Maryland

[NJRoadfan]

Later MotorWeek videos show testing on a newish concrete road with BGSes in the background. Maybe that was I-795?

[amroad17]

That lady is probably got something mixed up. That was definitely I-70 in that vid.

After watching a few more videos and checking and re-checking GSV, I also concur that the section of highway in those 1982-83 videos was the area of the Park and Ride at the end of I-70.  Those 1985 videos are probably I-795.  Remember, the show started testing at the 75-80 Dragway in Frederick around 1986.

[kernals12]

That lady is probably got something mixed up. That was definitely I-70 in that vid.

After watching a few more videos and checking and re-checking GSV, I also concur that the section of highway in those 1982-83 videos was the area of the Park and Ride at the end of I-70.  Those 1985 videos are probably I-795.  Remember, the show started testing at the 75-80 Dragway in Frederick around 1986.

Nope, they were filming at 75-80 as early as 1982.




In one test that aired in March 1986, they were at a different unfinished highway. I'm guessing that the drag strip was closed for winter.

[amroad17]

That lady is probably got something mixed up. That was definitely I-70 in that vid.

After watching a few more videos and checking and re-checking GSV, I also concur that the section of highway in those 1982-83 videos was the area of the Park and Ride at the end of I-70.  Those 1985 videos are probably I-795.  Remember, the show started testing at the 75-80 Dragway in Frederick around 1986.

Nope, they were filming at 75-80 as early as 1982.

[kernals12]

It appears that they split their time between 75-80 and the I-70 P+R until 1984. I'm guessing that's where they'd go during winter when the drag strip was closed.

[Mapmikey]

That lady is probably got something mixed up. That was definitely I-70 in that vid.

After watching a few more videos and checking and re-checking GSV, I also concur that the section of highway in those 1982-83 videos was the area of the Park and Ride at the end of I-70.  Those 1985 videos are probably I-795.  Remember, the show started testing at the 75-80 Dragway in Frederick around 1986.

Nope, they were filming at 75-80 as early as 1982.




In one test that aired in March 1986, they were at a different unfinished highway. I'm guessing that the drag strip was closed for winter.

These bottom 2 were filmed on MD 795.  See this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orCUjmCZUzo which shows it signed (2:07 shows the opposite view at Franklin Blvd interchange; unobstructed MD 795 shield at 2:39).  They appear to be filming in this area: https://goo.gl/maps/YMF8agoX331ZT2kX6

[Henry]

It looks kind of strange to see the eastern end of I-70 without the Park & Ride, but I somehow suspected that they would use it for their test drives, so even with the mounting opposition to its continuation from MD 122 to I-95 (in fact, the part to I-170 was already cancelled in this timeframe), it wasn't completely wasted. The show probably stopped filming on I-70 when the Park & Ride plans were first known. But given that the show is produced in Owings Mills, conducting the tests on what is now I-795 made a whole lot of sense.

Man, that Chevette 1000 was a tortoise of a car, with a 0-60 time of half a minute! I wonder if this was the longest ever?

[kernals12]

It looks kind of strange to see the eastern end of I-70 without the Park & Ride, but I somehow suspected that they would use it for their test drives, so even with the mounting opposition to its continuation from MD 122 to I-95 (in fact, the part to I-170 was already cancelled in this timeframe), it wasn't completely wasted. The show probably stopped filming on I-70 when the Park & Ride plans were first known. But given that the show is produced in Owings Mills, conducting the tests on what is now I-795 made a whole lot of sense.

Man, that Chevette 1000 was a tortoise of a car, with a 0-60 time of half a minute! I wonder if this was the longest ever?

They tested a Mack truck that couldn't make it to 60 mph before they ran out of drag strip, does that count?

[Dirt Roads]

Man, that Chevette 1000 was a tortoise of a car, with a 0-60 time of half a minute! I wonder if this was the longest ever?

I had a friend (now passed) that competed with several modified Volkswagen Karmann Ghias in a drag race series.  His wife drove a VW Rabbit in a different series, and it had a top speed of about 45MPH.  It was nearly impossible to beat, as that series required a prediction of the runtime (and she couldn't kick out anything more, so she just stuck with a rolling average trip time.

[kernals12]

It's a lot of fun to watch those old Motorweek segments. John Davis' complaints about a lack of voltmeters and oil pressure gauges are like a running gag. It's also funny when he describes an 11 second 0-60 time as "impressive".

It seems that after 1986, Motorweek finally had a big enough budget to not have to film on unused highways when 75-80 was closed and they made Robling Road Raceway in Savannah, GA their winter home.

[NJRoadfan]

I love how the staff absolutely rakes every single interior control lever (including the gear shifter) as hard as possible in their "testing". Knowing the build quality of some of these 80s cars, I'm surprised nothing came flying off after doing all that.

[MASTERNC]

Looks like the widening on SB I-95 between MD 543 and MD 24 may have started. There is a long shoulder closure and there was extensive earth moving behind the barrier.

[kernals12]

Looks like the widening on SB I-95 between MD 543 and MD 24 may have started. There is a long shoulder closure and there was extensive earth moving behind the barrier.

Nice.

If you think about it, the proportion of I-95 that is more than 12 lanes has increased dramatically in the last 15 years. First there was the 6 to 9 widening in New Jersey, then the express lanes from the Beltway to Fredericksburg, now this.

[epzik8]

Looks like the widening on SB I-95 between MD 543 and MD 24 may have started. There is a long shoulder closure and there was extensive earth moving behind the barrier.

This is part of my home stretch of I-95, and the southbound entrance from 543 has become a bottleneck as a result of it.

[FLAVORTOWN]

https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/national-park-service-to-implement-safety-improvements-for-baltimore-washington-parkway/

NPS is planning on replacing signs and installing guard rails on the BW Parkway soon

[bluecountry]

Looks like the widening on SB I-95 between MD 543 and MD 24 may have started. There is a long shoulder closure and there was extensive earth moving behind the barrier.

So what are they doing?  I thought they were only adding NB express lanes?

[davewiecking]

Looks like the widening on SB I-95 between MD 543 and MD 24 may have started. There is a long shoulder closure and there was extensive earth moving behind the barrier.

So what are they doing?  I thought they were only adding NB express lanes?

Project seems to involve sound walls on both sides.
https://mdta.maryland.gov/I95ETLNB/Projects

[jmacswimmer]

There is a stopgap-type project in the works to add part-time shoulder lane use to I-95 SB between the Maryland House & MD 24 until the SB ETL's are eventually built, but I don't know whether that is the one that has started construction or if it's something else such as the sound walls for now.

Edited to add: https://www.mdot.maryland.gov/OPCP/CTP_2023/Maryland_Transportation_Authority.pdf - the shoulder lane project is on page 7 of that pdf, and based on the budgeted timeline that is most likely not the one currently under construction.

[mcmc]

These bottom 2 were filmed on MD 795.  See this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orCUjmCZUzo which shows it signed (2:07 shows the opposite view at Franklin Blvd interchange; unobstructed MD 795 shield at 2:39).  They appear to be filming in this area: https://goo.gl/maps/YMF8agoX331ZT2kX6

What's going on here? The signs don't add up. There was never a MD 795; it was always I-795. And why the NYS state speed limit sign? Was this some kind of proving ground or a real freeway?

[Mapmikey]

These bottom 2 were filmed on MD 795.  See this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orCUjmCZUzo which shows it signed (2:07 shows the opposite view at Franklin Blvd interchange; unobstructed MD 795 shield at 2:39).  They appear to be filming in this area: https://goo.gl/maps/YMF8agoX331ZT2kX6

What's going on here? The signs don't add up. There was never a MD 795; it was always I-795. And why the NYS state speed limit sign? Was this some kind of proving ground or a real freeway?

Can't speak to the speed limit sign because my experience in Maryland didn't start until the late 90s.

However, i can speak to the 795 signage.  The upper half of I-795 was not approved as an interstate until April 1984, so it is likely they had postings up before this date.  I don't know if MD 795 signs were up when it actually opened.

[tckma]

What's going on here? The signs don't add up. There was never a MD 795; it was always I-795. And why the NYS state speed limit sign? Was this some kind of proving ground or a real freeway?

Can't speak to the speed limit sign because my experience in Maryland didn't start until the late 90s.

However, i can speak to the 795 signage.  The upper half of I-795 was not approved as an interstate until April 1984, so it is likely they had postings up before this date.  I don't know if MD 795 signs were up when it actually opened.

Not sure why the NYS "STATE SPEED LIMIT" sign in MD.  I grew up in NY State (and long thought ALL states posted speed limit signs as STATE SPEED LIMIT since my parents rarely traveled out of state by car), and I lived in Maryland from 2009-2021 (primarily in Westminster; MD-140 to I-795 to I-695 to I-83 was my usual route into Baltimore City).  AFAIK the speed limit on I-795 has always been 60 since it opened.  Why 60 and not 55 or 65 always had me scratching my head and shrugging my shoulders.

I assume MD-295 was similarly once planned to be I-295, never receiving Interstate approval?  It abruptly changes from DC-295 to I-295 on the southern half, and is I-295 in that tiny piece of Maryland it re-enters prior to its terminus at I-95/I-495.  MD-295 is also weird because of the technically unnumbered section under National Park Service jurisdiction/maintenance.

Then again, SHA seemingly has NO problem re-using Interstate numbers on state routes.  For example, MD-68 and I-68 (MD-68 actually has "no, you idiot, this is not I-68" signage on I-70, okay, the wording is more politically correct, but still).  There's also an MD-495 in Garrett County, which is far enough away from the DC suburbs and I-495 as to avoid any confusion there.

Most states don't use "Interstate" numbers on their state routes unless there's a section they're planning for Interstate designation.  (I-787 continues past Albany/Troy as NY-787, for example.  NY-878 never got Interstate approval, AFAIK).  I've seen see MD-695 shields in some old photos of the Baltimore Beltway section near the Key Bridge, so the MD-795 signs make sense here.

Did SHA ever consider extending I-795 up MD-140 toward Westminster?  Parts of 140 in that stretch look almost like 795, though it'd certainly be difficult to convert the rest to Interstate standards.

[1995hoo]

.... AFAIK the speed limit on I-795 has always been 60 since it opened.  Why 60 and not 55 or 65 always had me scratching my head and shrugging my shoulders.

....

I don't believe that could be correct because Maryland was one of the last states to allow speed limits higher than 55 mph, and they didn't do so until 1995. Not coincidentally, 1995 was Parris Glendening's first year as governor. His predecessor, William Donald Schaefer, was adamantly against allowing anything above 55 mph. I-795, meanwhile, was completed in 1987.

Edited to add: This article from the Baltimore Sun published on July 18, 1996, says I-795 got a 60-mph speed limit in 1996 and that the feds had refused to allow a 65-mph speed limit on that road prior to the NMSL repeal.

[sprjus4]

^ It's interesting how I-95, US-50, and parts of I-70 in western Maryland were originally only to go to 60 mph, but were all ultimately given 65 mph not too long after.

Having driven all of these segments, 65 mph seems far more reasonable than 60 mph, given traffic moves in excess of 70 mph. I-70 has since mostly been raised to 70 mph throughout the state.

[frankenroad]

Then again, SHA seemingly has NO problem re-using Interstate numbers on state routes.  For example, MD-68 and I-68 (MD-68 actually has "no, you idiot, this is not I-68" signage on I-70, okay, the wording is more politically correct, but still).  There's also an MD-495 in Garrett County, which is far enough away from the DC suburbs and I-495 as to avoid any confusion there.

Not so much re-using interstate numbers on state routes, but having an interstate come along after the state highway already had that number.  MD-68 was commissioned in the 1920s, I-68 in the 1990s.  They should have renumbered MD-68 when I-68 was commissioned.  I always had to laugh at the "idiot" sign when I would pass by it.

When I-74 came to Ohio, OH-74 was renumbered to OH-32. 

[TheOneKEA]

I assume MD-295 was similarly once planned to be I-295, never receiving Interstate approval?  It abruptly changes from DC-295 to I-295 on the southern half, and is I-295 in that tiny piece of Maryland it re-enters prior to its terminus at I-95/I-495.  MD-295 is also weird because of the technically unnumbered section under National Park Service jurisdiction/maintenance.

As far as I know MD 295 has never been planned to be an Interstate-grade highway, and until 1991 it was substandard to such an extent that it was completely rebuilt, nearly from scratch, starting in that year. Even now there are still ongoing efforts to re-engineer the NPS portion of the route to make it safer and more capable of handling the enormous intercity traffic flows it (barely) handles today.

I-295 in DC was intended to be the southeastern link between the Capital Beltway and Interchange B, the never-built confluence of I-66, I-95, I-295 and US 50 near Union Station. It would have formed the eastern arc of the Inner Loop freeway encircling the Capitol, the White House and the National Mall.

Then again, SHA seemingly has NO problem re-using Interstate numbers on state routes.  For example, MD-68 and I-68 (MD-68 actually has "no, you idiot, this is not I-68" signage on I-70, okay, the wording is more politically correct, but still).  There's also an MD-495 in Garrett County, which is far enough away from the DC suburbs and I-495 as to avoid any confusion there.

Most states don't use "Interstate" numbers on their state routes unless there's a section they're planning for Interstate designation.  (I-787 continues past Albany/Troy as NY-787, for example.  NY-878 never got Interstate approval, AFAIK).  I've seen see MD-695 shields in some old photos of the Baltimore Beltway section near the Key Bridge, so the MD-795 signs make sense here.

The Maryland State Roads Commission and its successor agency MDOT SHA have never cared about conflict between state highway numbers and Interstate highway numbers, because they (correctly, IMO) believe that the driving public can tell the difference. What they do/did object to was conflict between US highway designations and state highway designations; today, the only known duplicate numbers in the system today are US 219/MD 219 and US 222/MD 222, and the former is an unsigned segment of a so-far incomplete bypass of downtown Oakland in Garrett County.

Did SHA ever consider extending I-795 up MD-140 toward Westminster?  Parts of 140 in that stretch look almost like 795, though it'd certainly be difficult to convert the rest to Interstate standards.

No, the divided highway segment of MD 140 was never planned to be part of the Interstate system. The furthest north that a real freeway should/could reach is the intersection of MD 140 and MD 91, and doing that would require a LOT of right-of-way acquisition. Past that point, the existing project on the books to build grade separations at the major intersections between MD 27 and MD 97/Malcolm Road in downtown Westminster would substantially improve the capacity of the highway.