Maryland

[1995hoo]

The Washington Post's Dr. Gridlock reports Maryland is building a DDI at the BW Parkway junction with Arundel Mills Boulevard.

[cpzilliacus]

The Washington Post's Dr. Gridlock reports Maryland is building a DDI at the BW Parkway junction with Arundel Mills Boulevard.

GreaterGreaterWashington reports that one is under consideration for the interchange of Md. 201 (Kenilworth  Avenue) and Md. 193 (Greenbelt Road) in Greenbelt:  "Diverging diamond" doesn't help make a walkable corridor

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: High traffic volume expected at Bay Bridge this weekend

The first of the travel season's "go early, go late" advisories for the Bay Bridge is in effect this weekend as thousands of visitors head for Springfest 2012 in Ocean City.

The Maryland Transportation Authority said motorists should avoid high traffic volume Thursday through Sunday by traveling to the annual spring block party during off-peak hours. If eastbound traffic conditions warrant it, the westbound span will operate with two-way traffic.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Beltway lanes reopened after truck overturns

With the clock ticking toward Thursday afternoon rush hour, state crews raced to right a tractor-trailer truck and clear the debris that closed all four lanes of the inner loop of Interstate 695 near U.S. 1.

The truck was drained of fuel and hitched to a tow truck, and all lanes were open just 2 1/2 hours after the accident happened, the State Highway Administration said.

The flat-bed truck, hauling pipes and lumber, tipped over and landed on the driver's side at 12:48 p.m., according to State Police spokesman Greg Shipley. A preliminary investigation indicated that the truck may have been going too fast as it entered the inner loop from the Washington Boulevard eastbound ramp, he said.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: State Police run truck-safety dragnet at FedEx Field - Hundreds of truckers pulled over for surprise inspection

Just after dawn Tuesday, law enforcement officers began yanking hundreds of trucks off the Capital Beltway and funneling them to an inspection lot a long touchdown pass from FedEx Field.

The truck-safety dragnet pulled over 420 rigs and resulted in 12 drivers and 87 vehicles being taken off the road. Offenses ranged from falsified log books and drivers spending too many hours behind the wheel to bad tires and defective brakes.

"Within an hour, drivers from Maine to Florida will know we're out here," said State Police Capt. Norman Dofflemyer as the first truck pulled into a makeshift inspection lane at 7:24 a.m. "They get on the radio and on their phones. News travels fast."

[froggie]

I wonder how many of them detoured over to the west side of the Beltway as a result...

[cpzilliacus]

I wonder how many of them detoured over to the west side of the Beltway as a result...

Probably a fair number - though that side is more congestion-prone than through Prince George's County.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun editorial: Annapolis' unfinished business: Transportation funding Our view: For the second time in six weeks, lawmakers will leave Annapolis without having done a thing to address Maryland's transportation deficit

[cpzilliacus]

There were images of the crash scene of this on D.C.-area TV stations this morning.  I don't really understand how a head-on wreck could happen here, since I believe there is a barrier on the median to (supposedly) prevent such things.

WTOP Radio: Fatal crash closes NB lanes of Baltimore-Washington Parkway

[froggie]

The median barrier is only in the immediate vicinity of the Greenbelt Rd interchange...there's only about 400ft or so of the metal barrier shown in some of the TV photos.  So it's quite possible (and likely) that the driver who crossed over wound up doing so just north of where the median barrier ends.

[cpzilliacus]

The median barrier is only in the immediate vicinity of the Greenbelt Rd interchange...there's only about 400ft or so of the metal barrier shown in some of the TV photos.  So it's quite possible (and likely) that the driver who crossed over wound up doing so just north of where the median barrier ends.

Yeah, there are segments of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway that have no median barrier at all (not good, given that the posted limit is 55 MPH). 

The other possibility is that the driver going south in the northbound lanes entered wrong-way (in this case, it would have been at Powder Mill Road or perhaps Md. 197), though I have not heard anything to suggest that in media reports.  That would probably have resulted in calls to 911, which then would have needed to get transferred to the U.S. Park Police.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Banned Md. vanity plates include HEROIN; SUX2BU allowed

[cpzilliacus]

Jones Falls Expressway fully open; repairs completed early

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: I-895 bridge project to cause major delays - State urges motorists to use McHenry Tunnel, Key Bridge

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: Md. planting 120,000 trees to filter highway runoff

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Man charged with photographing children in rest stop bathrooms indicted federally

A 28-year-old Pennsylvania man charged with taking pictures of children in bathroom rest stops along Interstate 95 in Maryland has been indicted by a federal grand jury and ordered detained by a judge in Philadelphia.

[agentsteel53]

Baltimore Sun: Banned Md. vanity plates include HEROIN; SUX2BU allowed

Lou Reed weeps silently.

SUX 2B LU

[agentsteel53]

Baltimore Sun: Man charged with photographing children in rest stop bathrooms indicted federally

A 28-year-old Pennsylvania man charged with taking pictures of children in bathroom rest stops along Interstate 95 in Maryland has been indicted by a federal grand jury and ordered detained by a judge in Philadelphia.

a brief glance at that mug shot made me think the dude's name was "Barack M. JFK", which I wouldn't put past some of the more wacky ones.

[cpzilliacus]

There was another wrong-way fatal crash on a Maryland Interstate last week (earlier this year, there was one on "secret" I-595 (commonly known as U.S. 50).

Annapolis Capital: Wrong way fatal: 'There are so many unanswered questions'

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Man charged with photographing children in rest stop bathrooms indicted federally

A 28-year-old Pennsylvania man charged with taking pictures of children in bathroom rest stops along Interstate 95 in Maryland has been indicted by a federal grand jury and ordered detained by a judge in Philadelphia.

a brief glance at that mug shot made me think the dude's name was "Barack M. JFK", which I wouldn't put past some of the more wacky ones.

He might well be better off being prosecuted in the aftermath of what he was charged with by the Maryland State Police in state court - instead of those federal charges.

[agentsteel53]

Wrong way fatal: 'There are so many ways to ask "what the fuck is wrong with you people"'

[cpzilliacus]

Wrong way fatal: 'There are so many ways to ask "what the fuck is wrong with you people"'

I see you are posting from San Diego.

In spite of its many faults, one thing that Caltrans does right on its entire freeway network (at least the segments I have driven, and I have not driven every California freeway) is to thoroughly and consistently post those green FREEWAY ENTRANCE signs at all on-ramps, and, more importantly, it consistently signs all off-ramps to deter wrong-way entry.

Would that other states would do as well (Maryland does not, and its freeways are in better shape than some other states).

[agentsteel53]

still, though ... the logistics of entering a freeway the wrong way are quite impressive.  you go down a ramp and then you are suddenly expected to merge right ... and there's another carriageway to the right of you?

if this doesn't instantly feel viscerally wrong, you should not be driving.

[cpzilliacus]

still, though ... the logistics of entering a freeway the wrong way are quite impressive.  you go down a ramp and then you are suddenly expected to merge right ... and there's another carriageway to the right of you?

if this doesn't instantly feel viscerally wrong, you should not be driving.

Of course you are correct - but a driver under the influence of something (or just plain fatigued) - might not make draw the same (rational) conclusion that you did above - especially late at night with light traffic volumes, when these types of wrecks seem to happen.

In such instances, we might be preventing at least some wrong-way wrecks by using Caltrans-style signage (and arrows painted onto the pavement in the direction of legal travel) to deter wrong-way entry.  See Figure 28-18 (CA) in the California MUTCD.

Both Maryland and Virginia also use "plowable" recessed in-pavement reflectors (i don't know if Caltrans uses these), which are designed to return a red glow if a vehicle drives the wrong way down a one-way road (but many drivers may not be aware of this - and an impaired driver might not notice anyway).

Then there's the matter of driving on a high-speed one-way roadway and seeing something approaching at a high speed, and not moving out of the way. I don't mean to blame the not-at-fault victim, but by looking at the road ahead, it is possible to see a vehicle coming the wrong way (at least if it has its lights on), though the time to react (including pulling over to the right shoulder to get out of the way) may be small.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Gigantic cargo to stop traffic Wednesday on Bay, Key bridges

Traffic on the Bay and Key bridges will be temporarily stopped Wednesday afternoon as tugboats push a cargo ship carrying four massive cranes beneath the spans on the way to the port of Baltimore, the Maryland Transportation Authority said Monday.

Coast Guard and state transportation officials were concerned that motorists would become distracted by the sight of the 14-story-tall cranes approaching the bridges and stop to gawk or cause an accident. The cranes stand 178 feet high. The Bay Bridge clearance is 182 feet and the Key Bridge's is 185 feet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.