Maryland

[Mergingtraffic]

Last time I was in Baltimore, one of the "40 East Edmond St --->" BGS on MLK Jr Blvd was knocked down.  I was curious if it was replaced with a new sign or the old one was just put back up?

I take it all the button copy on I-170 and the Balt-Wash Pkwy is still there with no plans on being replaced? 

[1995hoo]

WTOP reports Maryland has raised the speed limit on much of I-70 to 70 mph.

[TheOneKEA]

WTOP reports Maryland has raised the speed limit on much of I-70 to 70 mph.

They were waiting for a weekday to do it. I was out on I-70 between Baltimore and Frederick this past weekend and I didn't see a single 70mph sign.

[cpzilliacus]

O.C. Today: Maryland State Highway enlists roadway analyzer - Vehicle determines repair needs with high-resolution video, ultrasonic sensors

Drivers slowed by roadwork on Coastal Highway, with its jutting manhole covers and ungraded lanes dotting certain portions, may wonder how the need for asphalt pavement repairs is determined.

While visual inspections may not always reveal problem areas, for the last 20 years the Maryland State Highway Administration has enlisted subsurface sleuthing t5o assist in those determinations.

Charlie Gischlar, SHA public information officer, said his agency purchased an Automated Roadway Analyzer vehicle in the spring of 1995. The ARAN enlists high-resolution video, ultrasonic sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes to collect highway infrastructure data.

[noelbotevera]

WTOP reports Maryland has raised the speed limit on much of I-70 to 70 mph.

They were waiting for a weekday to do it. I was out on I-70 between Baltimore and Frederick this past weekend and I didn't see a single 70mph sign.

I think the next time I'll head out to DC, I'll see if I can post pictures of the new signs.

[vdeane]

I took a couple pictures today; remind me to post them when I get a chance to update my website.

[vdeane]

Here they are; one of the 70 mph signs, and the signs warning of the reduction to 65 near Frederick.

[jwolfer]

Is 301 on the Eastern shore still 55mph? I haven't been over that way since 1999

[froggie]

Yes.  Maryland law doesn't allow anything higher than 55 on non-freeways.

[jeffandnicole]

Here they are; one of the 70 mph signs, and the signs warning of the reduction to 65 near Frederick.

Was it that hard to upgrade the entire fading-out sign?

[74/171FAN]

SHA has begun an interchange at US 15 and Monocacy Blvd near Frederick.  It'll be a standard diamond along US 15, tie into Christophers Crossing to the west, and remove the partial intersection on US 15 at Hayward Rd.  This'll have the net effect of extending the US 15 freeway section through Frederick for about a mile further north.

The scheduled completion is Spring 2018.

The press release notes that speed cameras will be in use through the workzone, with a 50 MPH limit southbound and a 55 MPH limit northbound (not sure why there's a difference).  Per state law, the cameras won't actually generate tickets unless you're going at least 12 over the limit.  Enforcement begins in early September with a 3 week warning period before actual citations begin on 9/29.

Glad to see them start that.  The crossover at Hayward Rd has been a problem for years.  The continuing problem with speeding through that stretch (and the periodic major accidents at Hayward Rd) is the reason for the higher intensity speed enforcement (and I wish they would crack down more)

Photo taken by me on April 2nd on US 15 NB at the overhead for the MD 26 exit shows a covered-up sign presumably for the new interchange:  (of course gone due to the Photobucket thing)

[cpzilliacus]

Photo taken by me on April 2nd on US 15 NB at the overhead for the MD 26 exit shows a covered-up sign presumably for the new interchange:

Yes, this is for the Monocacy Boulevard interchange that is being constructed between Md. 26 and Biggs Ford Road.

[TheOneKEA]

Here they are; one of the 70 mph signs, and the signs warning of the reduction to 65 near Frederick.

Was it that hard to upgrade the entire fading-out sign?

Apparently so. The SHA patched the signage on I-68 east of Cumberland in a similar fashion. I haven't seen a single new 70mph sign anywhere in MD yet.

[cpzilliacus]

Md. 695 (signed as I-695), Baltimore Beltway, at the Francis Scott Key Bridge as caught on video by WBAL traffic reporter Jim Russ.

[tckma]

Was it that hard to upgrade the entire fading-out sign?

Apparently so. The SHA patched the signage on I-68 east of Cumberland in a similar fashion. I haven't seen a single new 70mph sign anywhere in MD yet.
[/quote]

Try I-70 between MD-94 and US-29.  The section between MD-97 and US-29 is part of my daily commute, and sometimes I use MD-94 instead of MD-97 when I feel like doing so.  All the 70 MPH speed limit signs in that stretch are brand new.  Haven't seen a single patched-up sign, but my route from home to Frederick generally involves MD-194 to MD-26, so I'm not on that section of I-70 all that often.

[tckma]

Oh, hang on, I took a photo of one a few hours after they changed it.  Hopefully this will work, as it's on my FB and I just made it public (was private like everything else there)

[TheOneKEA]

Was it that hard to upgrade the entire fading-out sign?

Apparently so. The SHA patched the signage on I-68 east of Cumberland in a similar fashion. I haven't seen a single new 70mph sign anywhere in MD yet.

Try I-70 between MD-94 and US-29.  The section between MD-97 and US-29 is part of my daily commute, and sometimes I use MD-94 instead of MD-97 when I feel like doing so.  All the 70 MPH speed limit signs in that stretch are brand new.  Haven't seen a single patched-up sign, but my route from home to Frederick generally involves MD-194 to MD-26, so I'm not on that section of I-70 all that often.

Thanks for the tip; I will have to check that out. The sign patching is notable to me because I have never observed the SHA do it before on this scale.

[BrianP]

STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION REMOVES EXCESS PAVEMENT TO MAKE WAY FOR GRASS
http://www.marylandroads.com/pages/release.aspx?newsId=2550

I looked for most of them:

They say:
US 40 (West Patrick Street) ramp to northbound US 15/US 340
But that's not US 340.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.4143437,-77.4340806,260m/data=!3m1!1e3
Unless US 340 were to follow MD 26 eastward.  Sorry straying to fictional.

MD 17 (Burkittsville) near Bennies Hill Road
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.4120361,-77.5817951,124m/data=!3m1!1e3

US 40 (West Patrick Street) near Linden Avenue
Couldn't figure this one out.

MD 144FA (Old National Pike) near Bartonsville Road
MD 144A near Linganore Road
These seem to mean the old dual carriageway:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3972491,-77.3605847,468m/data=!3m1!1e3

MD 985 (Old Frederick Road) near Chapel Avenue.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3020959,-76.822359,241m/data=!3m1!1e3

MD 194 (York Street) near Kump Station Road
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6921479,-77.1438127,179m/data=!3m1!1e3

MD 853E near Angell Road
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6724643,-77.1595761,350m/data=!3m1!1e3

MD 850I near Arthur Shipley Road
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.4385942,-77.0306998,236m/data=!3m1!1e3

MD 850J (Old Liberty Road West) near Shady Brook Drive
Old pavement where the car is parked.  That one wasn't so obvious from satellite view.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.4448605,-77.0493309,3a,75y,131.6h,65.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKnBeP0NDziv4kkfNChAqbA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

MD 850E near Gray Horse Drive
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.4532098,-77.0737484,3a,75y,253.19h,67.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQhOmhDucBlGWaz8iTAZe3A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[tckma]

MD 850E near Gray Horse Drive
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.4532098,-77.0737484,3a,75y,253.19h,67.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQhOmhDucBlGWaz8iTAZe3A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

99% of the time I pass this one, there are one or two 18-wheelers parked on that dead-end old pavement section.

[TheOneKEA]

Several weeks ago I passed through Taneytown, MD on MD 140 and was very intrigued by Antrim Boulevard, a wide two-lane street that extends from the roundabout where MD 832 terminates to a local county road near the town limits. The road is very wide, quite straight and has geometry which strongly resembles the MD 30 Hampstead bypass, including partial access controls.

Is this short boulevard really the first (secret) portion of a future, limited-access bypass of Taneytown for MD 140? If so, was this bypass planned at the same time as the original MD 97 bypass of MD 32 between Taneytown and Westminster?

[mattpedersen]

Was it that hard to upgrade the entire fading-out sign?

Apparently so. The SHA patched the signage on I-68 east of Cumberland in a similar fashion. I haven't seen a single new 70mph sign anywhere in MD yet.

Try I-70 between MD-94 and US-29.  The section between MD-97 and US-29 is part of my daily commute, and sometimes I use MD-94 instead of MD-97 when I feel like doing so.  All the 70 MPH speed limit signs in that stretch are brand new.  Haven't seen a single patched-up sign, but my route from home to Frederick generally involves MD-194 to MD-26, so I'm not on that section of I-70 all that often.

Thanks for the tip; I will have to check that out. The sign patching is notable to me because I have never observed the SHA do it before on this scale.

When I drove out to Garrett County last weekend all the 70 MPH signs from just past the 340/15 interchange to the Washington County line were new signs. The 70 MPH signs in Washington County were all patch jobs.

Though my favorite patch job sign is the "presumably" 55 MPH patched to 65 patched to 70 sign in Garrett County.

[froggie]

Several weeks ago I passed through Taneytown, MD on MD 140 and was very intrigued by Antrim Boulevard, a wide two-lane street that extends from the roundabout where MD 832 terminates to a local county road near the town limits. The road is very wide, quite straight and has geometry which strongly resembles the MD 30 Hampstead bypass, including partial access controls.

Is this short boulevard really the first (secret) portion of a future, limited-access bypass of Taneytown for MD 140? If so, was this bypass planned at the same time as the original MD 97 bypass of MD 32 between Taneytown and Westminster?

It's possible.  A Taneytown bypass for MD 140 is a long-term goal, but is also a low priority for Carroll County, so to answer your last question, I'd say no it wasn't planned at the same time as MD 97:

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/local/ph-cc-maximize2040-transportation-plan-20150219-story.html

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun op-ed regarding the Maryland toll reductions from last year: Politics takes toll on infrastructure investment

[tckma]

Several weeks ago I passed through Taneytown, MD on MD 140 and was very intrigued by Antrim Boulevard, a wide two-lane street that extends from the roundabout where MD 832 terminates to a local county road near the town limits. The road is very wide, quite straight and has geometry which strongly resembles the MD 30 Hampstead bypass, including partial access controls.

Is this short boulevard really the first (secret) portion of a future, limited-access bypass of Taneytown for MD 140? If so, was this bypass planned at the same time as the original MD 97 bypass of MD 32 between Taneytown and Westminster?

It's possible.  A Taneytown bypass for MD 140 is a long-term goal, but is also a low priority for Carroll County, so to answer your last question, I'd say no it wasn't planned at the same time as MD 97:

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/local/ph-cc-maximize2040-transportation-plan-20150219-story.html

I doubt it.  I live very near to Taneytown (the workers at that Sheetz on the circle know me by name; I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing), and I think a bypass of town is rather unnecessary.  I haven't ever seen much traffic through Taneytown and don't view it as a place of delay.

Antrim Blvd makes me similarly scratch my head as a road that was very overbuilt for the area and for traffic demands, but I never thought of it as a possible bypass.

[cpzilliacus]

AASHTO Journal: TRIP, Maryland DOT's Rahn Report on Road Congestion Challenges, Efforts to Reduce It

Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn joined with the TRIP traffic research group to both identify the state's worst roadway bottlenecks and highlight efforts the state has been taking in recent years to improve conditions.

TRIP, which often reports on infrastructure funding needs and the way ailing highway systems cost drivers in lost time or vehicle repairs, focused heavily on improvements Maryland has undertaken since passage of a 2013 state funding measure.