Maryland

[1995hoo]

Construction to replace the Gov. Nice Bridge with a new four-lane bridge is tentatively set to begin in 2020:

http://wtop.com/maryland/2016/11/maryland-board-approves-building-new-765m-harry-nice-bridge/

[froggie]

I'll believe it when it happens, and not a moment beforehand...

[tckma]

They're going to build a nicer bridge:

http://wtop.com/maryland/2016/11/maryland-board-approves-building-new-765m-harry-nice-bridge/

[1995hoo]

Construction to replace the Gov. Nice Bridge with a new four-lane bridge is tentatively set to begin in 2020:

http://wtop.com/maryland/2016/11/maryland-board-approves-building-new-765m-harry-nice-bridge/

They're going to build a nicer bridge:

http://wtop.com/maryland/2016/11/maryland-board-approves-building-new-765m-harry-nice-bridge/

[amroad17]

^ Nicer than Nice?

[ixnay]

MD 90 will be closed in daylight hours all next week for repaving between U.S. 50 and U.S. 113...

http://www.oceancitytoday.net/p/route-90-to-be-closed-for-paving-project-next-week/1601010

ixnay

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: Md. wants to add new salt barn in Montgomery Co. near Beltway

There's a plan to build a new winter salt barn right near the Capital Beltway, but some people voiced concerns about it at a public meeting Monday night.

The Maryland State Highway Administration wants to build the barn in the right of way along the ramp from the Outer Loop to Connecticut Avenue. A new ramp will be built allowing salt trucks that have loaded at the barn to then cross Connecticut Avenue and get right back on the Beltway.

The SHA says the barn will be able to hold up to 10,000 tons of salt, and up to 40 trucks will be able to line up at the site without interfering with traffic using the ramp.

The point of the SHA's plan is to expand salt availability to trucks that pre-treat and clear the top side of the Beltway and southern Montgomery County.

[jeffandnicole]

I'm still trying to understand this one disentor's comment:  "The rescue squad down the street said that it is a disaster for them in the snow trying to get to people up and down the Beltway, and they thought that your site proposal for us here was foolish. And that's their word, not ours,"  said one woman.

I guess if they had a problem with is, maybe they should voice the comment, not someone stating it from hearsay.  How would a salt shed directly on a highway ramp (and much closer than its current location) be foolish?

If there's any gripping, it would be due to the creek in the area.  And salt tends to be contained within the salt yard, so that shouldn't be an issue.

If anything, this pretty much proves that no matter what is proposed, someone is going to find an issue with it.

[cpzilliacus]

I'm still trying to understand this one disentor's comment:  "The rescue squad down the street said that it is a disaster for them in the snow trying to get to people up and down the Beltway, and they thought that your site proposal for us here was foolish. And that's their word, not ours,"  said one woman.

Without such a comment coming directly from someone with either Wheaton Rescue Squad or (presumably more likely) Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, I would treat this comment as fiction. 

I guess if they had a problem with is, maybe they should voice the comment, not someone stating it from hearsay.  How would a salt shed directly on a highway ramp (and much closer than its current location) be foolish?

If there's any gripping, it would be due to the creek in the area.  And salt tends to be contained within the salt yard, so that shouldn't be an issue.

If anything, this pretty much proves that no matter what is proposed, someone is going to find an issue with it.

This is Montgomery County, Maryland, home to a large cottage industry of NIMBYs when it comes to any kind of public works.  Especially highways.

What the story does not mention is that the location proposed for the salt barn used to be a freeway off-ramp, from the Outer Loop (westbound at this point) of I-495 to go south on MD-185 (Connecticut Avenue) via the Kensington Parkway.  That was unfair to the folks on Kensington Parkway, so the interchange was reconfigured to remove the ramp and redirect the traffic another way.  At the same time, a second ramp (from northbound MD-185 to Inner Loop I-495 (eastbound)) was also removed from Kensington Parkway, but the state did not sell any of the land.

[mattpedersen]

I'm still trying to understand this one disentor's comment:  "The rescue squad down the street said that it is a disaster for them in the snow trying to get to people up and down the Beltway, and they thought that your site proposal for us here was foolish. And that's their word, not ours,"  said one woman.

Without such a comment coming directly from someone with either Wheaton Rescue Squad or (presumably more likely) Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, I would treat this comment as fiction. 

I guess if they had a problem with is, maybe they should voice the comment, not someone stating it from hearsay.  How would a salt shed directly on a highway ramp (and much closer than its current location) be foolish?

If there's any gripping, it would be due to the creek in the area.  And salt tends to be contained within the salt yard, so that shouldn't be an issue.

If anything, this pretty much proves that no matter what is proposed, someone is going to find an issue with it.

This is Montgomery County, Maryland, home to a large cottage industry of NIMBYs when it comes to any kind of public words.  Especially highways.

What the story does not mention is that the location proposed for the salt barn used to be a freeway off-ramp, from the Outer Loop (westbound at this point) of I-495 to go south on MD-185 (Connecticut Avenue) via the Kensington Parkway.  That was unfair to the folks on Kensington Parkway, so the interchange was reconfigured to remove the ramp and redirect the traffic another way.  At the same time, a second ramp (from northbound MD-185 to Inner Loop I-495 (eastbound)) was also removed from Kensington Parkway, but the state did not sell any of the land.

The Kensington Parkway to Beltway inner loop ramp was removed in the mid 1990s, whereas the Beltway to Kensington Parkway ramp (where the proposed salt barn would be) was removed much earlier.

[mattpedersen]

The project to replace the at-grade signalized intersection at MD-4 (Pennsylvania Avenue) and Suitland Parkway in Forestville has been advertised on Maryland Marketplace, bid number MDJ0231029486 and SHA contract number PG6185170R.

Note that link below may  not work (in other words, you may  have to visit the Maryland Marketplace Web site and pull up the contract information by searching there.

https://emaryland.buyspeed.com/bso/external/bidDetail.sdo?bidId=MDJ0231029486&parentUrl=activeBids

I'm surprised at the bid only showing two through lanes on MD 4 under the parkway interchange.

[cpzilliacus]

I'm surprised at the bid only showing two through lanes on MD 4 under the parkway interchange.

As long as the bridge is dimensioned large enough to allow widening later, I am fine with that. 

[BrianP]

Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Secretary Pete K. Rahn today announced that the state has submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to designate a portion of the Interstate 95 (I-95) corridor in Maryland as a future Automated Vehicle (AV) testing and deployment area. 

http://www.marylandroads.com/pages/release.aspx?newsId=2746

[cpzilliacus]

Dr. Gridlock in the Washington Post: Stranger becomes a friend to driver feeling lost and desperate

[noelbotevera]

In other news, I-81 has mile markers every 2/10 of a mile. I'll see if I can't snatch a photo next time I come down there. I haven't been south of exit 5, so I'm not sure if they extend to the West Virginia state line.

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: Highway of death: Why has Indian Head Highway had so many fatal crashes?

You don't have to ask him twice about why Indian Head Highway, otherwise known as Md. 210, is so deadly.

"Aggressive and reckless driving is the order of the day on Indian Head Highway,"  said the Rev. Robert Screen, the chaplain at Fort Washington Medical Center.

Screen is often called upon in the middle of the night to console the loved ones of those killed or seriously hurt in crashes on the highway, which is near the hospital. He's written letters to Maryland's governor, state police and to Prince George's County's executive and police chief in order to voice his concerns.

"You just haven't had the amount of police awareness, presence, enforcement policies to keep up with the volume of traffic ... and the number of people ... speeding,"  said Screen.

[CanesFan27]

New blog feature on the Sideling Hill Cut along I-68 in Western Maryland.

http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2017/02/sideling-hill-cut.html 

[BrianP]

http://www.mymcmedia.org/hogan-administration-proceeds-with-watkins-mill-interchange/

The interchange has been an issue between Hogan, a Republican, and the Democrats who control the General Assembly. The project was one of 11 in the county that could be canceled because of what Hogan called the "road kill bill,"  legislation that forced the administration to rank transportation projects and to say why certain projects receive state funding.

The Watkins Mill Interchange was one of 66 projects that would not score high enough to move forward, Hogan spokeswoman Amelia Chassé said.

Taking what I've learned about scoring projects in Virginia and assuming Maryland's is similar.  I would assume that this project would not score well because of it's price tag of $130 million. 

The project, which could have a total cost of about $130 million, is the subject of legislation that would take the unusual step of forcing the state to proceed with the project rather than the normal channels of a project winning local and state support before proceeding.

Del. Kirill Reznik submitted the legislation that would short-circuit the approval process.

The project definitely has local support.  It's state level support that's lacking.

[froggie]

Maryland's scoring system, as I understand it, has different scoring criteria than Virginia's.  Another thing with the Maryland system, which is why I don't fully understand Hogan's angst, is that the state can still fund projects that don't score well if they document WHY they're funding those projects.  I'm guessing Hogan issue is that he doesn't want to explain why he picked one project over another...because then he might anger some voters...

[cpzilliacus]

Maryland's scoring system, as I understand it, has different scoring criteria than Virginia's.  Another thing with the Maryland system, which is why I don't fully understand Hogan's angst, is that the state can still fund projects that don't score well if they document WHY they're funding those projects.  I'm guessing Hogan issue is that he doesn't want to explain why he picked one project over another...because then he might anger some voters...

Maryland is a "strong governor" state, and that gives the holder of that office a lot of discretionary power, which has been used in recent years to attempt to cancel transportation projects (such as ex-Gov. Parris Nelson  Glendening and MD-200 and more recently, Gov. Larry Hogan's cancellation of the Baltimore City/Baltimore County Red Line light rail project and cutting-back the Montgomery County/Prince George's County Purple Line light rail project).

You might remember that Hogan ran against the Red Line and Purple Line rail projects, and won a lot of exurban and rural support from people who were being asked to pay for them (and proponents were busy claiming that the fuel tax revenues "belonged to" those projects, not very smart, given that drivers from Oakland to Snow Hill were being asked to fund their construction and operation).  Voter turnout in the counties that were to benefit from the Red and Purple Lines was terrible in 2014, which meant that Hogan defeated then-Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (and to me meant that the support for the rail projects was loud but not very deep).

For the record, I feel that cancellation of the Baltimore Red Line project was a mistake.  It linked several large employment centers with downtown Baltimore City, passing through areas where people do need improved access to employment.

This (HB1013) was a backlash against the Red Line cancellation above all, and maybe to a lesser extent against the cutting-back of the Purple Line light rail project.

It also excludes MDTA (toll) projects as well as ADHS highway corridors (not much of that left to do, except for Corridor N, U.S. 219 (Chestnut Ridge Road) north from I-68 to the Pennsylvania border; and possibly (not currently approved parts of ADHS) reconstruction of the deficient part of I-68 in Cumberland and U.S. 220 between Moorefield, W.Va. and I-68). 

People in favor of those (and other) transit projects have been especially  furious about the (small) Corridor N project for some  reason. 

But the HB1013 scoring system IMO does not put highest priority where it belongs, which are transportation system safety improvements; highway traffic congestion relief; and revenues to fund a never-ending list of operating and capital subsidies (ever heard of maintenance backlogs?) for transit.  Virginia's SmartScale (HB2) scoring system (cited by the Maryland legislative analysts at the hyperlink above and misleadingly by anti-highway groups (like this) in Maryland) does put highway congestion relief at the top of the list. 

The HB1013 scoring system also makes the common mistake of assuming that transit and other alternative modes can somehow reduce highway congestion, even though the evidence of that in Maryland is scant.

[Jmiles32]

Maryland's scoring system, as I understand it, has different scoring criteria than Virginia's.  Another thing with the Maryland system, which is why I don't fully understand Hogan's angst, is that the state can still fund projects that don't score well if they document WHY they're funding those projects.  I'm guessing Hogan issue is that he doesn't want to explain why he picked one project over another...because then he might anger some voters...

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/hogan-md-lawmakers-clash-over-transportation-funding-law/article_2eed8c4a-f95d-11e6-9d34-5312e9e4ebd5.html
"That system, which divides the state into several regions so that rural counties aren't competing with more populous Northern Virginia, Richmond or Hampton Roads, "has some merit, but we can't salvage" the Maryland system, he said".

Transportation regions are also a key difference in Virginia's and Maryland's scoring systems. Not sure why Maryland can't just include this in their scoring system as well

Potential transportation regions Maryland could have:
1. West Region
Garrett and Allegany Counties
2. North Region
Washington, Fredrick, and Carroll Counties
3. East region
Eastern shore including Cecil County
4. South Region
Anne Arundal, Charles, St. Marys, Calvert Counties (Includes Annapolis)
5. Baltimore Region
Baltimore City, Baltimore, Harford and Howard Counties
6. Washington Region
Montgomery and Prince George's Counties

If Hogan was to be against a compromise similar to this, then yes I would agree that he is purposely turning Maryland road building into unnecessary politics

[epzik8]

Maryland's scoring system, as I understand it, has different scoring criteria than Virginia's.  Another thing with the Maryland system, which is why I don't fully understand Hogan's angst, is that the state can still fund projects that don't score well if they document WHY they're funding those projects.  I'm guessing Hogan issue is that he doesn't want to explain why he picked one project over another...because then he might anger some voters...

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQx9isUPmSfXuf5ndOCWOK38AodfXpihQBSEoyd5-YViu8ztMEqjw
"That system, which divides the state into several regions so that rural counties aren't competing with more populous Northern Virginia, Richmond or Hampton Roads, "has some merit, but we can't salvage" the Maryland system, he said".

Transportation regions are also a key difference in Virginia's and Maryland's scoring systems. Not sure why Maryland can't just include this in their scoring system as well

Potential transportation regions Maryland could have:
1. West Region
Garrett and Allegany Counties
2. North Region
Washington, Fredrick, and Carroll Counties
3. East region
Eastern shore including Cecil County
4. South Region
Anne Arundal, Charles, St. Marys, Calvert Counties (Includes Annapolis)
5. Baltimore Region
Baltimore City, Baltimore, Harford and Howard Counties
6. Washington Region
Montgomery and Prince George's Counties

If Hogan was to be against a compromise similar to this, then yes I would agree that he is purposely turning Maryland road building into unnecessary politics

So the BWI Airport would be in a different region than Baltimore city. Interesting.

[Jmiles32]

Maryland's scoring system, as I understand it, has different scoring criteria than Virginia's.  Another thing with the Maryland system, which is why I don't fully understand Hogan's angst, is that the state can still fund projects that don't score well if they document WHY they're funding those projects.  I'm guessing Hogan issue is that he doesn't want to explain why he picked one project over another...because then he might anger some voters...

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQx9isUPmSfXuf5ndOCWOK38AodfXpihQBSEoyd5-YViu8ztMEqjw
"That system, which divides the state into several regions so that rural counties aren't competing with more populous Northern Virginia, Richmond or Hampton Roads, "has some merit, but we can't salvage" the Maryland system, he said".

Transportation regions are also a key difference in Virginia's and Maryland's scoring systems. Not sure why Maryland can't just include this in their scoring system as well

Potential transportation regions Maryland could have:
1. West Region
Garrett and Allegany Counties
2. North Region
Washington, Fredrick, and Carroll Counties
3. East region
Eastern shore including Cecil County
4. South Region
Anne Arundal, Charles, St. Marys, Calvert Counties (Includes Annapolis)
5. Baltimore Region
Baltimore City, Baltimore, Harford and Howard Counties
6. Washington Region
Montgomery and Prince George's Counties

If Hogan was to be against a compromise similar to this, then yes I would agree that he is purposely turning Maryland road building into unnecessary politics

So the BWI Airport would be in a different region than Baltimore city. Interesting.

I wanted the state capital Annapolis to be its own region so that the Washington and Baltimore Regions could be more balanced. I do however definitely understand your point given Anne Arundel County has BWI, a portion of I-695(Baltimore Beltway) and touches the City of Balitmore

[cpzilliacus]

Maryland's scoring system, as I understand it, has different scoring criteria than Virginia's.  Another thing with the Maryland system, which is why I don't fully understand Hogan's angst, is that the state can still fund projects that don't score well if they document WHY they're funding those projects.  I'm guessing Hogan issue is that he doesn't want to explain why he picked one project over another...because then he might anger some voters...

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/hogan-md-lawmakers-clash-over-transportation-funding-law/article_2eed8c4a-f95d-11e6-9d34-5312e9e4ebd5.html
"That system, which divides the state into several regions so that rural counties aren't competing with more populous Northern Virginia, Richmond or Hampton Roads, "has some merit, but we can't salvage" the Maryland system, he said".

Transportation regions are also a key difference in Virginia's and Maryland's scoring systems. Not sure why Maryland can't just include this in their scoring system as well

Virginia has over 100 counties and cities, and a significantly larger land area than Maryland, which has 23 counties and exactly one independent city.

Potential transportation regions Maryland could have:
1. West Region
Garrett and Allegany Counties
2. North Region
Washington, Fredrick, and Carroll Counties
3. East region
Eastern shore including Cecil County
4. South Region
Anne Arundal, Charles, St. Marys, Calvert Counties (Includes Annapolis)
5. Baltimore Region
Baltimore City, Baltimore, Harford and Howard Counties
6. Washington Region
Montgomery and Prince George's Counties

If Hogan was to be against a compromise similar to this, then yes I would agree that he is purposely turning Maryland road building into unnecessary politics

I would follow the boundaries of the state's metropolitan planning organizations much more if you want to go that way.

1. West - Allegany, Garrett and Washington County
2. Baltimore - Anne Arundel, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Carroll, Harford and Howard.
3. Washington suburbs - Charles, Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George's
4. Southern Maryland - Calvert and St. Mary's
5. Wilmington, Delaware suburbs - Cecil
6. Upper and middle Shore - Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's and Talbot
7. Lower Shore - Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester

I think persons quoted in the article are correct - the current HB 1013 scoring system is for the purpose of favoring public transit.  Even in Montgomery County, which has been obsessing about increasing transit ridership (and does pretty well for a large and sprawling suburban county), transit is (and will likely always be) a minority mode for getting to work, and for all other trip purposes.

To compare the HB 1013 scoring system to the one used in Virginia is not exactly honest.  The one in the Commonwealth  is much more about congestion relief than HB 1013.

[froggie]

^ While congestion mitigation (i.e. "relief") was one driving factor (pun intended) behind Virginia's SmartScale (itself originally labeled HB2 as I recall), it is by far not the only factor.  There are also two important things to note here:

* Congestion mitigation is evenly split between PERSON (not vehicle) throughput and person hours of delay.

* The percentage that congestion mitigation factors into the overall SmartScale score is dependent on location.  For Hampton Roads, Northern Virginia, and the Fredericksburg area (but not all of the Hampton Roads or Fredericksburg VDOT districts), it's 45%.  For Richmond, most of the remaining larger urban areas (like Lynchburg, Roanoke, and all of VDOT's Culpeper District, but not including Bristol, Danville, or Martinsville), it's 15%.  Everywhere else, congestion mitigation is only 10% of the overall score.