Former End of I-70

[TravelingBethelite]

I'm going down that way mid-October. Is (Cooks Blvd to) I-70 still accessible via Cooks Lane and the Park-and-Ride? I can't ascertain via satellite/GMSV, as the imagery is circa April 2012. If not, we can still use Ingleside Ave/I-695. Just want to "know before I go." Knowledge is much appreciated 

[mattpedersen]

It appears that all movements are intact per Google Maps. What direction do you plan on coming at it?

[TravelingBethelite]

Westbound via U.S. 40 to Cooks Lane NW to the Park and Ride.

[cpzilliacus]

Nothing has changed, and since the administration of Gov. Larry Hogan, Jr. (R) has cancelled the proposed Baltimore Red Line, I do not see much in the way of changes coming anytime soon.

[TheOneKEA]

The only change I've noticed is the increased attempts by the police to block off the unused portions of the carriageways to keep the street racing crowd away. Otherwise it is intact and still in use as a Park and Ride.

[TravelingBethelite]

My main question is that if one can still access WB I-70 via the P & R.

[cpzilliacus]

My main question is that if one can still access WB I-70 via the P & R.

Yes.  Was there recently.  Started by clinch of all of I-70 from there about a year ago.

[1995hoo]

Has I-70 indeed been decommissioned to that point, then? I knew there was a plan to remove the segment inside I-695 from the Interstate system, but I didn't know whether it had actually been executed. I suppose it'd reduce the small amount of missing Interstate mileage I have in Maryland by a minuscule amount.

[TravelingBethelite]

I believe so. http://ballot.transportation.org/FileDownload.aspx?attachmentType=Item&ID=1166 This was just the request, though.

EDIT: Here's the approval doc: http://route.transportation.org/Documents/USRN%20Report%20May%2029%202014.docx

[1995hoo]

Thanks. Not that it would stop me from driving it and considering it part of I-70, of course!

[Henry]

Nothing has changed, and since the administration of Gov. Larry Hogan, Jr. (R) has cancelled the proposed Baltimore Red Line, I do not see much in the way of changes coming anytime soon.

I think that even without the rail line, they should go ahead and rebuild the road as planned, unless Cooks Blvd was indeed part of the Red Line plans, that is.

[Mapmikey]

Thanks. Not that it would stop me from driving it and considering it part of I-70, of course!

It was still signed as continuing east from I-695 as of last Saturday...

Mike

[The Ghostbuster]

Would it be possible to downgrade the Security Blvd. interchange into a signaled intersection? Since Interstate 70 will never go any further east, the existing interchange seems like overkill.

[Henry]

Would it be possible to downgrade the Security Blvd. interchange into a signaled intersection? Since Interstate 70 will never go any further east, the existing interchange seems like overkill.

That was part of the Red Line plan, but since it's now dead, I don't see those changes coming anytime soon. In any event, Cooks Blvd should be built anyway, with modifications to connect it to Cooks Lane as presented in the Red Line proposal.

[Mergingtraffic]

Nothing has changed, and since the administration of Gov. Larry Hogan, Jr. (R) has cancelled the proposed Baltimore Red Line, I do not see much in the way of changes coming anytime soon.

I guess this counts as "nothing has changed."

[TravelingBethelite]

Is the "I-70" shield peeling off?

[signalman]

Is the "I-70" shield peeling off?

It appears that way, but I think it's just a shadow that's cast over most of the shield.  In any case, that sign is a beauty.

[lepidopteran]

Although I-70 was still signed in both directions from the I-695 stack interchange last time I checked (with EB having a control city of "Local Traffic" -- sounds like a nice town!), there's that sign on I-70 EB that explicitly reads
"I-70 ENDS AT I-695".

[TheOneKEA]

Although I-70 was still signed in both directions from the I-695 stack interchange last time I checked (with EB having a control city of "Local Traffic" -- sounds like a nice town!), there's that sign on I-70 EB that explicitly reads
"I-70 ENDS AT I-695".

That sign is at least 10 years old, and possibly even older than that.

[Alps]

Is the "I-70" shield peeling off?

Yes. It started life as a 70N shield.

[Alex]

Although I-70 was still signed in both directions from the I-695 stack interchange last time I checked (with EB having a control city of "Local Traffic" -- sounds like a nice town!), there's that sign on I-70 EB that explicitly reads
"I-70 ENDS AT I-695".

That sign is at least 10 years old, and possibly even older than that.

I photographed it originally in July 2000.

The same sign in 2013:

[Mergingtraffic]

Is the "I-70" shield peeling off?

Yes. It started life as a 70N shield.

and if you look reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal closely, you can see a ghost
"N" to the right of the "0"

[TheOneKEA]

I would like to ask the SHA what their medium-term plans are for the I-70/695 stack interchange. Every time I pass through the interchange it looks more and more worn and beat up by its unusual traffic flow, and I would like to know if the cancellation of the Red Line and the associated works for Cooks Boulevard will make it less likely that the interchange will see any major repair or refurbishment works anytime soon. Once I figure out who to contact, I plan on asking the question.

I still think that the interchange needs to be converted to a clover stack, especially with the official removal of the three miles east of the Beltway from the Interstate system, so that the actual flow through the interchange is better served.

[ARMOURERERIC]

Is the "I-70" shield peeling off?

Yes. It started life as a 70N shield.

and if you look reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal closely, you can see a ghost
"N" to the right of the "0"

I wonder if the shield is "peeling" off because someone tried to steal it.