Outrage: Another fatality on the two-lane segment of Md. 32

[cpzilliacus]

[This is the segment of Md. 32 that has killed many people in the past, and now we have another victim.  Widening of this busy road has been strongly opposed by Maryland's Smart Growth industry.]

Baltimore Sun: Ellicott City man dies in Route 32 crash in Clarksville

An Ellicott City man involved in a car accident on Route 32 in Clarksville on Tuesday morning has been pronounced dead a few hours after being transported to Howard County General Hospital in critical condition, police said.

Michael Paul Dumonceau, 68, of Ellicott City, was killed after a flatbed truck traveling southbound on Route 32 near the Route 108 interchange hit its brakes and slid into northbound traffic, striking Dumonceau's 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday.

[BrianP]

Well there seems to have been two factors that should have slowed people down on this stretch of road.  The article stated that it was raining so that's one.  The second is that the article said it happened near Linden Church Road.  From what I can tell that would be in the construction zone for the interchange being constructed there.  AFAICT the speed limit there is 55 but that would likely be lower in the construction zone.  And the construction zone seems like it may have had an extra contributing factor.  The truck in question was traveling southbound.  And according to the October newsletter for the construction project there is a barrier blocking the shoulder on the southbound side of the road.  So the truck could not exit the roadway to avoid a collision.  It still seems to boil down to the truck driver's fault for reckless driving in those conditions.

Construction Info:
http://apps.roads.maryland.gov/WebProjectLifeCycle/ProjectInformation.aspx?projectno=HO3915113

An interchange is being constructed to remove the two T intersections there.  But the road is not being widened.  But there is ROW for a four lane highway.  According to the project fact sheet Howard County is paying for the interchange.  The state doesn't seem to have much for big construction projects going on now.  Most projects I see listed as under construction are bridge projects.  Maryland SHA seems to tend to spend more money on maintenance that new construction. 

Brian Polidoro

[cpzilliacus]

Well there seems to have been two factors that should have slowed people down on this stretch of road.  The article stated that it was raining so that's one.  The second is that the article said it happened near Linden Church Road.  From what I can tell that would be in the construction zone for the interchange being constructed there.  AFAICT the speed limit there is 55 but that would likely be lower in the construction zone.  And the construction zone seems like it may have had an extra contributing factor.  The truck in question was traveling southbound.  And according to the October newsletter for the construction project there is a barrier blocking the shoulder on the southbound side of the road.  So the truck could not exit the roadway to avoid a collision.  It still seems to boil down to the truck driver's fault for reckless driving in those conditions.

Construction Info:
http://apps.roads.maryland.gov/WebProjectLifeCycle/ProjectInformation.aspx?projectno=HO3915113

An interchange is being constructed to remove the two T intersections there.  But the road is not being widened.  But there is ROW for a four lane highway.  According to the project fact sheet Howard County is paying for the interchange.  The state doesn't seem to have much for big construction projects going on now.  Most projects I see listed as under construction are bridge projects.  Maryland SHA seems to tend to spend more money on maintenance that new construction. 

Brian Polidoro

First, given how constrained the tax dollars coming in to Maryland DOT (and to SHA) are, I applaud them for spending more money on boring things like preservation of infrastructure.

I have been driving that segment of Md. 32 since 1975, and I get the impression that traffic does not slow down for anyone or anything. including rain.  I am not excusing the actions of a reckless driver when I say that.

Getting rid of those two "T" intersections is a good thing - not that long ago, the deadly at-grade signalized intersections on Md. 32 near Glenelg at Burnt Woods Road and Pfefferkorn Road were replaced by a grade-separated interchange, even  though Md. 32 was not widened.

You are absolutely correct about the right-of-way being in place for a four-lane divided freeway.  I think it was purchased when Md. 32 between Md. 108 (Clarksville) and U.S. 40 (and I-70 now) was constructed on its current right-of-way in the 1960's.

[bsmart]

Yea MD at one time bought ROW for divided highways even when they only built 1/2 of it. You can sometimes see bridges that were built to cross 4 lane roads with a lot of grass under 1/2 of it.  US 15 just south of US 340 has one such bridge as does 32 just south of I-70.

Funny thing US 15 between Point of Rocks and Jefferson (US 340 merge) has the same problem as MD 32 between I-70 and Clarksville.  They are both very busy commuter rotes that have far exceeded the traffic they were built for while having features designed in to make expansion easier.

[cpzilliacus]

Yea MD at one time bought ROW for divided highways even when they only built 1/2 of it. You can sometimes see bridges that were built to cross 4 lane roads with a lot of grass under 1/2 of it.  US 15 just south of US 340 has one such bridge as does 32 just south of I-70.

Funny thing US 15 between Point of Rocks and Jefferson (US 340 merge) has the same problem as MD 32 between I-70 and Clarksville.  They are both very busy commuter rotes that have far exceeded the traffic they were built for while having features designed in to make expansion easier.

The two-lane segment of U.S. 15 in Frederick County crosses over the Point-of-Rocks into Loudoun County, Virginia at Point-of-Rocks.  In Virginia, the road is designated as a Scenic Byway, and is unchanged for many years (and is not likely to change). 

It is part of the debate about new capacity crossing the  Potomac River upstream of the I-495 crossing at the American Legion Bridge.  Some people in Maryland (that probably don't in reality want more capacity) have suggested that it should be at Point-of-Rocks, while some in Virginia want a new crossing much further downstream.