeably better than in adjacent states such as New Mexico.

On four lane freeways (and four lane rural arterials, yes, this makes sense). 

On wider roads?  Not always.  Especially when approaching a major "split" in the freeway.

QuoteAlthough workers building express toll lanes have become a common sight on I-95 in eastern Baltimore County, Harford County residents should not expect to see the same thing on their side of the Little Gunpowder Falls for many years, state highways officials say.

QuoteA $2 billion Maryland Transportation Authority project to expand and add toll lanes to Section 200 of I-95 — between just north of the Route 43 interchange in White Marsh and the interchange with Route 22 near Aberdeen — has been put on hold until the MdTA can obtain the appropriate funding, John Sales, public affairs manager, said Thursday.

Quote"As far as we're concerned we're not intending to build those toll lanes on Section 200 any time soon until we get that funding in place," Sales explained.

Quote from: oscar on March 15, 2013, 01:11:53 PM

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 15, 2013, 12:55:27 PM
by not having a "slow traffic keep right" law, Maryland is setting itself up for failure.

Or at least a law like Virginia's, generally requiring left-lane traffic to move right to yield to overtaking traffic.

Best would be to adopt Texas' "left lane for passing only" (or "only for passing", I forget the exact language) signs, which I saw a lot of earlier this month driving through the panhandle.  Lane discipline there is noticeably better than in adjacent states such as New Mexico. 

Quote from: deanej on March 16, 2013, 12:04:13 PM
Remind me to never drive in VA.  I'd probably be stuck going 55 behind some slow moron because traffic in the left lane of freeways is almost always moving faster than the speed limit, which I won't.  I don't want some speeder to cause my "no traffic tickets" streak to end.  There are countless stretches of highway where moving right will almost always cause me to be "boxed in" and unable to change lanes.

Quote from: deanej on March 16, 2013, 12:04:13 PM
Remind me to never drive in VA.  I'd probably be stuck going 55 behind some slow moron because traffic in the left lane of freeways is almost always moving faster than the speed limit, which I won't.  I don't want some speeder to cause my "no traffic tickets" streak to end.  There are countless stretches of highway where moving right will almost always cause me to be "boxed in" and unable to change lanes.

QuoteMore than 300 people turned out before the House Ways and Means Committee to discuss Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to raise the gas tax and replenish the Transportation Trust Fund.

QuoteAccording to the Maryland Department of Transportation, the bill would generate about $800 million annually by 2016 and create $3.4 billion in transportation investments during the next five years.

QuoteBut the bill would also add a sales tax to gasoline, meaning the overall tax could increase from the current 23.5 cents to 42.7 cents by 2018.

QuoteSince Cofiroute, the French toller pioneered toll express lanes on the 91 Freeway nearly 20 years in the northeast corner of Orange County California such HOT or toll managed lanes have achieved a great record of success. But even the best ideas can be misapplied or poorly implemented.

QuoteThere's a disappointment very close here in Maryland - the I-95 Express Lanes (MD95ETLs) in the southern portion of the JFK Highway. These lead from the convergence of the northern approaches to the two Baltimore Harbor tunnels (Francis Scott Key Tunnel I-95 and Baltimore Harbor Tunnel I-895) up through the Baltimore Beltway I-695 and the MD43 interchange at White Marsh, a total of 8 miles.

QuoteA second section would extend this 14 miles and four interchanges further to serve the bedroom communities of Harford County.

QuoteThe project was planned ten and more years ago for traffic growth that hasn't occurred.  Planning for the first stage was part of a I-95 Master Plan study published April 2003 which based on Baltimore metro planning models forecast compound annual growth in traffic of 2.6%/year though a 2020 planning date from base traffic numbers in 2000. Even before the first portion of the planned express toll lanes (MD95ETLs) has opened are 12 years into the planning period 2000-2020.

QuoteSILVER SPRING, Md. - Former NBA star and Olympian Adrian Dantley is spending his time off the court, out of the gym and in the middle of the street as a crossing guard for Montgomery County Public Schools.

QuoteDantley, who grew up in the area and played for DeMatha High School and Notre Dame before going pro, says he realizes it's an unexpected choice.

QuoteMontgomery County planners are recommending that two travel lanes of Rockville Pike from the Capital Beltway to Western Avenue be re-purposed as dedicated rapid transit bus lanes. Planners say the rapid transit route would draw high ridership, but drivers could see their afternoon rush trip increase by nearly six minutes from Western Avenue to Cedar Lane by 2040.

QuoteAs lawmakers in Annapolis debate a bill to fund projects like the Purple Line in Montgomery County, a plan for another mass transit option called bus rapid transit is also in the works.

Quote"There is already congestion on 29 and 355 (Rockville Pike)," says Larry Cole, Master Planner for the Montgomery County Planning Board, who presented a bus rapid transit plan on Monday evening. "The traffic doesn't move on 355 sometimes. So what do you do? Do you accept the situation that the traffic will get worse or find a better way to use the lanes?"

QuoteAccording to a recent Metropolitan Washington Council of Government report, the population in the Washington Metro region will go up 21 percent between now and 2040.

QuoteThe Maryland House of Delegates voted 76 to 63 Friday to raise taxes on gas to help replenish a state transportation fund that is rapidly running out of money for highway construction and long-planned mass transit projects.

QuoteUnder the bill, a priority for Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), motorists could expect to pay roughly another 13 to 20 cents per gallon of gas by mid-2016, according to legislative analysts. The higher gas taxes would be phased in over several years, with the first increase of roughly 4 cents per gallon coming in July.

QuoteOne of every five commercial trucks pulled over in Baltimore by Maryland State Police inspectors during a two-day sweep this week was impounded for safety defects. In addition to the 114 defective trucks, 21 drivers were barred from driving for violations.

QuoteThe dragnet, the first in the city in six years, used 45 troopers from across the state to monitor highway ramps and prowl city streets. Trucks selected for inspection were either pulled over along Broening Highway and Fairfield Road, access roads to the port of Baltimore, or herded to a parking lot at M&T Bank Stadium.

QuoteDuring Tuesday and Wednesday, troopers carried out 562 inspections and issued 127 citations and 402 warnings. Offenses were as various as falsified log books, drivers spending too many hours behind the wheel, bad tires and defective brakes. Two men were arrested on outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court.

QuoteThe Maryland Department of Transportation will include in its six-year Consolidated Transportation Program funding to complete studies on a new light-rail line stretching from White Plains to the Branch Avenue Metro station in Marlow Heights, a replacement or expansion of the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge connecting Newburg to King George County, Va., and interchanges at the U.S. 301 intersections at Leonardtown Road and Mattawoman-Beantown Road in Waldorf, per an agreement with Gov. Martin O'Malley's (D) administration "as a condition for us voting for the bill,"  Middleton said.

QuoteThe Maryland Transportation Authority has agreed to allow a private group to host a 10K run across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge starting in the fall of 2014.

QuoteThe agreement among the MDTA, Queen Anne's County and Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run LLC, the group organizing the event, was announced this week.

QuoteThe first event will be held on Nov. 9, 2014. The agreement allows for subsequent runs in 2015 and 2016, said Sparrow Rogers, one of the event's organizers.

Quote from: 1995hoo on April 08, 2013, 05:46:42 PM
Channel 4 News just aired a report about new night speed limits in Montgomery County near a quarry, the goal being to reduce dump truck noise late at night.

I can't seem to get a direct URL on my iPad for the sign photo, so here's a link:

http://img.ly/u0WX

Quote from: 1995hoo on April 08, 2013, 05:46:42 PM
Channel 4 News just aired a report about new night speed limits in Montgomery County near a quarry, the goal being to reduce dump truck noise late at night.

I can't seem to get a direct URL on my iPad for the sign photo, so here's a link:

http://img.ly/u0WX

QuoteCENTREVILLE - Concerned members of the community and several elected officials attended an informational meeting Tuesday, April 30, hosted by the Maryland State Highway Administration concerning the design for the proposed interchange at the intersection of US 301 (Blue Star Highway) and MD 304 (Ruthsburg Road).

QuoteRepresentatives of the SHA design team as well as advocates for the interchange and several lawmakers spoke to a crowd of about 100 people in the cafeteria of Queen Anne's County High School. Speakers included Del. Steve Hershey, R-36-Queen Anne's, a student from QACHS and the founders of the grassroots group Support Overpass 4 Students, which formed following the fall 2011 death of QACHS student Conor Rice, 15, who was killed in a traffic crash at the intersection on his way to school.

QuoteIn the stop-and-go world of Baltimore-area traffic, there's a lot more braking than commuters and transportation officials would like.

QuoteTake Russell Allen, a Federal Hill resident who gets in his silver Ford Edge every weekday morning before 7:30 and steers south toward Fort Meade and the region's biggest bottleneck: Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Route 175.

QuoteThe trip starts fine. But around Route 100, Allen's windshield relfects a dazzling array of red taillights. "And it stays that way until I get to work – four miles and 20 minutes later," said Allen, 52, who works for the Army.

QuoteGoing in the opposite direction in late afternoon is even more excruciating, as northbound commuters try to merge with drivers who opted to leave work by Route 32, slightly more than two miles south. The resulting mixing bowl creates a daily backup that averages nearly 10 miles, according to the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.

QuoteNow that the General Assembly has approved a gas tax hike expected to generate $4.4 billion over the next six years, transportation officials see an opportunity to address some of the region's chronic trouble spots. They're planning to modify dangerous 1960s-style cloverleaf exchanges such as one at Harford Road and the Beltway – the second-worst bottleneck – and to make other localized remedies that cost a few million dollars.

QuoteBut fixing some problems – like the B-W Parkway – will happen "when we make cars that fly," deadpanned John Powell Jr., Howard County's transportation chief.

Quote from: kj3400 on May 06, 2013, 03:48:45 PM
I never do understand why anyone would rather take 295 to Washington than 95. Maybe during a non peak time, but rush hour has that freeway going slow for miles.

Quote from: kj3400 on May 06, 2013, 03:48:45 PM
I sorta like those cloverleafs, but at the same time, wondering why they never clovecloed them, like US 40 on the west side.

Quote from: lepidopteran on May 06, 2013, 09:45:45 PM
On I-95 in Savage, MD, I noticed a VMS saying the "Welcome Center" rest area on the SB side would be closing temporarily.  Anyone know if this is for the project to triple the number of truck parking spaces there?  This is between MD-32 and MD-216.  (Note that this is NOT the Chesapeake House/Maryland House project.)

QuoteClosures to Occur 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, May 13 through June 30; Closures will Affect One Welcome Center at a Time Starting with Southbound Side

Quote from: mtantillo on May 07, 2013, 12:12:10 AM
That's not good. That is, since Maryland House is closed, and many many temporary signs have the mileage to the Howard County rest area as the next rest area on I-95. Are they really going to temporarily change all of those temporary signs, or are they going to, "break a promise" they made to drivers on signs no fewer than 10 times?

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 07, 2013, 12:35:41 AM

Quote from: lepidopteran on May 06, 2013, 09:45:45 PM
On I-95 in Savage, MD, I noticed a VMS saying the "Welcome Center" rest area on the SB side would be closing temporarily.  Anyone know if this is for the project to triple the number of truck parking spaces there?  This is between MD-32 and MD-216.  (Note that this is NOT the Chesapeake House/Maryland House project.)

Just repaving of both sides, but  one side at a time.  Daytime only, apparently.

I-95 WELCOME CENTERS TO CLOSE FOR DAYTIME PAVING (http://www.roads.maryland.gov/pages/release.aspx?newsId=1491)

QuoteClosures to Occur 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, May 13 through June 30; Closures will Affect One Welcome Center at a Time Starting with Southbound Side

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 07, 2013, 12:36:53 AM

Quote from: mtantillo on May 07, 2013, 12:12:10 AM
That's not good. That is, since Maryland House is closed, and many many temporary signs have the mileage to the Howard County rest area as the next rest area on I-95. Are they really going to temporarily change all of those temporary signs, or are they going to, "break a promise" they made to drivers on signs no fewer than 10 times?

That's a very  good point.  I doubt that they have considered that.

Quote from: Steve on May 07, 2013, 07:01:18 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 07, 2013, 12:35:41 AM

Quote from: lepidopteran on May 06, 2013, 09:45:45 PM
On I-95 in Savage, MD, I noticed a VMS saying the "Welcome Center" rest area on the SB side would be closing temporarily.  Anyone know if this is for the project to triple the number of truck parking spaces there?  This is between MD-32 and MD-216.  (Note that this is NOT the Chesapeake House/Maryland House project.)

Just repaving of both sides, but  one side at a time.  Daytime only, apparently.

I-95 WELCOME CENTERS TO CLOSE FOR DAYTIME PAVING (http://www.roads.maryland.gov/pages/release.aspx?newsId=1491)

QuoteClosures to Occur 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, May 13 through June 30; Closures will Affect One Welcome Center at a Time Starting with Southbound Side

Who comes up with a scheme to only close the welcome center during DAYTIME?

Quote from: Steve on May 07, 2013, 07:01:18 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 07, 2013, 12:35:41 AM

Quote from: lepidopteran on May 06, 2013, 09:45:45 PM
On I-95 in Savage, MD, I noticed a VMS saying the "Welcome Center" rest area on the SB side would be closing temporarily.  Anyone know if this is for the project to triple the number of truck parking spaces there?  This is between MD-32 and MD-216.  (Note that this is NOT the Chesapeake House/Maryland House project.)

Just repaving of both sides, but  one side at a time.  Daytime only, apparently.

I-95 WELCOME CENTERS TO CLOSE FOR DAYTIME PAVING (http://www.roads.maryland.gov/pages/release.aspx?newsId=1491)

QuoteClosures to Occur 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, May 13 through June 30; Closures will Affect One Welcome Center at a Time Starting with Southbound Side

Who comes up with a scheme to only close the welcome center during DAYTIME?

Quote from: mtantillo on May 08, 2013, 12:17:51 AM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 07, 2013, 12:36:53 AM

Quote from: mtantillo on May 07, 2013, 12:12:10 AM
That's not good. That is, since Maryland House is closed, and many many temporary signs have the mileage to the Howard County rest area as the next rest area on I-95. Are they really going to temporarily change all of those temporary signs, or are they going to, "break a promise" they made to drivers on signs no fewer than 10 times?

That's a very  good point.  I doubt that they have considered that.

Yeah, if they are going to post very specific information, that should at least keep it up to date.  I suppose they would have to update the signs with distance to the Dale City rest areas in Virginia.  This is starting to seem like the infamous sign in Virginia on I-95 north in Carson saying the next rest area is in 180 miles (when Virginia temporarily closed its rest areas for budgetary reasons).

QuoteIt wasn't the average traffic stop on the Baltimore Beltway Tuesday morning.

QuoteMaryland state troopers noticed a man playing a drum kit on the shoulder of the Interstate 695 inner loop, between Windsor Mill Road and Security Boulevard, around 10:30 a.m., a spokeswoman said.

QuoteA CSX freight train derailed Tuesday afternoon in the Rosedale area, damaging nearby buildings, shutting down US Route 40 and causing a loud explosion that could be felt several miles away.

QuoteAuthorities in Baltimore County said the 15-car train struck a commercial truck near the 7500 block of Lake Drive, veering off the tracks near an industrial park. Initial reports were that no one was hurt, but County Executive Kevin Kamenetz later said the driver of the trailer was extricated and taken to Maryland Shock Trauma center in serious but stable condition.

QuoteGov. Martin O'Malley will turn to a longtime political ally, former Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith, to lead the Maryland Department of Transportation as it begins a new era of stepped-up construction, administration officials confirmed Tuesday.

QuoteO'Malley is expected to announce the appointment of Smith, 71, on Wednesday. His selection ends a search that has continued for more than a year – since former Transportation Secretary Beverly Swaim-Staley announced her departure last spring.

QuoteFormer Deputy Secretary Darrell Mobley has been running the department since Swaim-Staley left last summer. The administration officials said that Mobley will be offered another position in the administration. The officials did not name the post, but there is a vacancy in the high-ranking position of executive secretary of the Maryland Transportation Authority, which Mobley has chaired since Swaim-Staley left.

QuoteAn administration official said O'Malley had chosen Smith for his experience with financial management and development issues as county executive and his familiarity with the needs of local jurisdictions. The official said Smith is especially qualified to lead the state's efforts to forge public-private partnerships to build major projects with non-traditional financing – an approach bolstered by legislation that passed the General Assembly this year.

QuoteWednesday's appointment of former Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. as Maryland's secretary of transportation removes one prominent name from the guessing game over who the leading Democratic contenders for governor will choose as their running mates.

QuoteSmith said Wednesday that he has no interest in any job other than his new one running the transportation department. Gov. Martin O'Malley announced the appointment at a news conference with Smith at the site of a new Beltway expansion project near Frederick Road.

QuoteThe former county executive's name had been floated a few weeks before as a possible runnng mate choice by a campaign aide to Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown. The Brown gubernatorial campaign ended that speculation Wednesday when it confirmed that Ulman has accepted an invitation to run for lieutenant governor on Brown's ticket.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 28, 2013, 05:32:09 PM
Trash truck vs. CSX train.  Trash truck appears to have lost, though the  train derailed.

QuoteThe waste-removal company owned by the trucker who was seriously injured when an oncoming CSX Corp. train collided with his truck in Rosedale on Tuesday had been flagged previously for having a poor safety record, according to federal transportation and state police records.

QuoteBecause of the accident, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulators and inspectors with the Maryland State Police are planning a top-to-bottom compliance audit of the trucking company, Alban Waste.

QuoteOfficials plan to vet the company, its drivers and vehicles for any violations that had gone undetected in previous reviews, said Capt. Norman "Bill" Dofflemyer, head of the state police commercial vehicle enforcement division.

QuoteTo a child in love with trucks, the parade that rolled through a Landover parking lot Tuesday might have been better than the march of the elephants.

QuoteDump trucks, tractor-trailers, moving vans, tank trucks, car carriers, tow trucks, delivery vans, a tow truck pulling a truck, a flatbed truck loaded with a shiny red farm harvester and another sagging with the weight of an enormous crane.

QuoteWaved off the inner loop of the Capital Beltway by insistent Maryland state troopers, they entered the lot near FedEx Field by the hundreds, where teams of state police inspectors waited to check them out in an annual ritual repeated this week at almost 2,500 locations nationwide.

QuoteTrucks are inspected every day in the United States, sometimes at the side of the road and often at truck weighing stations, and the blitz of inspections every June is intended to showcase the process and underscore its importance.

QuoteSpeed cameras will be installed for the first time in Allegany County on eastbound Interstate 68 in the area west of U.S. Route 220 to east of Kelly Road as part of the Maryland State Highway Administration's SafeZones program.

Beginning Monday, warnings will be issued for an initial 21-day period through June 30.

QuoteSHA is rehabilitating the I-68 bridges over Kelly Road and Patterson Avenue, a project that includes a complete replacement of the driving surfaces, as well as additional work, to extend the life of the nearly 50-year-old structures.

QuoteSpeed cameras will be installed for the first time in Allegany County on eastbound Interstate 68 in the area west of U.S. Route 220 to east of Kelly Road as part of the Maryland State Highway Administration's SafeZones program.

Beginning Monday, warnings will be issued for an initial 21-day period through June 30.

Quote from: Steve on June 09, 2013, 03:54:07 PM

QuoteSpeed cameras will be installed for the first time in Allegany County on eastbound Interstate 68 in the area west of U.S. Route 220 to east of Kelly Road as part of the Maryland State Highway Administration's SafeZones program.

Beginning Monday, warnings will be issued for an initial 21-day period through June 30.

Now's your chance to speed recklessly and get a free warning to put up on your wall!

Quote from: MASTERNC on June 07, 2013, 10:35:16 PM
Speed cameras are continuing their trek west from the Baltimore-Washington area.  Now cameras will be focused on I-68 in Cumberland.  Oddly enough, they will be enforcing a 55 MPH speed limit, even though I believe the work zone enters a normally 40 MPH zone.

Cumberland Times News:  Speeders: Say Cheese (http://times-news.com/local/x765613863/Speeders-Say-cheese)

QuoteSpeed cameras will be installed for the first time in Allegany County on eastbound Interstate 68 in the area west of U.S. Route 220 to east of Kelly Road as part of the Maryland State Highway Administration's SafeZones program.

Beginning Monday, warnings will be issued for an initial 21-day period through June 30.

QuoteSHA is rehabilitating the I-68 bridges over Kelly Road and Patterson Avenue, a project that includes a complete replacement of the driving surfaces, as well as additional work, to extend the life of the nearly 50-year-old structures.

QuoteMy colleague, Candy Thomson, recently reported that a study will soon evaluate the structural condition and projected life left in the Bay Bridge, while also considering the possible addition of a third span to accommodate traffic demands that will soar by 2025.

QuoteThe first span that bound the Eastern and Western Shores opened for traffic in 1952. It had been troubled by 45 years of haggling, vanished funding and public debate that was additionally fueled by doubters, controversy, economic downturns and wars.

QuoteNew traffic data for the Washington area Inter County Connector MD200 tollroad shows traffic running about a third higher than a year ago. April traffic at 35,500 vehicles per segment workdays was up 34% over 26,400 of the same month last year. And the first four months of this year were up 32% over the same four months last year.

QuoteAverage workday trips per segment in the first four months of this year were 32,825 vs 24,730 in the same four months of 2012. MdTA provided us raw data by days and the table required considerable manipulation in Excel to get average monthly workday averages shown. The tollroad basically has five segments or stretches between interchanges and five mainline toll gantry points (see map nearby.)

Quote from: Steve on June 09, 2013, 03:54:07 PM

QuoteSpeed cameras will be installed for the first time in Allegany County on eastbound Interstate 68 in the area west of U.S. Route 220 to east of Kelly Road as part of the Maryland State Highway Administration's SafeZones program.

Beginning Monday, warnings will be issued for an initial 21-day period through June 30.

Now's your chance to speed recklessly and get a free warning to put up on your wall!

Quote from: iwishiwascanadian on June 18, 2013, 01:47:40 AM
The Baltimore Sun had a short video on it's website about the SHA making road signs.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/videogallery/76310541/Producing-signs-for-Md-State-Highway-Administration-Video (http://www.baltimoresun.com/videogallery/76310541/Producing-signs-for-Md-State-Highway-Administration-Video)

Quote from: kj3400 on June 04, 2013, 05:34:50 PM
Shame. That was a nice train. Also, that crossing should have at least had lights, though I'm sure there's some logical reason behind it not having them.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 01, 2013, 04:20:41 PM
WTOP Radio: Tolls go up across Md. on bridges, tunnels, roads (http://www.wtop.com/654/3375767/Tolls-go-up-across-Md-on-bridges-tunnels-roads)

QuoteTolls also increased for people using E-ZPass. Rates went from 75 cents to $1.40 on the Harbor Tunnel, Fort McHenry Tunnel and the Key Bridge. On the Bay Bridge and Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge, tolls went from $1 to $2.10. On I-95 and the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge, tolls went from $1.50 to $2.80.

Quote from: Alex on July 01, 2013, 05:44:40 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 01, 2013, 04:20:41 PM
WTOP Radio: Tolls go up across Md. on bridges, tunnels, roads (http://www.wtop.com/654/3375767/Tolls-go-up-across-Md-on-bridges-tunnels-roads)

QuoteTolls also increased for people using E-ZPass. Rates went from 75 cents to $1.40 on the Harbor Tunnel, Fort McHenry Tunnel and the Key Bridge. On the Bay Bridge and Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge, tolls went from $1 to $2.10. On I-95 and the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge, tolls went from $1.50 to $2.80.

These figures must be the commuter rates (ones requiring something like 30 crossings a month), right?

QuoteO'Malley noted the projects have been made possible by a gas tax increase that was approved in the legislative session. It is Maryland's first gas tax increase in two decades.

QuoteThe biggest item is $280 million to complete right-of-way acquisition and final design for the Purple Line, a planned 16-mile light rail line with 21 stations between Bethesda and New Carrollton.

QuoteThe State Highway Administration (SHA) donated more than 5,000 linear feet, or approximately $6,000 worth of aluminum from old road signs to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to build a complex of greenhouses, a native tree nursery and a 5,000 gallon water storage unit in Frostburg, Allegany County

QuoteOn July 1, a new law went into effect that should motivate toll violators to pay their overdue tolls.  This law gives the MD Transportation Authority (MDTA) the ability to suspend the vehicle registration of toll violators who choose not to pay their tolls.  MDTA has begun the transition to a new civil citation process to help the agency recoup the money owed by those who use the State's toll facilities and never pay up.

QuoteThe new law, to be fully implemented in early October 2013, also provides anyone with an unpaid toll prior to July 1, 2013, a unique opportunity to pay their toll balances without having to pay fees.  Toll violators who do not take advantage of the transition period will receive a new Notice of Toll(s) Due (NOTD) under the new law beginning in October for their unpaid tolls and then will be subject to a civil citation and $50 fine for each toll violation.

QuoteAs much as $7 million will go to building a new interchange off the Beltway to the Greenbelt Metro station...

QuoteApproximately $50 million will fund a new access road and a pedestrian bridge at the Branch Avenue Metro station...

QuoteBut isn't there already an interchange to the Greenbelt Metro?  At least there is in the SB direction; NB traffic has to exit at Kenilworth/MD-201 and wend through some local roads to get there.  Maybe they mean modifying the interchange to serve both directions?

QuoteThere's also a plan for the Branch Avenue Metro station, though it's not clear if that will be directly on the Beltway.

QuoteJames T. Smith Jr. had no interest in overseeing a state transportation network so tight on money that new roads and transit systems had little chance of being built.

QuoteAt 71, he had an impressive résumé: seven years on the Baltimore County Council, 16 years as a Circuit Court judge and two terms as Baltimore County's executive. When people close to Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) asked last summer if he'd be interested in heading the state Transportation Department, Smith said he told them "no."

Quote"I just didn't want, at this time in my life, to preside over a department treading water,"  he said recently.

QuoteSo why is he now Maryland's new transportation secretary?

Quote"The environment changed,"  he said.

QuoteWith a new state sales tax on gasoline, there is suddenly money to be had – an estimated $4.4 billion in additional revenue over the next six years – and a long wish list of projects that were postponed during the lean years.

QuoteA 22-year-old woman was injured Friday night when a tractor-trailer struck her car and sent it over the railing of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge into the shallow waters near the eastbound start of the span, transportation and fire officials said.

QuoteThe woman suffered what was believed to be critical but non-life threatening injuries and she was taken by helicopter to the Shock Trauma Center, said Anne Arundel County Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Thompson.

QuoteA woman swam to safety in the Chesapeake Bay Friday night after her car plunged 40 feet off the Bay Bridge following a collision.

QuoteThe woman was taken by helicopter to the shock trauma unit of the University of Maryland hospital. When rescue personnel reached her she was conscious and breathing, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel county fire department said.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 20, 2013, 12:58:24 PM
Baltimore Sun: Driver injured when collision sends car into bay - Accident on Bay Bridge closes eastbound lanes (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-bay-bridge-accident-20130719,0,1217648.story)

Quote from: Mr_Northside on July 21, 2013, 04:02:44 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on July 20, 2013, 12:58:24 PM
Baltimore Sun: Driver injured when collision sends car into bay - Accident on Bay Bridge closes eastbound lanes (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-bay-bridge-accident-20130719,0,1217648.story)

Damn!

QuoteThere's no way of knowing whether Friday's crash made more people fearful of the bridge crossing, but there is no shortage of people in the area who tremble as they approach.

Quote"I have a linebacker, used to play for the Maryland Terps,"  said Mathews, the shuttle service driver. "He's got a Cotton Bowl ring. And he said his heart used to race so bad going across the bridge. He said, "˜By the time I got off, it took me an hour to get myself calmed down.' "

QuoteMen and women are equally represented among those who pay to be driven across the bridge, she said. They come in all ages.

QuoteThe biggest recent panic attack came Saturday afternoon, when a woman headed east froze and refused to go any farther just after she drove onto the bridge. Police arrived to block the lane, Mathews was summoned to collect the woman and her vehicle was towed.

QuoteIt is a thoroughly obsolete substandard design for a major highway - one 2-lane bridge and one 3-lane bridge.

QuoteNeither has any shoulder space on the deck so whenever there is maintenance work or an incident and one bridge gets closed, the other has to run two-way traffic.

QuoteTwo and three lanes are dropped to one.

QuoteTen and 20 mile backups can occur. Plus there can be waits at the old-fashioned cash toll plaza.

QuoteYou might think they'd be well advanced in plans for a new modern span.

QuoteYou'd be wrong. No plans.

QuoteNot even an acknowledgment by MdTA that something needs to be done.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 08, 2013, 06:41:17 AMThere's not nearly enough of it along I-95 between Emporia, Virginia and Wilmington, Delaware, and the (lack of) truck parking is even worse between Carmel Church/Ruther Glen, Va. and Perryville, Md.

Quote from: elsmere241 on July 24, 2013, 08:34:42 AM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 08, 2013, 06:41:17 AMThere's not nearly enough of it along I-95 between Emporia, Virginia and Wilmington, Delaware, and the (lack of) truck parking is even worse between Carmel Church/Ruther Glen, Va. and Perryville, Md.

My brother-in-law is a trucker.  When he stops to see us (in Elsmere, DE), he parks at the Flying J off Exit 2C in New Jersey.

QuoteCrash experts from the National Transportation Safety Board were at a Glen Burnie salvage yard Thursday morning to look at the three vehicles involved in the Bay Bridge accident that catapulted a young woman and her car into the water.

QuoteAt the same time, state officials – including Gov. Martin O'Malley – went on the offensive to reassure the public that the 61-year-old bridge is safe and that they would implement any recommendations made by the NTSB.

QuoteThe federal inspectors spent more than two hours in the fenced-in lot at North County Towing and Recovery, looking at wreckage from the crash. They were joined by accident reconstruction officers from the Maryland Transportation Authority, operator of the bridge, and the Maryland State Police. They also drove across the bridge and inspected the crash scene.

QuoteKenniss Henry told the lawmaker all the horrible details about her daughter's death: How Natasha Pettigrew headed out before sunrise on a fall morning for a bike ride, part of her triathlon training. How the SUV driver who hit her told police she kept on going because she thought she had hit a deer.

QuoteHow at the hospital that day in September 2010 her daughter's eyes were "stitched and stapled."  That the 30-year-old law student's teeth were broken, her ribs shattered, her lung collapsed. That one of her hands was literally "a bag of bones."  And that surgeons were preparing to drill into her skull to see if they could detect any brain activity.

QuoteAfter her daughter died, prosecutors told Henry that they would try to build a criminal case against the driver, but because of Maryland's lax vehicular manslaughter laws, the charges would probably not be severe.

QuoteThat's why Henry was in Annapolis, telling her story to Del. Joseph F. Vallario Jr., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

QuoteVallario (D-Prince George's), who is also a criminal defense attorney, had for years stood in the way of bills aimed at making it easier for prosecutors to get jail time for negligent drivers, arguing they criminalized what were often accidents. At a time "of unspeakable grief,"  Henry was trying to change his mind – not for her daughter's case, but for those like it in the future.

QuoteWeeks later, Henry almost fainted, she said, when prosecutors told her who was representing the driver who killed her daughter: Vallario's son, who operates out of his father's law office in Suitland.

QuoteThe episode is now the subject of an ethics complaint, with Henry arguing that Vallario – whose roles as both legislator and defense lawyer have long drawn scrutiny in Annapolis – had an egregious conflict of interest.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on August 04, 2013, 12:08:29 AM

QuoteThe episode is now the subject of an ethics complaint, with Henry arguing that Vallario – whose roles as both legislator and defense lawyer have long drawn scrutiny in Annapolis – had an egregious conflict of interest.

Quote– $400 million for construction of the Purple Line, which comes on top of $280 million announced previously to buy land and finish the project's design

– $125 million to construct a new interchange along I-270 at Watkins Mill Road

– $100 million to buy land and design the Corridor Cities Transitway

– $85 million for Montgomery's Ride On Bus system

– $25 million to build relocate a section of Md. 97 (Georgia Avenue) to bypass the Town of Brookeville

– $7 million to build interchanges at U.S. 29 and Musgrove Road and at U.S. 29 and Fairland Road

– $3 million to design the widening of Md. 124 (Woodfield Road) from Midcounty Highway to south of Airpark Road

– $3 million for planning to evaluate possible improvements in the Md. 28/Md. 198 corridor between Md. 97 and I-95.

Quote from: BrianP on August 06, 2013, 10:26:23 AM
State earmarks $1 billion in transportation money for Montgomery
http://www.gazette.net/article/20130805/NEWS/130809712/1124/state-earmarks-1-billion-in-transportation-money-for-montgomery&template=gazette

– $400 million for construction of the Purple Line, which comes on top of $280 million announced previously to buy land and finish the project's design

Quote– $125 million to construct a new interchange along I-270 at Watkins Mill Road

Quote– $100 million to buy land and design the Corridor Cities Transitway

Quote– $85 million for Montgomery's Ride On Bus system

Quote– $25 million to build relocate a section of Md. 97 (Georgia Avenue) to bypass the Town of Brookeville

Quote– $7 million to build interchanges at U.S. 29 and Musgrove Road and at U.S. 29 and Fairland Road

Quote– $3 million to design the widening of Md. 124 (Woodfield Road) from Midcounty Highway to south of Airpark Road

Quote– $3 million for planning to evaluate possible improvements in the Md. 28/Md. 198 corridor between Md. 97 and I-95.

QuoteBaltimore City

Advance the Red Line towards construction
Make travel throughout the state easier by adding weekend service on the MARC Penn Line, expanding service on the Camden line and replacing old and unreliable locomotives throughout entire MARC system.

Baltimore County

Reconstruct the I-695 Leeds Avenue Interchange providing a direct connection from the I-695 Inner Loop to US 1and Leeds Ave. Project will also replace and widen structurally deficient bridges improving safety.

Frederick County

Build an interchange at US 15/Monocacy Boulevard in Frederick, including a 427-space park-and-ride lot and bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

Harford County

Improve several intersections along key access routes to Aberdeen Proving Ground to accommodate the increase of employment as a result of BRAC.

Howard County

Widen 2.8 miles of northbound US 29 in Columbia from 2 lanes to 3, including constructing noise walls.

Montgomery County

Construct a new interchange just north of the existing I-270/MD124 interchange to support economic development and relieve congestion along MD 355, MD 124, and I-270.
Advance the Corridor Cities Transitway towards construction.

Prince George's County

Advance the Purple Line towards construction
Reconstruct the existing MD 210 intersection at Kerby Hill Rd/Livingston Rd to an interchange

Queen Anne's County

Replace the existing US 301/MD 304 intersection in Centerville with an interchange,

Southern Maryland:

Calvert, St. Mary's and Charles Counties

Complete engineering for a new four-lane bridge parallel to, and south of, the existing Thomas Johnson Bridge to increase the capacity of MD 4 over the Patuxent River.

Quote from: BrianP on August 06, 2013, 06:42:57 PM
Here's a statewide list of initial projects to be funded by the Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013:
http://www.governor.maryland.gov/documents/transportationfactsheet.pdf

Quote from: BrianP on August 06, 2013, 06:42:57 PM
Complete engineering for a new four-lane bridge parallel to, and south of, the existing Thomas Johnson Bridge to increase the capacity of MD 4 over the Patuxent River.

Quote from: BrianP on August 06, 2013, 06:42:57 PM
I would hope to see extending the MD 32 freeway to I-70 to be on that list at some time.

QuoteThe Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) has completed the nearly three year renovation of the historic US 40 (Baltimore National Pike) Bridge over the Patapsco River between Baltimore and Howard counties.

QuoteAs part of the project, crews will replace the structural steel and the deck (driving surface) of the bridge, and will widen the piers that support it. When complete, each side of the bridge will be 51 feet wide, up from the original 30 feet, four inches. The highway will continue to have two lanes in each direction, but wide inner shoulders will allow room for the potential future addition of a third lane.

QuoteToday's announcement provides nearly $160 million in key projects for the Eastern Shore, including:

- $52 million to construct a new interchange at US 301/ MD 304;

- $50 million to build a MD 331 Dover Bridge replacement;

- $42 million in construction funds to widen and dualize MD 404 from west of MD 309 to Cemetery Road (Phase 1B);

- $11 million for right-of-way acquisition funds to widen and dualize US 113 from Massey Branch to Five Mile Branch Road (Phase 3) No Construction funding available; and

- $3.7 million to start construction of a new roundabout at MD 822 (University of Maryland Eastern Shore Boulevard) and MD 675 (Somerset Avenue) near the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne.

QuoteA preliminary federal report on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge crash that sent a car into the water says the driver of a tractor-trailer involved was on his first solo trip in the U.S.

QuoteOn Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board released the report on the July 19 accident near Annapolis. The crash sent a car driven by 22-year-old Morgan Lake over the railing and into the water 27 feet below. Lake was able to get out of the car and was rescued.

Quote from: froggie on August 20, 2013, 02:51:04 AM
- While a US 301/MD 304 interchange may be needed, I'd think there'd be higher priority locations they could build an interchange first....namely US 50/MD 213 or (even moreso) US 50/MD 404.

QuoteThe former is a single project.  The latter are parts of a larger project to widen and make limited access US 50 between US 301 and MD 404.

Quote from: froggie on August 21, 2013, 03:07:47 AM

QuoteThe former is a single project.  The latter are parts of a larger project to widen and make limited access US 50 between US 301 and MD 404.

There's absolutely no reason why SHA couldn't split up the US 50 interchanges into separate projects, built to accommodate the future widening.

Getting some improvements sooner would be a lot better than waiting forever for the whole enchilada...

Quote from: froggie on August 20, 2013, 02:51:04 AM
- The Dover Bridge replacement is seriously needed.  Glad to see it funded.

QuoteThe first year the two speed cameras went up on Annapolis Road in Landover Hills, they produced $1.3 million in fines and enough cash for the town to buy a vehicle to enforce the speed limit.

QuoteThat may not seem like much in a region that routinely collects millions of dollars in traffic-enforcement fines, but the money made a difference for the northern Prince George's County town of fewer than 2,000 people.

QuoteLandover Hills is one of a growing number of Maryland jurisdictions that use automated cameras to catch speeders. For some, the programs have added a valuable source of revenue, but often accompanied by legal challenges and a public perception that the cameras are being used as moneymakers rather than to improve safety.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on August 25, 2013, 07:26:15 PM
Washington  Post: Growing number of Maryland municipalities using speed cameras (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/growing-number-of-maryland-municipalities-using-speed-cameras/2013/08/24/f0406a1a-0501-11e3-88d6-d5795fab4637_story.html)

QuoteThe first year the two speed cameras went up on Annapolis Road in Landover Hills, they produced $1.3 million in fines and enough cash for the town to buy a vehicle to enforce the speed limit.

QuoteThat may not seem like much in a region that routinely collects millions of dollars in traffic-enforcement fines, but the money made a difference for the northern Prince George's County town of fewer than 2,000 people.

QuoteLandover Hills is one of a growing number of Maryland jurisdictions that use automated cameras to catch speeders. For some, the programs have added a valuable source of revenue, but often accompanied by legal challenges and a public perception that the cameras are being used as moneymakers rather than to improve safety.

Quote from: DeaconG on August 25, 2013, 07:41:32 PM
I used to live in Landover Hills when I worked at GSFC in the 80s.  I'm not surprised.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on August 25, 2013, 08:32:00 PM

Quote from: DeaconG on August 25, 2013, 07:41:32 PM
I used to live in Landover Hills when I worked at GSFC in the 80s.  I'm not surprised.

I worked at GSFC in the 1970's for CSC. Building 23 in image processing - Landsat, HCMM and Nimbus 7.

The stuff that we processed the spacecraft location and attitude and similar data was mostly junk - Xerox Data Systems Sigma and Modcomp IV computers. 

The equipment that did the actual image processing was state-of-the-art from IBM.

QuoteA Montgomery County man was killed Friday when his motorcycle went out of control, crashed into his house and went through a window,the county police said.

QuoteThey said the man lost control of the motorcycle in the Montgomery Village area while doing a "wheelie."  In such a maneuver, the motorcycle is balanced for a time on its rear wheel.

QuoteBaltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport leapfrogged ahead of Washington Dulles International Airport in terms of passenger counts in 2012, according to Airports Council International.

QuoteBWI was the nation's 22nd busiest airport in 2012, bumping Dulles down a place, according the council, which released passenger data for North American airports on Tuesday.

QuotePassenger volume at BWI rose 1.25 percent to nearly 22.7 million last year, while Dulles slipped 2.89 percent to 22.4 million.

QuoteSouthwest doesn't have hubs, but they do fly to a limited number of airports.

Quote from: froggie on September 05, 2013, 02:44:29 AM

QuoteSouthwest doesn't have hubs, but they do fly to a limited number of airports.

Neither is true anymore.  65% of BWI's flights are Southwest, and it's a core of Southwest's activity on the East Coast...tell me again that isn't a hub.  They also fly to a much larger number of airports than they used to.

....

Quote from: froggie on September 05, 2013, 02:44:29 AM
BrianP:  that hasn't really been cited as a factor in the past.  A stronger argument could be made that National is pulling more passengers from Dulles than BWI is, especially given some recent high-profile flight approvals in and out of National.

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 05, 2013, 11:27:31 AM
But as a general matter, for everyday discussion it would probably be reasonable to regard BWI as an operational "hub" for Southwest as long as the term isn't being used in the "hub and spoke" sense where large numbers of that airline's flights fly into that city so that passengers will change planes.

Quote from: BrianP on September 04, 2013, 01:44:14 PM
Two road reasons contributing could be the ICC making access from Upper Montgomery County to BWI easier (permanent), and the beltway construction in Virginia (temporary).  Having to cross the AL bridge also favors going to BWI from the MD burbs.

QuoteBefore there was science, there was human intuition. For example, intuition told the caveman that living in a cave was a better bet than, say, living under a rosebush. A caveman's intuition also could tell you that traffic will stink when 85,000 people head to the Washington Redskins game Monday night.

QuoteNow, science can tell you that, too.

QuoteUsing data from past Monday night games at FedEx Field, a company that collects traffic data from thousands of transponders in trucks and fleet vehicles has crunched the numbers in better-than-a-caveman fashion to aid your Monday-night game plan.

Quote"If it usually takes 45 minutes to get home or get to the stadium, count on nearly 90 minutes on game night between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m,"  said Jamie Holter, a traffic analyst for INRIX, which provides much of the information in radio, television and Internet traffic reports.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 05, 2013, 10:38:53 PM

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 05, 2013, 11:27:31 AM
But as a general matter, for everyday discussion it would probably be reasonable to regard BWI as an operational "hub" for Southwest as long as the term isn't being used in the "hub and spoke" sense where large numbers of that airline's flights fly into that city so that passengers will change planes.

You can call it what you like, but Southwest's operations at BWI meet my  definition of a "hub," even though Southwest is not a hub-and-spoke airline.

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 05, 2013, 11:33:59 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on September 05, 2013, 10:38:53 PM

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 05, 2013, 11:27:31 AM
But as a general matter, for everyday discussion it would probably be reasonable to regard BWI as an operational "hub" for Southwest as long as the term isn't being used in the "hub and spoke" sense where large numbers of that airline's flights fly into that city so that passengers will change planes.

You can call it what you like, but Southwest's operations at BWI meet my  definition of a "hub," even though Southwest is not a hub-and-spoke airline.

Isn't that more or less what I said?

Quote from: cpzilliacus on August 04, 2013, 12:10:26 AM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on August 04, 2013, 12:08:29 AM

QuoteThe episode is now the subject of an ethics complaint, with Henry arguing that Vallario – whose roles as both legislator and defense lawyer have long drawn scrutiny in Annapolis – had an egregious conflict of interest.

The Maryland media should have been paying attention to Joe Vallario's representation of drunk and reckless drivers in Annapolis a long time ago.  I have no problem with him representing them in court (he's a criminal defense lawyer, after all), but I have a major problem with his activities in the General Assembly.

Quote from: froggie on September 07, 2013, 02:33:01 AM
IMO, part of that was a desire to "raise revenue" without "raising taxes".  There is a very noticeable sect of taxophobics in Virginia.

Quote from: 1995hoo on September 07, 2013, 12:16:26 PM

Quote from: froggie on September 07, 2013, 02:33:01 AM
IMO, part of that was a desire to "raise revenue" without "raising taxes".  There is a very noticeable sect of taxophobics in Virginia.

Absolutely correct. Doesn't make what Albo did any less odious, though.

Quote from: froggie on September 09, 2013, 01:09:04 AM
Not all of them.  You only hear a very small subset of the voters, because they are the most vocal against any taxes.  Most Virginians realize that the roads are going to crap and something needs to be done to get the revenue to fix it, but they aren't the ones you hear.  The only ones you actually hear are the anti-tax or anti-toll folks.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on August 06, 2013, 08:10:29 PM

Quote from: BrianP on August 06, 2013, 06:42:57 PM
I would hope to see extending the MD 32 freeway to I-70 to be on that list at some time.

I strongly agree.  I believe 32 between Md. 108 and I-70 is the busiest two-lane highway in the state. 

There have been more than a few wrecks on that part of 32 as well.

Quote from: Mr_Northside on September 10, 2013, 02:33:59 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on August 06, 2013, 08:10:29 PM

Quote from: BrianP on August 06, 2013, 06:42:57 PM
I would hope to see extending the MD 32 freeway to I-70 to be on that list at some time.

I strongly agree.  I believe 32 between Md. 108 and I-70 is the busiest two-lane highway in the state. 

There have been more than a few wrecks on that part of 32 as well.

Took that stretch of MD-32 back from the beach last Saturday (along with the rest of MD-32 from I-97 to I-70), and there is interchange construction well underway... I want to say at Linden Church Rd.  The new overpass looks pretty far along, but the ramp grading still seems like it has a way to go.  I'm not sure if I had read anything about the project before, but if I did, I forgot about it. 

Like the Burntwoods Rd. interchange a little further north/west they put in a couple of years ago, when done I'm certain this new interchange will be able to accommodate 4-laning at some point in the future.

QuoteRush-hour commuters could pay nearly $5 a day in tolls to travel back and forth on a seven-mile stretch of express toll lanes set to open next year along Interstate 95 east and north of Baltimore, according to proposed pricing approved Thursday by the board of the Maryland Transportation Authority.

QuoteThe new lanes, scheduled to open late next year, would offer a quicker travel option for commuters willing to pay.

QuoteThe suggested tolls vary by the time of day and the type of vehicle, but a car traveling on the toll lanes during peak hours would pay between 25 cents and 35 cents per mile.

Quote from: kj3400 on September 19, 2013, 11:05:24 PM
I'm a little surprised that the ET lanes don't interchange directly with I-695. I'm even more surprised that they aren't going to untwist the carriageway swap that the Beltway makes. Unless this is temporary.

Quote from: kj3400 on September 19, 2013, 11:05:24 PM
I'm a little surprised that the ET lanes don't interchange directly with I-695. I'm even more surprised that they aren't going to untwist the carriageway swap that the Beltway makes. Unless this is temporary.

QuoteThe cleanup of soil contaminated by gasoline at two travel plazas on Interstate 95 likely will cost the state $2.2 million more than estimated, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

QuoteRemediation work at Maryland House in Harford County has cost $2.6 million – far more than the $800,000 planned budget for both sites, officials said. Work is getting underway to assess soil contamination at Chesapeake House in Cecil County, officials said.

QuoteThe final remediation costs above the initial budget will be subtracted from the rent paid by Areas USA to the state. The Miami-based firm is investing $56 million to renovate the plazas in exchange for leasing rights to operate the facilities through 2047, officials said.

QuoteDuring my I-95 Highway Ah-hah! the other day, I wondered why the state was pushing ETLs exclusively and not HOV lanes – that is, high-occupancy vehicle lanes that encourage car-pooling. (Remember car-pooling?)

QuoteWe have HOV lanes on two other stretches of highway in Maryland, so why not this very wide stretch of I-95?

QuoteI started nosing around for an answer to this.

QuoteAccording to Peter Samuel, former editor-publisher of TOLLROADSNews.com and now a contributing writer to that site, a combination of ETLs and HOV lanes (so-called HOTs, for High Occupancy/Tolls) are all the rage these days. These systems allow high-occupancy vehicles to use the express lanes for free or at discount.

QuoteHOV lanes are underused, Samuel said, and enforcing the law, which requires two or more people in each vehicle, has become problematic for police. "The trend," said Samuel, who lives in Frederick, "has been to convert HOV [lanes] to HOTs."

QuoteI know I'm a little late to this party, but I think we're missing an opportunity to encourage fewer cars on the road – and less gasoline consumption – by allowing HOVs to benefit from the new, improved, wide-body I-95. Come on, a little sugar for car-poolers, please.

QuoteAiming to boost the fledgling market for plug-in vehicles, Maryland and seven other states pledged Thursday to use their governments' tax and spending powers to get 3.3 million "zero-emission" cars, trucks and vans on the road in the next dozen years.

QuoteGov. Martin O'Malley and his counterparts in California, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont formally vowed to promote plug-in or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in their states. They signed an agreement promising to take steps in their states to expand consumer demand for the vehicles, which despite rapidly rising sales remain a tiny portion of the cars and trucks sold in the United States.

QuoteThe governors committed to changing building codes to make it easier to build charging stations, buying zero-emissions vehicles for government fleets, offering tax breaks or other financial incentives to consumers, and discounting electric rates for home charging systems.

Quote from: NJRoadfan on September 20, 2013, 12:26:54 AM

Quote from: kj3400 on September 19, 2013, 11:05:24 PM
I'm a little surprised that the ET lanes don't interchange directly with I-695. I'm even more surprised that they aren't going to untwist the carriageway swap that the Beltway makes. Unless this is temporary.

There were plans to connect the ET lanes to I-695 and to untwist it..... MdTA ran out of money. Given how long its taking them to open up these lanes, its costing them even more money. Besides the bridges at I-695 the lanes have been sitting complete, empty, and unused for about a year now.

QuoteGovernor Martin O'Malley and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman today announced that the new interchange along MD 32 at Linden Church Road near Dayton will open to traffic by Friday, November 8, weather permitting.

QuoteThe next major project, an interchange along MD 32 at Rosemary Lane, is in design.  Future projects include new interchanges at MD 144, I-70, Nixon's Farm Lane and the entrance to the State and County highway maintenance facilities in Dayton. The time frame for these future projects and eventual widening of MD 32 will depend on funding availability and state, federal and environmental permit approvals.

Quote from: kj3400 on November 04, 2013, 02:19:59 PM
Took me a while to find that area. MD 32 is one step closer to being full freeway between I-70 and I-97.

Quote from: BrianP on November 04, 2013, 10:46:09 AM
GOVERNOR O'MALLEY AND COUNTY EXECUTIVE ULMAN ANNOUNCE COMPLETION OF MAJOR HIGHWAY PROJECT IN HOWARD COUNTY
http://www.marylandroads.com/pages/release.aspx?newsId=1710

QuoteGovernor Martin O'Malley and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman today announced that the new interchange along MD 32 at Linden Church Road near Dayton will open to traffic by Friday, November 8, weather permitting.

QuoteThe next major project, an interchange along MD 32 at Rosemary Lane, is in design.  Future projects include new interchanges at MD 144, I-70, Nixon's Farm Lane and the entrance to the State and County highway maintenance facilities in Dayton. The time frame for these future projects and eventual widening of MD 32 will depend on funding availability and state, federal and environmental permit approvals.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on November 04, 2013, 02:24:34 PM

Quote from: kj3400 on November 04, 2013, 02:19:59 PM
Took me a while to find that area. MD 32 is one step closer to being full freeway between I-70 and I-97.

Except for a short section through Fort Meade (especially westbound), Md. 32 is already a freeway from I-97 to Md. 108. 

Quote from: Henry on November 04, 2013, 02:45:58 PM
About time they made this a complete freeway from I-70 to I-97! If the Fort Meade at-grades are ever removed, then an Interstate designation may not be too far away.

Quote from: Mr_Northside on November 05, 2013, 03:47:44 PM
Wow.  I didn't think construction looked quite so far along when traveling thru there back in early September.  Impressive.

Looks like they decided to keep both directions of travel on on side of the overpass pier (at least according to the image in the article), as opposed to separating them (but remaining one lane each direction) like they did with the interchange they did a few years ago north of there.

QuoteOn a brisk afternoon 50 years ago, Timothy Hyman snapped pictures as officials cut a ribbon to open the newest stretch of Interstate 95, connecting Baltimore to Delaware and onward north to Maine.

QuoteAmid the large crowd gathered at the Maryland-Delaware border, Hyman still remembers the civil rights advocates picketing just outside his frame, calling for the interstate to be interracial and to further advance their cause.

QuoteIn that moment, Hyman said he saw a dual promise – of travel without congestion, but also without oppression.

QuoteAs a black photographer from Baltimore working for the Maryland Traffic Safety Commission, Hyman, now 76 and still a state employee, had a working knowledge of how congested roads in the Baltimore region were. He also had been turned away many times at segregated lunch counters and motels along those roads.

Quote"I remember it quite a bit," he said of that day, Nov. 14, 1963. "It was things we had to overcome."

QuoteToday, Interstate 95 remains a culturally significant force for change, an artery of personal significance for many and an economic backbone for the Eastern Seaboard, said Dan McNichol, writer of "The Roads that Built America."

Quote"It facilitated and accelerated growth already in progress," McNichol said. "It generates energy through all those states."

QuoteAccording to the I-95 Corridor Coalition, an alliance of transportation and public safety agencies from Florida to Maine, about 110 million people live in jurisdictions directly served by the highway, up from 40 million in 1960, when the project's coastal connectivity was just an idea.

Quote from: TheOneKEA on November 10, 2013, 10:42:41 PM
It will be interesting to see if the eight miles of the I-95 Express Toll Lanes currently being built have any significant effect on the LOS of I-95 between the Baltimore City line and MD 43; I would expect them to have very little effect because, in my opinion, they are too short. In fact, after reading the I-95 Master Plan produced by the MdTA in 2003, I think the entire 18-mile ETL facility proposed by the MdTA is also too short, and would not be surprised if the segment of the JFK Highway from Exit 80 to Exit 85 is studied again when the MdTA can afford it.

Quote from: TheOneKEA on November 16, 2013, 10:37:16 PM
The plates show the convergence of the quad carriage way 3-2-2-3 alignment into a 4-4 alignment in the northbound direction, about 3/4 of a mile southwest of Maryland House. If the MdTA does restudy this portion of I-95 I would expect there to be some interesting alternatives for maintaining access to Maryland Hpuse with the new ETL carriage ways present.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on November 17, 2013, 12:33:32 AM

Quote from: TheOneKEA on November 16, 2013, 10:37:16 PM
The plates show the convergence of the quad carriage way 3-2-2-3 alignment into a 4-4 alignment in the northbound direction, about 3/4 of a mile southwest of Maryland House. If the MdTA does restudy this portion of I-95 I would expect there to be some interesting alternatives for maintaining access to Maryland Hpuse with the new ETL carriage ways present.

I would love to see the access/egress from both sides of I-95 modified to use flyover ramps to eliminate the left-lane exit and entrance ramps.

QuoteOCEAN CITY, Md.- Who hasn't complained, at some point, about the traffic jams in and out of Ocean City in the summer. Town officials are pushing Worcester County and state officials to take a closer look at the Route 90 bridge.

Quote"More and more traffic is coming to the North Ocean City area," said Dave Gregory, of Ocean City. "This [The North side] is where you know a lot of people live."

QuoteGregory lives in Montego Bay, he dreads driving across this bridge. So he avoids Route 50 and takes the Route 90 bridge to get into Ocean City.

Quote"Saturday morning, coming into Ocean City is not a good idea from there," said Gregory.

QuoteTown officials said during Superstorm Sandy most of the Route 50 Bridge was completed flooded, meaning they had to rely solely on the Route 90 Bridge; which is why Route 90 is at the top of their list.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on November 21, 2013, 08:42:10 PM
WBOC-TV Channel 16: O.C. Officials: Route 90 Bridge Could Get Widening (http://www.wboc.com/story/24039277/oc-town-officials-route-90-to-get-widen)

Quote from: Alex4897 on November 21, 2013, 10:42:33 PM

Quote from: cpzilliacus on November 21, 2013, 08:42:10 PM
WBOC-TV Channel 16: O.C. Officials: Route 90 Bridge Could Get Widening (http://www.wboc.com/story/24039277/oc-town-officials-route-90-to-get-widen)

It's about time they widened that.  That bridge, actually that entire highway from at least US 113 east to OC is a nightmare during the summer.

QuoteAfter facing a toll hike and the retirement of the old decal system, some users of the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge between Harford and Cecil counties might get another rude awakening: No more cash tolls and no more toll booths as those crossing the Susquehanna River via Route 40 have long known them.

QuoteThe bridge's toll plaza will be the first to have its cash tolls eliminated by the Maryland Transportation Authority and replaced with electronic tolling sometime next year, MDTA announced.

QuoteHatem Bridge was selected because more than 90 percent of the drivers who pass over it now use E-ZPass instead of cash, the highest percentage of any MDTA toll plazas, spokeswoman Rachel Freeberger explained.

Quote"All Electronic Tolling (AET) is becoming more common across the country for both new toll facilities and for existing toll plazas. The MDTA has been studying the feasibility of AET at all of its toll plazas for some time now," Freeberger said.

Quote"MDTA has been studying the feasibility of AET for its toll plazas and finalized the report this month. There are many factors that need to be considered in the feasibility of moving a traditional toll plaza to AET, including E-ZPass usage, staffing, costs, traffic analysis, education/outreach, maintenance and operational issues and toll enforcement agreements with other states," she wrote in an e-mail.

QuoteBruce W Gartner is the new executive secretary of MdTA, the Maryland state toller. In  an announcement this morn ing MdTA chair and state secretary of transportation James T Smith says of Gartner who has been acting in the job since June:  "He never hesitates to toll up his sleeces, put in long hours and get the job done. Bruce has a keen sense of policy development, fiscal responsibility and the legislative process at both the state and federal levels."

QuoteGartner, 48, comes out of a 24 year career at Maryland DOT where he has been director of its office of policy and governmental affairs for the past six years, and has also been assistant secretary of policy and freight, operating budget manager and a state legislative officer before that.

QuoteI spoke to him and looked into his problem – $720 in unpaid E-ZPass tolls and late charges, plus $13,000 in administrative fees over a two-year period.

QuoteThe numbers are staggering. But I can't say I'm terribly sympathetic. As one who pays these tolls – along with just about 99 percent of all E-ZPass subscribers – I'm not about to take up for someone who doesn't.

QuoteHe figured he'd pay the tolls and late fees later on, when he had more money.

QuoteBut he apparently underestimated his liability. If you don't pay E-ZPass tolls, in time additional late charges and administrative fees are added. Gregory says his bill hit $13,000. The MdTA, he adds, went after his state income tax refunds and got about $4,600 of that total.

QuoteHere's the part most relevant to Eric Gregory: The new law gave anyone with unpaid tolls before July 1 an opportunity to pay their balances without having to pay the administrative fees.

QuoteI passed along Gregory's phone number to the MdTA. A member of the MdTA's E-ZPass operations team contacted him Monday morning.

QuoteMonday afternoon, Gregory called me, excited.

Quote"What did you do?" he asked. "The MdTA called and said they are wiping away the $13,000 in fees."

QuoteAs I just explained, I didn't do anything, the General Assembly did. The MdTA stopped imposing administrative fees, and now toll-running is handled with citations, fines and suspensions.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on November 27, 2013, 08:50:16 PM
Baltimore Sun op-ed: Man racked up more than $13,000 in unpaid Maryland tolls, fees - A highway toll-runner has reason to be thankful as fees are wiped away (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-rodricks-1126-20131125,0,3761913.column)

QuoteI spoke to him and looked into his problem – $720 in unpaid E-ZPass tolls and late charges, plus $13,000 in administrative fees over a two-year period.

QuoteThe numbers are staggering. But I can't say I'm terribly sympathetic. As one who pays these tolls – along with just about 99 percent of all E-ZPass subscribers – I'm not about to take up for someone who doesn't.

QuoteHe figured he'd pay the tolls and late fees later on, when he had more money.

QuoteBut he apparently underestimated his liability. If you don't pay E-ZPass tolls, in time additional late charges and administrative fees are added. Gregory says his bill hit $13,000. The MdTA, he adds, went after his state income tax refunds and got about $4,600 of that total.

QuoteHere's the part most relevant to Eric Gregory: The new law gave anyone with unpaid tolls before July 1 an opportunity to pay their balances without having to pay the administrative fees.

QuoteI passed along Gregory's phone number to the MdTA. A member of the MdTA's E-ZPass operations team contacted him Monday morning.

QuoteMonday afternoon, Gregory called me, excited.

Quote"What did you do?" he asked. "The MdTA called and said they are wiping away the $13,000 in fees."

QuoteAs I just explained, I didn't do anything, the General Assembly did. The MdTA stopped imposing administrative fees, and now toll-running is handled with citations, fines and suspensions.

Quote from: mrsman on November 28, 2013, 11:41:22 PM
What's really upsetting is that the fee schedule for fees and fines is higher than it would be if the man didn't pay an equivalent amount of taxes timely.  Everyone should pay their tolls and those who cheat should pay a penalty, but the amount must be reasonable.

Quote from: mrsman on November 28, 2013, 11:41:22 PM
The IRS failure to pay penalty (but who filed timely):

If you do not pay your taxes by the due date, you will generally have to pay a failure-to-pay penalty of ½ of 1 percent of your unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month after the due date that the taxes are not paid. This penalty can be as much as 25 percent of your unpaid taxes.

So 2 years would add on a penalty of 12%

QuoteThe original, bold, visionary plan to solve traffic gridlock in Montgomery County called for 160 miles of fancy, new bus lanes.

QuoteUnder the actual plan adopted Tuesday, the so-called bus rapid transit network shrank to 98 miles.

QuoteThe original plan envisioned double lanes running down medians of many major highways.

QuoteThe actual plan provides for one lane, maybe, in key corridors inside the Beltway, such as Rockville Pike and Colesville Road – and only if the neighbors approve.

QuoteDid I mention there's no agreement on how to pay for this? That the project might absorb funds needed for the Metro system and Montgomery's Ride On buses? That it can succeed only if large numbers of residents are coaxed to switch from driving their own cars to riding county buses?

Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on November 29, 2013, 10:56:06 AM
I agree. $13,000 in late fees for $720 over a two-year period is... usurious.

Quote from: deathtopumpkins on December 03, 2013, 07:58:58 AM
Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what does an air quality alert have to do with roads?

Quote from: deathtopumpkins on December 03, 2013, 07:58:58 AM
Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what does an air quality alert have to do with roads?

Quote from: hbelkins on December 03, 2013, 11:03:19 AM

Quote from: deathtopumpkins on December 03, 2013, 07:58:58 AM
Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what does an air quality alert have to do with roads?

Everything, if you ask those of certain political beliefs.

Quote from: deathtopumpkins on December 03, 2013, 07:58:58 AM
Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what does an air quality alert have to do with roads?