Maryland

[jmacswimmer]

The exit 31 RIRO on US 50/301 EB before the Bay Bridge has been permanently closed:

https://www.roads.maryland.gov/mdotsha/pages/pressreleasedetails.aspx?newsId=4673&PageId=818

I had been wondering for a while if this might happen given its dangerous nature along with the proximity of exits 30 & 32 on either side.

[ixnay]

The exit 31 RIRO on US 50/301 EB before the Bay Bridge has been permanently closed:

https://www.roads.maryland.gov/mdotsha/pages/pressreleasedetails.aspx?newsId=4673&PageId=818

I had been wondering for a while if this might happen given its dangerous nature along with the proximity of exits 30 & 32 on either side.

True.  EB 50/301 is *very* close to the service road.  OTOH it means that those who want to access what few tenants are left in the Whitehall Shopping Center must now use the Exit 30 RIRO which has slightly longer ramps, and then follow Whitehall Road for +/- a mile.

[TheOneKEA]

The exit 31 RIRO on US 50/301 EB before the Bay Bridge has been permanently closed:

https://www.roads.maryland.gov/mdotsha/pages/pressreleasedetails.aspx?newsId=4673&PageId=818

I had been wondering for a while if this might happen given its dangerous nature along with the proximity of exits 30 & 32 on either side.

True.  EB 50/301 is *very* close to the service road.  OTOH it means that those who want to access what few tenants are left in the Whitehall Shopping Center must now use the Exit 30 RIRO which has slightly longer ramps, and then follow Whitehall Road for +/- a mile.

I suspect that the Whitehall Shopping Center will end up closing entirely as a result of this closure. It's been very low occupancy for years and I suspect that the removal of direct access will affect it even more. The adjacent motel was gutted and later demolished due to the imposition of access controls along this stretch of 50/301.

[davewiecking]

The exit 31 RIRO on US 50/301 EB before the Bay Bridge has been permanently closed:

https://www.roads.maryland.gov/mdotsha/pages/pressreleasedetails.aspx?newsId=4673&PageId=818

I had been wondering for a while if this might happen given its dangerous nature along with the proximity of exits 30 & 32 on either side.

True.  EB 50/301 is *very* close to the service road.  OTOH it means that those who want to access what few tenants are left in the Whitehall Shopping Center must now use the Exit 30 RIRO which has slightly longer ramps, and then follow Whitehall Road for +/- a mile.

Since most turning movements were prohibited at this exit, including a U-turn from EB 50 towards the shopping center and a left turn back onto 50, this should have minimal effect on access to/from the few remaining tenants.

[jmacswimmer]

Directly related to the exit 31 permanent closure, MDOT SHA has now announced a pilot program beginning next weekend and continuing thru Labor Day where the exit 30 & 32 onramps will be temporarily closed during peak weekend travel periods. This will make the exit 29 onramp the last entrance prior to the Bay Bridge during these periods.

https://www.roads.maryland.gov/mdotsha/pages/pressreleasedetails.aspx?newsId=4689&PageId=818

[bluecountry]

Is MD ever going to change the 95 express lanes so that either HOV rides free or it has a variable cost based on traffic?
I really think the current system is idiotic.
But then, thats MD.

[epzik8]

Is MD ever going to change the 95 express lanes so that either HOV rides free or it has a variable cost based on traffic?
I really think the current system is idiotic.
But then, thats MD.

Who knows, the express tolls might even go up.

[TheOneKEA]

Is MD ever going to change the 95 express lanes so that either HOV rides free or it has a variable cost based on traffic?
I really think the current system is idiotic.
But then, thats MD.

It is already a variable toll system that varies based on traffic levels. The problem is that the lanes are too short to meaningfully attract enough traffic to make the tolls go up by any significant amount. Once the northbound ETLs are extended to Exit 77, it is likely that traffic levels will begin to rise in the peaks and the tolls will begin to vary more often.

The idiotic thing is the MdTA's timing; they managed to start construction on the ETLs during a period of very high material and labor costs, and had to substantially scale back the initial phases of the ETL construction to the point where the existing ETLs are only just useful in their current form. If the full 25-mile ETL project had been built as originally scheduled, they would be far more useful and much less idiotic than they currently appear.

[davewiecking]

Tolls currently do not vary depending on traffic, but do vary by time of day (peak, off-peak, overnight).

[jmacswimmer]

Re: no HOV-free provision for the I-95 ETL's: My only guess is that it's related to the fact that the Baltimore area had no existing HOV lanes pre-construction, unlike the DC area which had plenty and thus probably had political pressure to retain the HOV component with ETL construction? But if I'm not mistaken these ETL's might be the only ones anywhere that don't allow a HOV-free ride. Somewhat ironically, the DriveEzMD website does offer the Flex transponder (though it is not free unlike the standard transponder) for use in the Northern Virginia network.

It is already a variable toll system that varies based on traffic levels. The problem is that the lanes are too short to meaningfully attract enough traffic to make the tolls go up by any significant amount. Once the northbound ETLs are extended to Exit 77, it is likely that traffic levels will begin to rise in the peaks and the tolls will begin to vary more often.

The other major issue with the ETL's in their current form is that there is currently no connection to I-695, which renders them useless to anyone switching from I-95 to the beltway & vice versa. This will be partially rectified as the ramps from each direction of I-695 onto the northbound ETL's will be constructed as part of the current northbound extension, but there is no timeline for the remaining 6 movements. I imagine the ramps exiting the southbound ETL's onto each direction of I-695 will similarly be done whenever the southbound extension happens, but I wouldn't be surprised if the ramps to/from the south are never built. The movements to/from the north are arguably more important since southbound the ETL's end nearby at the I-95/I-895 interchange anyway.

Who knows, the express tolls might even go up.

FWIW, I believe MDTA recently approved the toll structure for the under-construction northbound extension, and my understanding is that it will use the same per-mile rate ranges as the existing segment.

https://mdta.maryland.gov/blog-category/mdta-news-releases/maryland-transportation-authority-board-approves-toll-rate-ranges

Though since you bring it up, it has been a while since MDTA last hiked tolls so it's probably bound to happen at some point. In fact, the last major toll adjustment was actually a decrease in May 2015 when now-former Governor Hogan lowered MD E-ZPass rates at all facilities & cash rates at the Bay Bridge only.

[Viridiscalculus]

I drove the Baltimore Washington Parkway for the first time in a few months yesterday. Northbound was congested at 8:30 a.m., which is not a big surprise. But there were two pleasant surprises for me:

• Most of the big brown signs on the National Park Service (federal) section have been replaced. The brown signs that were fading to green are gone.
• The federal section has mile markers! They are brown, have the National Park Service logo at the top, and count up to 17 just south of the federal-state maintenance boundary at MD 175. Going southbound, mile marker 1 is at the MD 201 overpass close to the Pepsi bottling plant; I did not see a zero mile marker at the US 50 merge.

[Dough4872]

I drove the Baltimore Washington Parkway for the first time in a few months yesterday. Northbound was congested at 8:30 a.m., which is not a big surprise. But there were two pleasant surprises for me:

• Most of the big brown signs on the National Park Service (federal) section have been replaced. The brown signs that were fading to green are gone.
• The federal section has mile markers! They are brown, have the National Park Service logo at the top, and count up to 17 just south of the federal-state maintenance boundary at MD 175. Going southbound, mile marker 1 is at the MD 201 overpass close to the Pepsi bottling plant; I did not see a zero mile marker at the US 50 merge.

These mile markers and new signage must be very recent because I am looking at Google Street View imagery of the parkway from this month and don't see them.

[FLAVORTOWN]

I drove the Baltimore Washington Parkway for the first time in a few months yesterday. Northbound was congested at 8:30 a.m., which is not a big surprise. But there were two pleasant surprises for me:

• Most of the big brown signs on the National Park Service (federal) section have been replaced. The brown signs that were fading to green are gone.
• The federal section has mile markers! They are brown, have the National Park Service logo at the top, and count up to 17 just south of the federal-state maintenance boundary at MD 175. Going southbound, mile marker 1 is at the MD 201 overpass close to the Pepsi bottling plant; I did not see a zero mile marker at the US 50 merge.

These mile markers and new signage must be very recent because I am looking at Google Street View imagery of the parkway from this month and don't see them.

GSV does not have the full stretch of MD-295 updated, only certain spots. I can tell you for certain milepost 9 on there

[epzik8]

The side of I-95 southbound just north of Abingdon Road really needs mowing.

[ixnay]

Repaving project on 2.25 miles of US 50 in Dorchester County coming up...

https://www.wboc.com/news/us-50-resurfacing-in-dorchester-county/article_2abead66-2b06-11ee-a112-b754e7e2ed74.html

[tmoore952]

The Brookeville Bypass on MD 97 apparently opened yesterday.  (https://mdot-sha-md97-brookeville-bypass-mo7465171-r-maryland.hub.arcgis.com/)

May 2023: The Brookeville Bypass will officially open the week of Sunday, May 21st. Crews will perform a traffic switch on the morning of May 21st to open the newly constructed bypass to the traveling public. This switch will not affect County roads. Variable Message Signs (VMS) are in place to notify motorists of the upcoming change.

Will MD 97 thru Brookville will revert to a county road?  Or will it get one of those high numbered MD route assignments?

Although this is my 2nd post, it was actually this particular topic that motivated me to sign up. I have been a "reader only" of these posts (off and on) for several years.

I live about 1/2 mile away from this new bypass and have had occasion to drive it several times already. Getting this bypass built was a big deal for Brookeville residents. For the 20 years I've lived in Olney/Brookeville, getting this built has always been a top priority. I don't know how long they had been trying before that but I suspect it was a while.

All that being said, my gut feeling is that if Brookeville had their druthers, the old 97 alignment which went right through the middle of town, and very close to some houses, would not get a high MD number, they would rather it be just a dead end. It is that way right now. The piece of Brookeville Rd to the new bypass's east, which would connect the new 97/Brookeville Rd roundabout to the old 97 at the north end of Brookeville is still blocked. Interestingly, signs approaching the roundabout from the north and south do point to the blocked road as existing, so I am not sure what the ultimate plan is.

To be clear, the part of old 97 between the north end of the new bypass and the former 97 intersection with Brookeville Rd. is obliterated. The only question is whether the very short piece of Brookeville Rd between the old 97 and the new 97/Brookeville Rd roundabout will reopen.

As of right now, the only way for "downtown" Brookeville residents to drive north on 97 (short of taking other roads) is to drive south on the old 97 to the southern end of the new bypass, and then drive north on the new bypass.

Aside -- writing this and also being a music fan -- I am reminded that there is a band called the Old 97s.

[FLAVORTOWN]

Thought this was interesting, some of the severe weather alert maps NWS posts on twitter says I-595 instead of US-50 

[froggie]

I noticed that as well the past couple days.  Thought about mentioning something but decided not to as the semi-automated systems NWS Sterling uses get their basemap data from the National Map (culled from another Federal agency).  As the Feds consider that an Interstate (albeit unsigned), best to let bygones be bygones.

[davewiecking]

The lack of oversight on this is mind boggling...

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/transportation/washington-boulevard-bridge-too-short-delays-QOJTUYGYIRCQDGRV2MXILTAZFA/

[Rothman]

The lack of oversight on this is mind boggling...

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/transportation/washington-boulevard-bridge-too-short-delays-QOJTUYGYIRCQDGRV2MXILTAZFA/

Not sure how that is a lack of oversight when the State's oversight concluded what went wrong...

[sprjus4]

^ Lack of oversight during construction.

[TheOneKEA]

^ Lack of oversight during construction.

It's not clear from the article if the oversight by SHA did or didn't occur during construction, or if the scope creep cited in the article played a part in disrupting SHA's oversight of the project.

I have a feeling that CSX is going to get very militant here and that the final cost to SHA is going to be very high to get this project sorted.

[Rothman]

CSX doesn't need to become militant; they are sticklers to their requirements, most of the time legitimately so.  That said, we recently had a situation where CSX complained about some sort of overhead Verizon signal wire being too close to gates that were going to be installed at a crossing.  This caused a ridiculous, neverending finger-pointing cycle between them and Verizon. 

Come to think of it, I never heard of the resolution.

[epzik8]

Landscaping work for the express lanes on I-95 north of White Marsh looks like it's come along since the last time I went through there. Granted, that was in March.

Also, the new sound barrier along the northbound lanes between Joppa and New Forge roads is behind a swath of trees. Is there a practical reason for this? Do the trees act as an additional buffer?

[jmacswimmer]

MD 140 in the Westminster area is closed due to a series of ~30 utility poles snapping and falling onto the road during a severe thunderstorm yesterday afternoon.

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/storm-damage-westminster-route-140-poles-down-cars-trapped/44756982#
https://www.wusa9.com/article/weather/carroll-county-downed-power-poles-trap-drivers-severe-weather/65-ece0cf57-0023-42d8-bd5f-ef03554e6d35

No estimate on reopening currently. Based on some of the pictures, signal equipment was damaged as well at the MD 97/Malcolm Drive & Market St/Old Baltimore Rd intersections.