Maryland

[Mr_Northside]

I would hope to see extending the MD 32 freeway to I-70 to be on that list at some time.

I strongly agree.  I believe 32 between Md. 108 and I-70 is the busiest two-lane highway in the state. 

There have been more than a few wrecks on that part of 32 as well.

Took that stretch of MD-32 back from the beach last Saturday (along with the rest of MD-32 from I-97 to I-70), and there is interchange construction well underway... I want to say at Linden Church Rd.  The new overpass looks pretty far along, but the ramp grading still seems like it has a way to go.  I'm not sure if I had read anything about the project before, but if I did, I forgot about it. 

Like the Burntwoods Rd. interchange a little further north/west they put in a couple of years ago, when done I'm certain this new interchange will be able to accommodate 4-laning at some point in the future.

[cpzilliacus]

I would hope to see extending the MD 32 freeway to I-70 to be on that list at some time.

I strongly agree.  I believe 32 between Md. 108 and I-70 is the busiest two-lane highway in the state. 

There have been more than a few wrecks on that part of 32 as well.

Took that stretch of MD-32 back from the beach last Saturday (along with the rest of MD-32 from I-97 to I-70), and there is interchange construction well underway... I want to say at Linden Church Rd.  The new overpass looks pretty far along, but the ramp grading still seems like it has a way to go.  I'm not sure if I had read anything about the project before, but if I did, I forgot about it. 

Like the Burntwoods Rd. interchange a little further north/west they put in a couple of years ago, when done I'm certain this new interchange will be able to accommodate 4-laning at some point in the future.

Linden Church Road sounds correct.

It is clearly the desire of the State Highway Administration to widen Md. 32 to a four lane freeway  between Md. 108 and I-70.  And perhaps beyond, to Sykesville.

[cpzilliacus]

For those that like big interchanges, click the link below and watch the video, even if you are not interested in tolled lanes.

Baltimore Sun: Pricing recommendations for I-95 express toll lanes approved - Board decision opens proposal to public comment period

Rush-hour commuters could pay nearly $5 a day in tolls to travel back and forth on a seven-mile stretch of express toll lanes set to open next year along Interstate 95 east and north of Baltimore, according to proposed pricing approved Thursday by the board of the Maryland Transportation Authority.

The new lanes, scheduled to open late next year, would offer a quicker travel option for commuters willing to pay.

The suggested tolls vary by the time of day and the type of vehicle, but a car traveling on the toll lanes during peak hours would pay between 25 cents and 35 cents per mile.

[kj3400]

I'm a little surprised that the ET lanes don't interchange directly with I-695. I'm even more surprised that they aren't going to untwist the carriageway swap that the Beltway makes. Unless this is temporary.

[NJRoadfan]

I'm a little surprised that the ET lanes don't interchange directly with I-695. I'm even more surprised that they aren't going to untwist the carriageway swap that the Beltway makes. Unless this is temporary.

There were plans to connect the ET lanes to I-695 and to untwist it..... MdTA ran out of money. Given how long its taking them to open up these lanes, its costing them even more money. Besides the bridges at I-695 the lanes have been sitting complete, empty, and unused for about a year now.

[1995hoo]

There used to be a rendering of the proposed I-695 interchange on the ETL website, but I can't find it anymore (I guess that makes sense since they're deleted or deferred the ramps in question). It was quite impressive.

Aha....Google image search found it on AARoads.com:

[cpzilliacus]

I'm a little surprised that the ET lanes don't interchange directly with I-695. I'm even more surprised that they aren't going to untwist the carriageway swap that the Beltway makes. Unless this is temporary.

I believe it is the MdTA's intent to make the connection between I-695 and the ETLs at some point in the future.

[cpzilliacus]

WUSA-TV: Bay Bridge Fire closes westbound lanes

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Gasoline cleanup at I-95 travel plazas to cost $2.2 million more than projected

The cleanup of soil contaminated by gasoline at two travel plazas on Interstate 95 likely will cost the state $2.2 million more than estimated, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Remediation work at Maryland House in Harford County has cost $2.6 million – far more than the $800,000 planned budget for both sites, officials said. Work is getting underway to assess soil contamination at Chesapeake House in Cecil County, officials said.

The final remediation costs above the initial budget will be subtracted from the rent paid by Areas USA to the state. The Miami-based firm is investing $56 million to renovate the plazas in exchange for leasing rights to operate the facilities through 2047, officials said.

[cpzilliacus]

Online comments are being accepted now for the new Express Toll Lanes on I-95 in Baltimore County and Baltimore City by the MdTA.

I-95 Express Toll Lanes - Homepage

[cpzilliacus]

Imagine if the ICC ran from U.S. 50 in Prince George's County all the way to I-95 - then there would be an alternate path around this mess.

Trash picked up on Beltway after tractor trailer overturns; southbound lanes of Baltimore-Washington Parkway still closed

[kj3400]

An expensive alternate, but a fast one nevertheless. There's space for it, I'm sure. Of course, if it were to be done, you'd be getting into 'Outer Beltway' territory.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun op-ed: How about some sugar for I-95 carpoolers?

During my I-95 Highway Ah-hah! the other day, I wondered why the state was pushing ETLs exclusively and not HOV lanes – that is, high-occupancy vehicle lanes that encourage car-pooling. (Remember car-pooling?)

We have HOV lanes on two other stretches of highway in Maryland, so why not this very wide stretch of I-95?

I started nosing around for an answer to this.

According to Peter Samuel, former editor-publisher of TOLLROADSNews.com and now a contributing writer to that site, a combination of ETLs and HOV lanes (so-called HOTs, for High Occupancy/Tolls) are all the rage these days. These systems allow high-occupancy vehicles to use the express lanes for free or at discount.

HOV lanes are underused, Samuel said, and enforcing the law, which requires two or more people in each vehicle, has become problematic for police. "The trend," said Samuel, who lives in Frederick, "has been to convert HOV [lanes] to HOTs."

I know I'm a little late to this party, but I think we're missing an opportunity to encourage fewer cars on the road – and less gasoline consumption – by allowing HOVs to benefit from the new, improved, wide-body I-95. Come on, a little sugar for car-poolers, please.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Maryland, other states vow to boost plug-in car sales

Aiming to boost the fledgling market for plug-in vehicles, Maryland and seven other states pledged Thursday to use their governments' tax and spending powers to get 3.3 million "zero-emission" cars, trucks and vans on the road in the next dozen years.

Gov. Martin O'Malley and his counterparts in California, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont formally vowed to promote plug-in or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in their states. They signed an agreement promising to take steps in their states to expand consumer demand for the vehicles, which despite rapidly rising sales remain a tiny portion of the cars and trucks sold in the United States.

The governors committed to changing building codes to make it easier to build charging stations, buying zero-emissions vehicles for government fleets, offering tax breaks or other financial incentives to consumers, and discounting electric rates for home charging systems.

[MASTERNC]

Looks like another change to the I-95/MD 43 ramps.

http://www.mdta.maryland.gov/News/MDTA_Traffic_Advisories/NEW_TRAFFIC_PATTERN_BEGINS_OCT_29_AT_I95MD_43_INTERCHANGE_EXIT_RAMPS

I was through here a couple of weeks ago.  It looks like the new ramps go under MD 43 before looping around.  However, I was in the area a few weeks ago and do not recall seeing that.  All I did see was a split leading to a traffic light to make a left onto MD 43.

[Laura]

I'm a little surprised that the ET lanes don't interchange directly with I-695. I'm even more surprised that they aren't going to untwist the carriageway swap that the Beltway makes. Unless this is temporary.

There were plans to connect the ET lanes to I-695 and to untwist it..... MdTA ran out of money. Given how long its taking them to open up these lanes, its costing them even more money. Besides the bridges at I-695 the lanes have been sitting complete, empty, and unused for about a year now.

I went to the public hearing and asked as many questions as I could, including these. The unbraiding of 695 will begin next year. The ETL are scheduled to open in late 2014. Connecting the ETL to 695 has been deferred due to funding but not completely cancelled. However, don't expect the connection to be built anytime soon.

[BrianP]

GOVERNOR O'MALLEY AND COUNTY EXECUTIVE ULMAN ANNOUNCE COMPLETION OF MAJOR HIGHWAY PROJECT IN HOWARD COUNTY
http://www.marylandroads.com/pages/release.aspx?newsId=1710

Governor Martin O'Malley and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman today announced that the new interchange along MD 32 at Linden Church Road near Dayton will open to traffic by Friday, November 8, weather permitting.

The next major project, an interchange along MD 32 at Rosemary Lane, is in design.  Future projects include new interchanges at MD 144, I-70, Nixon's Farm Lane and the entrance to the State and County highway maintenance facilities in Dayton. The time frame for these future projects and eventual widening of MD 32 will depend on funding availability and state, federal and environmental permit approvals.

[kj3400]

Took me a while to find that area. MD 32 is one step closer to being full freeway between I-70 and I-97.

[cpzilliacus]

Took me a while to find that area. MD 32 is one step closer to being full freeway between I-70 and I-97.

Except for a short section through Fort Meade (especially westbound), Md. 32 is already a freeway from I-97 to Md. 108. 

[Henry]

GOVERNOR O'MALLEY AND COUNTY EXECUTIVE ULMAN ANNOUNCE COMPLETION OF MAJOR HIGHWAY PROJECT IN HOWARD COUNTY
http://www.marylandroads.com/pages/release.aspx?newsId=1710

Governor Martin O'Malley and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman today announced that the new interchange along MD 32 at Linden Church Road near Dayton will open to traffic by Friday, November 8, weather permitting.

The next major project, an interchange along MD 32 at Rosemary Lane, is in design.  Future projects include new interchanges at MD 144, I-70, Nixon's Farm Lane and the entrance to the State and County highway maintenance facilities in Dayton. The time frame for these future projects and eventual widening of MD 32 will depend on funding availability and state, federal and environmental permit approvals.

Took me a while to find that area. MD 32 is one step closer to being full freeway between I-70 and I-97.

Except for a short section through Fort Meade (especially westbound), Md. 32 is already a freeway from I-97 to Md. 108. 

About time they made this a complete freeway from I-70 to I-97! If the Fort Meade at-grades are ever removed, then an Interstate designation may not be too far away.

[cpzilliacus]

About time they made this a complete freeway from I-70 to I-97! If the Fort Meade at-grades are ever removed, then an Interstate designation may not be too far away.

The at-grade intersections on Md. 32 at the National Security Agency were removed quite a few years ago. 

But the westbound lanes (signed west, actually going north/northwest) are rather twisty through the area Google here - the curves are much sharper than the satellite image would lead you to believe.

[Mr_Northside]

Wow.  I didn't think construction looked quite so far along when traveling thru there back in early September.  Impressive.

Looks like they decided to keep both directions of travel on on side of the overpass pier (at least according to the image in the article), as opposed to separating them (but remaining one lane each direction) like they did with the interchange they did a few years ago north of there.

[TheOneKEA]

Wow.  I didn't think construction looked quite so far along when traveling thru there back in early September.  Impressive.

Looks like they decided to keep both directions of travel on on side of the overpass pier (at least according to the image in the article), as opposed to separating them (but remaining one lane each direction) like they did with the interchange they did a few years ago north of there.

I drove through the interchange site last weekend and it looks like the contractor hasn't excavated the southbound carriageway road bed to the appropriate depth. The vertical angle of the bridge is such that the height from ground level to the bottom of the bridge appears to be substandard. The only remaining work at the time was the fine grading and paving of the southbound off-ramp to Linden Church Road.

I also found it puzzling that the directions of travel weren't divided, especially since the mainline is much straighter here in comparison to the mainline at the Burntwoods Road interchange and the possibility of lane drift is much higher.

I am also interested to see if an exit number will be signed on the advance interchange signage; the Burntwoods Road interchange is called Exit 27 in the HLR but the sign contractor didn't install any tabs on the advance signage on either side.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun on 50 years of the JFK Highway:  After 50 years, I-95 still East Coast's common thread and economic backbone - Highway's opening in Maryland in 1963 reshaped travel, race relations and local communities

On a brisk afternoon 50 years ago, Timothy Hyman snapped pictures as officials cut a ribbon to open the newest stretch of Interstate 95, connecting Baltimore to Delaware and onward north to Maine.

Amid the large crowd gathered at the Maryland-Delaware border, Hyman still remembers the civil rights advocates picketing just outside his frame, calling for the interstate to be interracial and to further advance their cause.

In that moment, Hyman said he saw a dual promise – of travel without congestion, but also without oppression.

As a black photographer from Baltimore working for the Maryland Traffic Safety Commission, Hyman, now 76 and still a state employee, had a working knowledge of how congested roads in the Baltimore region were. He also had been turned away many times at segregated lunch counters and motels along those roads.

"I remember it quite a bit," he said of that day, Nov. 14, 1963. "It was things we had to overcome."

Today, Interstate 95 remains a culturally significant force for change, an artery of personal significance for many and an economic backbone for the Eastern Seaboard, said Dan McNichol, writer of "The Roads that Built America."

"It facilitated and accelerated growth already in progress," McNichol said. "It generates energy through all those states."

According to the I-95 Corridor Coalition, an alliance of transportation and public safety agencies from Florida to Maine, about 110 million people live in jurisdictions directly served by the highway, up from 40 million in 1960, when the project's coastal connectivity was just an idea.

[TheOneKEA]

It will be interesting to see if the eight miles of the I-95 Express Toll Lanes currently being built have any significant effect on the LOS of I-95 between the Baltimore City line and MD 43; I would expect them to have very little effect because, in my opinion, they are too short. In fact, after reading the I-95 Master Plan produced by the MdTA in 2003, I think the entire 18-mile ETL facility proposed by the MdTA is also too short, and would not be surprised if the segment of the JFK Highway from Exit 80 to Exit 85 is studied again when the MdTA can afford it.

The works at the former MD 43 cloverleaf are certainly very interesting, due to the way the loop ramps are being unrolled. I don't think I've seen a similar interchange design anywhere else.