Maryland

[cpzilliacus]

I wonder how they managed to collide head-on - if memory serves me correctly, there are barriers to prevent "crossover" wrecks along all of I-83 in Maryland.

Baltimore Sun: I-83 southbound closed near Md.-Pa. line due to head-on truck crash

[amroad17]

Some sleepy trucker may have used the exit ramp as an on-ramp at one of the northern MD interchanges.  A friend told me about a similar occurrence on I-75 north of Exit 156 on Pine or Jellico Mountain (cannot remember at the moment) in TN where a trucker, after resting or sleeping and still probably groggy, went down the SB exit ramp and had a head-on about 1/2 mile down the road.

[cpzilliacus]

Some sleepy trucker may have used the exit ramp as an on-ramp at one of the northern MD interchanges.  A friend told me about a similar occurrence on I-75 north of Exit 156 on Pine or Jellico Mountain (cannot remember at the moment) in TN where a trucker, after resting or sleeping and still probably groggy, went down the SB exit ramp and had a head-on about 1/2 mile down the road.

That could well be the unfortunate explanation. 

Just checked the Baltimore Sun's site for an update, and there is one here.

A deer darting across I-83 near Old York Road early Thursday caused a chain reaction crash that involved three tractor-trailers and halted traffic on the highway throughout the morning rush hour. All lanes were reopened by 9 a.m., according to Maryland State Police.

The driver of a northbound tractor-trailer swerved to avoid the deer at about 3:30 a.m. He lost control of the semi rig, destroyed the guardrail and went through the median into the southbound lanes. There, he hit another tractor-trailer head-on. The driver of the southbound truck was trapped and had to be extricated.

[cpzilliacus]

Maryland must be having a special on tractor-trailer wrecks this week.

WTOP Radio: 2 tractor-trailer accidents close Inner Loop

[hbelkins]

A deer darting across I-83 near Old York Road early Thursday caused a chain reaction crash that involved three tractor-trailers and halted traffic on the highway throughout the morning rush hour. All lanes were reopened by 9 a.m., according to Maryland State Police.

The driver of a northbound tractor-trailer swerved to avoid the deer at about 3:30 a.m. He lost control of the semi rig, destroyed the guardrail and went through the median into the southbound lanes. There, he hit another tractor-trailer head-on. The driver of the southbound truck was trapped and had to be extricated.

I hate deer. Although maybe it would have been better for the truck to just mow the deer down. It would certainly cause less damage to a big rig than it would to a passenger vehicle (says the guy who hit two deer in the span of three months earlier this year).

Cable barriers, and ofttimes (as this case illustrates) guardrail will not stop a tractor-trailer from crossing the median. It takes a concrete barrier in most cases.

[amroad17]

I hit a deer at 65 mph at the Turkeyfoot Rd. exit on I-275 in Northern Kentucky.  I hit its right rear leg and it took out my right front headlight and quarterpanel, which was about $2600 in damage.  Imagine hitting it full-on!

[Alps]

I hate deer.

Too bad. Deer are tasty.

[hbelkins]

I hate deer.

Too bad. Deer are tasty.

You should follow me around. If you know how to field dress one, you might get some fresh venison, given my luck lately.

I have eaten venison but am not a big fan of it.

[Alps]

I hate deer.

Too bad. Deer are tasty.

You should follow me around. If you know how to field dress one, you might get some fresh venison, given my luck lately.

I have eaten venison but am not a big fan of it.

I'm from the North. All I know is you take meat and cook it.

[MASTERNC]

I drove up I-95 today from Baltimore and was surprised MDTA posted an advanced warning for the toll plaza 6 miles in advance, with the toll rates listed.  While the advance notice is appreciated, it seems a little far out.  Clearly there is no direct way to avoid the toll at that point (the Havre de Grace exit takes you to the Hatem Bridge or to US 1, which is way out).

On another positive, the Delaware tolls are no longer a surprise, as Maryland has posted "Last Exit Before Toll" on its new Exit 109 signs.

[cpzilliacus]

On another positive, the Delaware tolls are no longer a surprise, as Maryland has posted "Last Exit Before Toll" on its new Exit 109 signs.

I have  a few images of that, which I will post at some point. 

At the time, there were no signs warning entering drivers from Md. 279 to go north on I-95, but I think MdTA may be in the process of replacing the BGS panels on 279, and presumably the new ones will have the appropriate warnings.

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: Street racing suspected in injury, death in Prince George's

[cpzilliacus]

WBAL Radio: Bay Bridge Closed Due To HAZMAT

[cpzilliacus]

[IMO, the only good deer is a dead deer]

Baltimore Sun: Highway agency composting program makes the best of a bad situation - Deer struck by vehicles become nourishment for state beautification efforts

At this time of year, it is an unfortunate fact of nature that a deer in the headlights often becomes a highway casualty.

What happens afterward is a story of renewal involving wood chips, horse manure and state workers, like Tyrone Henderson, with cast-iron constitutions.

Every day, Henderson hoists himself into a massive yellow dump truck and checks his list before rolling out of the State Highway Administration's Sykesville garage. He is a man on a mission; or, as he likes to say, it's "time to find the stinkees."

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: Westbound I-68 reopens in western Maryland

OAKLAND, Md. - The Maryland State Highway Administration says westbound lanes of Interstate 68 in far western Maryland have reopened after a 40-mile stretch was closed due to snow-related problems.

The westbound lanes reopened shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday. Those lanes were closed for about 11 hours overnight and into the morning.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Transportation creeps back after Sandy slams area

For the second consecutive year, transportation crews got their winter tune-up before Halloween, battling blinding rain and high winds as well as slick roads and whiteout conditions.

At the height of the storm overnight, 132 state roads were closed and 111 signals were dark, according to the State Highway Administration. As snow piled up at more than an inch an hour in Western Maryland, Interstate 68 was closed as trucks with snowblower attachments and a "towplow," a double-wide snowplow, cleared the way.

"We were prepared," said Melinda Peters, SHA administrator. "We had the right assets in the right location to succeed."

Little by little, the transportation system is returning to normal.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Baltimore-Washington Parkway to close again Sat. night

After some trouble on the first attempt, the State Highway Administration removed the 300-ton West Nursery Road bridge over the northbound lanes of Baltimore-Washington Parkway overnight and reopened the road early Saturday.

Crews used hydraulic equipment to lift the bridge deck out of place, after an attempt two weeks ago that failed when the load shifted and the Highway Administration had to assemble a massive crane on the parkway to lift the deck back into place.

The parkway reopened at 7:30 a.m. after the bridge was carried several hundred feet north on the parkway, also called Route 295, and dropped off in the median. It will be demolished and turned into scrap this week, said Melinda B. Peters, highway administrator.

[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

The DOT just put out a press release announcing the start of camera enforcement.  There will be two work zones within a mile of each other that will use the cameras.

[hbelkins]

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

The DOT just put out a press release announcing the start of camera enforcement.  There will be two work zones within a mile of each other that will use the cameras.

Remind me to obscure my license plate if I use that route going to or from the Doylestown meet. 

[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

The DOT just put out a press release announcing the start of camera enforcement.  There will be two work zones within a mile of each other that will use the cameras.

Remind me to obscure my license plate if I use that route going to or from the Doylestown meet. 

If you're going in the next 3 weeks, they're just handing out warnings.  I believe tickets start the 28th.

[cpzilliacus]

Gazette.net: Outlook bleak for Maryland transportation funding, analysts say - Budget analysts push alternate transportation revenue sources

State budget analysts painted a bleak picture of Maryland transportation funding, warning lawmakers in Annapolis Tuesday that alternate revenue sources should be considered to fund major transit projects.

Analysts from the Department of Legislative Services told members of the joint Spending Affordability Committee that projections in the special fund transportion program for fiscal 2013-2018 from the state Department of Transportation may be overstated.

[cpzilliacus]

Washington  Post: Montgomery County considers giving more of the road to buses

Montgomery County planners have proposed converting some lanes on the county's busiest roads to buses-only. Eager to avoid widening roads, the planners say bus-only lanes would be a faster and more affordable way to improve transit and limit growing traffic congestion.

The idea of taking asphalt from private vehicles in one of the country's most traffic-clogged regions is likely to draw protests from some motorists. But Larry Cole, a Montgomery transportation planner, said the county's continued population growth will require persuading more people to forgo the convenience of driving by making buses faster and more reliable – even if that means motorists get less room on the road.

And two Letters to the Editor in response to the above:

The good and bad of bus lanes

Letter from Gabriel Roth (I know Gabriel):

It is good to know that Montgomery County's planners recognize the importance of buses, but bus-only lanes are a bad idea. Implementation of this proposal would result in a huge waste of scarce road capacity.

The proposition that "one transit vehicle would take up to 72 cars off the road"  is fantasy – a triumph of hope over experience. Travelers do indeed seek to save time, but the travel times they value are total trip times, from starts to destinations, which would be little affected by speeding up buses on a few main roads.

Letter from Howard Weir:

It is heartening to see conversations about adding dedicated bus lanes in Montgomery County. A stronger commitment to public transportation is the only way to combat the ever-worsening traffic that plagues the region. But I was dismayed that the article did not mention the environmental benefits of removing so many cars from the road. Carbon dioxide is being released into our atmosphere at an alarming rate, and yet, even in the wake of dramatic climactic events such as Hurricane Sandy, scant attention is being paid to climate change.

[cpzilliacus]

I posted this in the Northern Virginia HOT Lanes thread, but is relevant to Maryland as well.

NBC4 TV: Envy in Maryland Over 495 Express Lanes

[oscar]

Washington  Post: Montgomery County considers giving more of the road to buses

Montgomery County planners have proposed converting some lanes on the county's busiest roads to buses-only. Eager to avoid widening roads, the planners say bus-only lanes would be a faster and more affordable way to improve transit and limit growing traffic congestion.

The idea of taking asphalt from private vehicles in one of the country's most traffic-clogged regions is likely to draw protests from some motorists. But Larry Cole, a Montgomery transportation planner, said the county's continued population growth will require persuading more people to forgo the convenience of driving by making buses faster and more reliable – even if that means motorists get less room on the road.

That reminds me of Virginia's first attempt to establish HOV lanes on the Dulles Toll Road, by converting one of the three existing through lanes in each direction to HOV-only (in rush hour) use.  The blowback from motorists was fierce, they complained that three general-purpose lanes in each direction was barely adequate, and only two would be grossly inadequate.  VDOT (which then ran the toll road) pulled back, and built a fourth lane in each direction reserved from the outset for HOV.

Something like that happened with I-270 in Maryland, which got HOV lanes only when the freeway was widened, and I think also on US 50 between the Beltway and Bowie.  One nice thing about doing it that way is that it gives motorists time to change their travel patterns to take advantage of the new lanes, and gradually shift as general-purpose lane congestion increases, rather than expect motorists to change abruptly as existing lanes are taken away from them.

[1995hoo]

DC constantly tries taking away existing lanes. The bus lanes on 7th and 9th Streets NW are a good example. Everyone (myself included) ignores those restrictions because otherwise you can't get anywhere. The problem is that DC refuses to enforce other traffic laws in their eagerness to make driving as miserable as possible. So on 9th Street, for example, there are supposed to be two lanes plus a bus lane, but the left lane of the two is always blocked by double-parkers and by the valet parker at Zaytinya. If you obey the bus lane, it means you effectively have a single lane where there used to be three. Fuck that! On 7th Street, the problem is that left turns are allowed but there are no left-turn lanes. So you either go around people using the bus lane or you get stuck. Hopefully Montgomery County will have better sense than to attempt to do it the way DC does. Reducing traffic capacity for a bus lane is a recipe for a driver revolt. (If you take away a lane of parking, and strictly enforce the no-parking rule with bollards or some such while maintaining the same number of lanes for traffic, that's a totally different story. But I doubt that's what Montgomery County has in mind.)

I think the biggest two problems with buses are not a lack of dedicated lanes but rather a lack of frequent service and the unreliability of the Metrorail in getting people to the bus. The Fairfax Connector bus that stops half a mile from my house generally runs once an hour. If there's a problem on the Metrorail, it means you're stuck either waiting an hour or paying for a cab (assuming you don't have some other way home). That's simply not a wager most people are willing to make, and I can't blame them. The other thing that has to be remembered is that in the downtown white-collar business community a LOT of people cannot necessarily rely on always leaving at the same time every night, and they often won't know in advance when they might get stuck at the office. Taking a bus is a lot more problematic when you can't plan on keeping to a fixed work schedule. I think a lot of the transitphiles and the anti-car crowd tend to overlook such issues.

Don't get me wrong, I love having that Fairfax Connector bus as an option when I've needed it (usually when I've taken my 1988 RX-7 to the mechanic in Arlington and he has to keep it overnight while he obtains parts). But I view it as just that–a backup option in a pinch. It would never be my primary mode of transportation unless my circumstances change DRASTICALLY. I think the same is true for a lot of other people.