Maryland

[agentsteel53]

Baltimore Sun: people are fucking stupid

Coast 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.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: people are fucking stupid

Coast 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.

In my opinion, rubbernecking (and I concede that is a stupid activity when behind the wheel of a motor vehicle) on either of these three spans (the Gov. William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge, commonly called the "Bay" Bridge around the Chesapeake Bay is two suspension spans and the F. S. Key Bridge is a large continuous steel truss span) are real hazards, and temporary closures by the Maryland Transportation Authority are warranted. 

These bridges are long (the Bay Bridge is nearly 5 miles long and the F.S. Key Bridge about 1 1/2 miles), and there are no shoulders.

[Alps]

Baltimore Sun: people are fucking stupid

Coast 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.

You know what, though, this is one case where even I would rubberneck. I would almost aim to be stopped in traffic just to make sure I could see the cranes go by. (Actually, probably better vantage points from the shoreline, instead.) I have no problem with this.

[agentsteel53]

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.

[Alps]

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.

If only all observers were intelligent.

[1995hoo]

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.

Obviously 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).

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!!!!!"?

[Alps]

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!!!!!"?

If there's one state that should use wrong-way spikes, it's Florida.

[cpzilliacus]

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.

Some years ago, I saw a "near miss" involving an older driver, who attempted to enter the southbound lanes (going north) of I-295 in the District of Columbia from Howard Road, S.E. She realized she was wrong before making it out to the mainline of I-295. Scary stuff.

Obviously 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).

I have not been in Florida since the 1980's, so I do not know what their wrong-way deterrence signage looks like (especially as compared to California's, which (IMO) is the best).   

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!!!!!"?

The Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) used to post (as a "second" assembly after the "DO NOT ENTER" signs near the end of the ramp), a combination of "STOP" signs and "WRONG WAY" on both sides of the ramp in the wrong-way direction.  I do not know if this was better or worse than other measures to stop wrong-way drivers, and I don't think I have seen such signage on Md. 200, the InterCounty Connector.  I've never seen such an assembly on Maryland highways maintained by the State Highway Administration.

[agentsteel53]

I have seen a photo from the 1960s taken in California that indeed showed a TURN AROUND NOW sign.  I believe it was white on red. 

no exclamation points, though.

[cpzilliacus]

The Star Democrat, Easton, Md.: Deterioration closes Federalsburg bridge

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

David 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.

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

[Alps]

The Star Democrat, Easton, Md.: Deterioration closes Federalsburg bridge

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

David 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.

The 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.

[Beltway]

The Star Democrat, Easton, Md.: Deterioration closes Federalsburg bridge

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

David 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.

The 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.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: As speed cameras spread, so does vandalism of them

[Alps]

The Star Democrat, Easton, Md.: Deterioration closes Federalsburg bridge

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

David 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.

The 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.

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

[Beltway]

[[[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.

[Alex]

Caught the fringe effects on June 20th of the northbound closure of I-83 at the PA line due to a tanker truck crash and rupture while working on getting flaroads I-83 clinched. We diverted at Exit 33 for locals roads east to MD-439 and Harford County, but not after 18 minutes to go one half mile.



NB Lanes I-83 from Maryland line to Shrewsbury Exit Reopen

Pennsylvania 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.

[Alps]

[[[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.

Look, I'm not disagreeing with that at all. But usually, you get to the redecking before having to close the highway.

[cpzilliacus]

From the "shallow end of the gene pool" comes this report from the AP via WTOP Radio:
2 charged with stealing highway light pole

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Bay Bridge closure policy criticized by those buffeted in storm

Millions 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.

But 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.

[Beltway]

It is older than I thought --

"The bridge was constructed in 1960 and the new deck replacement will add up to 40 years of life to the bridge. SHA awarded the project to JJID Inc of Bear, Del."

[abc2VE]

Baltimore Sun: Bay Bridge closure policy criticized by those buffeted in storm

Millions 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.

But 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.

This comment was in the WTOP article

"I opened my sunroof so that if I went over the side, I'd have a way to get out," Alessandro Vitale, a Baltimore restaurateur on his way to Ocean City, told the Sun.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2932052

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: A big part of a federal worker's job is just getting there

Many 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.

"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?'"

How 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.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: State works quickly to patch U.S. 50; work continues tonight

Drove past this location yesterday, and there was a pretty mighty "speed bump" in the eastbound lanes of the John Hanson Highway between Md. 197 and Md. 3/U.S. 301.

[MASTERNC]

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

[cpzilliacus]

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

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.

As you correctly say, Washington County is a new frontier for automated speed enforcement in Maryland.

Edit: That bridge is at Bennett Creek, not Little Bennett Creek.