Maryland

[famartin]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/08/maryland-traffic-beltway-i-270-expansion-opposition/

The Washington Post Editorial Board once again slams those opposed to the 495/270 widening in Maryland

Virginia is already getting started on their side of the widening, I imagine that if Maryland's next governor pulled out, it would lead to some very frosty relations with Virginia and the latter would find ways to retaliate, in addition to the fact that it would curse the many people who use the AL Bridge to ever worsening traffic.

All of this just to pander to woke millionaires in Montgomery County?

Glad to never have to worry about this again (moved back to NJ last month).

are you going to the Philly meet in August?

Didn't even know about it. Deets/link?

It's under road enthusiast meetings in this very forum 😅

😅 yeah I guess I don't poke around on here all that much! 😅

Working that weekend, so its doubtful, but I'll see if I can attend something.

[ixnay]

MDOT SHA Seeks Input As Route 90 [accessing Ocean Pines and Ocean City] Study Advances

https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2022/06/09/mdot-sha-seeks-input-as-route-90-study-advances/

[Mergingtraffic]

I gotta say after driving in Maryland last week, traffic cams everywhere.  I took a side road into DC and I even saw a traffic enforcement cam at a 4-way stop sign.  I'm all for driving safely but it seems to be an overkill especially around schools etc.  The same with DC and with the traffic lights on the street corners rather than hanging overhead it's so easy to miss one and blow right through it.

I also saw new speed cams on the JFX, (I know it's city maintained) I've never seen speed cams on a limited access highway outside of work zones.

But I did get this cool pic.

[NJRoadfan]

MdTA maintains I-95 in Baltimore City. Does Maryland permit cameras outside of work zones and school zones now?

[froggie]

^ Only in Montgomery County, AFAIK.  CP or other Maryland residents may have a better answer.

[BrianP]

"˜Leave a lot of extra time': Crews assess, repair sinkhole on I-270 in Montgomery Co.

The sinkhole was the result of a broken 6-foot drainage pipe that runs underneath I-270 before Interstate 370.

From what I've seen today on GM there's been a consistent 2 mile backup due to this.  The backup that I saw this morning was at least 5 miles. I probably didn't even see the worst of that. 

[kernals12]

Big news: the EIS for the 270/495 widening is out

[MASTERNC]

MdTA maintains I-95 in Baltimore City. Does Maryland permit cameras outside of work zones and school zones now?

Montgomery County has cameras in residential areas, there are cameras on MD 210 in a crash prone area, and there are now cameras on the I-83 JFX in Baltimore City.

[ixnay]

When Delaware's US 301 toll road opened 3+ years ago, I started shunpiking via Sassafras Road, MD 282, and DE 299 on my occasional (roughly monthly) shopping trips to Middletown, DE.  Today's trip was no exception, and today I noticed the recently installed (per nearby portable messageboards) 4-way stop at MD 282 and Water St./Wilson St. in Warwick.  The VMS's were not there last time I went through there 3-4 weeks ago.  I reckon there was a bad accident at that junction in the interim.

[bluecountry]

I noticed when entering the Beltway from I-270, the control cities for I-495E are Silver Spring and College Park.
But when entering the Beltway from I-66 in NOVA, Baltimore is a control city.
How come MD uses smaller local locations, and what are the rules?

[Mapmikey]

I noticed when entering the Beltway from I-270, the control cities for I-495E are Silver Spring and College Park.
But when entering the Beltway from I-66 in NOVA, Baltimore is a control city.
How come MD uses smaller local locations, and what are the rules?

Because you're supposed to stay on I-70 in Frederick to get to Baltimore???  I can't imagine many people going from 270 to 495 are trying to reach Baltimore, especially since the completion of MD 200.

Note that the control cities on 495 NB at the 270 spur for 495 EB are Bethesda and Baltimore.

[bluecountry]

I noticed when entering the Beltway from I-270, the control cities for I-495E are Silver Spring and College Park.
But when entering the Beltway from I-66 in NOVA, Baltimore is a control city.
How come MD uses smaller local locations, and what are the rules?

Because you're supposed to stay on I-70 in Frederick to get to Baltimore???  I can't imagine many people going from 270 to 495 are trying to reach Baltimore, especially since the completion of MD 200.

Note that the control cities on 495 NB at the 270 spur for 495 EB are Bethesda and Baltimore.

I don't that is a valid reason, given Frederick is 30 or so miles away, by the point of the beltway merge, most of the traffic is from south of Gaithersburg.  There is enough distance that signing 'Baltimore' would not conflict with I-70.

[Mapmikey]

Well, the original BGS was this and still no Baltimore:


from 1969 Congressional hearings on "Highway Safety, Design, and Operations - Freeway Signing and Geometrics"

Way more people from south of Gaithersburg are headed to the 4 destinations on the current sets of BGSs than are headed to Baltimore.

I do find it odd that the I-370/MD 200 BGS has no destinations at all except TO I-95.

[famartin]

Well, the original BGS was this and still no Baltimore:


from 1969 Congressional hearings on "Highway Safety, Design, and Operations - Freeway Signing and Geometrics"

Way more people from south of Gaithersburg are headed to the 4 destinations on the current sets of BGSs than are headed to Baltimore.

I do find it odd that the I-370/MD 200 BGS has no destinations at all except TO I-95.

I think its because they were trying to encourage people to use it as a shortcut between 270 and 95 (westbound is all about "To 270"), but yes, odd that no one ever thought to sign Gaithersburg or Laurel (the local destinations).

[Dirt Roads]

Well, the original BGS was this and still no Baltimore:


from 1969 Congressional hearings on "Highway Safety, Design, and Operations - Freeway Signing and Geometrics"

Wow.  I didn't realize that the Spur was once I-270 proper (and in its entirety).  Perhaps this is the only Interstate that "lost" its number due to renumbering of its parent (and in this case, lost its number to its parent)?  The other cases that I can think of simply changed numbers for both parent and child.

[ixnay]

Get ready to say bye bye to the brick crosswalks along MD 818 (Main Street/former US 113) in Berlin.

https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2022/06/29/brick-crosswalks-being-replaced-in-berlin/

And out at the current US 113's intersection with MD 376 (which goes to a dead end at MD 611, which takes you south from there to Assateague Island), improvements for safety are almost complete.

https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2022/06/30/striping-improved-work-nearly-complete-at-route-113-intersection/

[epzik8]

Get ready to say bye bye to the brick crosswalks along MD 818 (Main Street/former US 113) in Berlin.

https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2022/06/29/brick-crosswalks-being-replaced-in-berlin/

What a shame...

[74/171FAN]

Update on the MD 32 Widening Project:

07/15/2022 - MDOT SHA continues to make progress on the $127 million widening and improvement project on MD 32 between Linden Church Road and I-70 in Howard County.

Two additional travel lanes — one northbound and one southbound — will open to traffic this afternoon, Friday, July 15. Additional work will be completed over the next several weeks, and a second ramp lane will open from northbound MD 32 to westbound I-70 for enhanced traffic operations at the interchange.

The project started in summer 2019 and is the second phase of the dualization of MD 32. This phase included widening 6.6 miles of MD 32 and constructing a median for added safety. Phase I widened MD 32 between MD 108 (Clarksville Pike) and Linden Church Road and was completed in summer 2019.

Remaining work includes installation of new roadway signs, rumble strips and raised pavement markers within the project limits. Occasional single-lane closures will be required to complete remaining work, and motorists are asked to stay alert and use caution in the work zones.

[TheOneKEA]

All of these things have happened on time; the widening works on MD 32 are now substantially complete. My perception is that most of the remaining road works will be finished by next month and all of the non-road works will be complete by September.

[mrsman]

This is a great project.  And quite needed for this area which will see great growth as outskirts of Baltimore (and the greater Washington area, to a lesser extent).  It will also help direct traffic from I-70 straight to the middle of B-W corridor and Annapolis.

And this roadway is an expressway, not a freeway.  The new part will still have at-grade intersections in certain locations, but no signals except at Frederick Road and at the I-70 on ramps.

This is a wonderful milestone.

[jmacswimmer]

I drove that stretch about a month ago, at which point each direction of MD 32 was on the final carriageway but with the left lane coned off pending final paving & marking. Glad to hear it's fully opened now.

I wonder if the I-70 interchange will ever be revisited in the future - IIRC, there were previously larger plans for that interchange before being slimmed down to simply a 2nd left-turn lane for MD 32 NB -> I-70 WB.

[NE2]

I forget if this has been mentioned, but in addition to other known uses (MD 140, MD 956), MD 9 was also used on the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway (and MD 10 was the Baltimore-Washington Expressway). See https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagser/s1800/s1884/000000/000037/pdf/msa_s1884_000037.pdf pp. 18 and 22.

[Mapmikey]

I forget if this has been mentioned, but in addition to other known uses (MD 140, MD 956), MD 9 was also used on the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway (and MD 10 was the Baltimore-Washington Expressway). See https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagser/s1800/s1884/000000/000037/pdf/msa_s1884_000037.pdf pp. 18 and 22.

Yes - 

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=19333.0

[74/171FAN]

Update on the MD 32 Widening Project:

07/15/2022 - MDOT SHA continues to make progress on the $127 million widening and improvement project on MD 32 between Linden Church Road and I-70 in Howard County.

Two additional travel lanes — one northbound and one southbound — will open to traffic this afternoon, Friday, July 15. Additional work will be completed over the next several weeks, and a second ramp lane will open from northbound MD 32 to westbound I-70 for enhanced traffic operations at the interchange.

The project started in summer 2019 and is the second phase of the dualization of MD 32. This phase included widening 6.6 miles of MD 32 and constructing a median for added safety. Phase I widened MD 32 between MD 108 (Clarksville Pike) and Linden Church Road and was completed in summer 2019.

Remaining work includes installation of new roadway signs, rumble strips and raised pavement markers within the project limits. Occasional single-lane closures will be required to complete remaining work, and motorists are asked to stay alert and use caution in the work zones.

An update from my MD 32 drive yesterday.  There were two left turn lanes opened from MD 32 NB to I-70 WB. 

Also the Burntwoods Rd interchange is signed as Exit 25.

[epzik8]

And this roadway is an expressway, not a freeway.  The new part will still have at-grade intersections in certain locations, but no signals except at Frederick Road and at the I-70 on ramps.

What about those flashing yellows like on 301 on the Eastern Shore?