AA County Crappy, Crumbling Roads

[trickg]

I'm not sure if this is going on all over Maryland, but here in Central MD in Anne Arundel county, I swear the roads are getting worse and worse. I was out with the missus just today and coming around a cloverleaf on-ramp to I97, I banged a wheel on a hole in the road hard enough to cause concern. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the tire or wheel fortunately, but this seems to be an ongoing issue. I97 is all full of holes and the on and off ramps are just as bad.

My question is, who is responsible for this, the state or the county? I've done some Google-fu and can't seem to find anything definitive with a cursory search. I'd tend to think that I97 would be state maintained, but I don't know if that covers on and off ramps.

Regardless of whether it's state or county, we've had a couple of dunces running things for a while - Fat Larry the Wonder Slug at the state level and Screwart Shittman at the county level. I know I'm getting tired of hitting bad patches on these roads when I'm not able to dodge them.

Ok - rant over.

 

[mpollan1]

MoCo roads suck. Who is responsible for this? Liberals of course but fear not, Odumbo's shovel (the sh!t) ready jobs coupled with bidet's infrastructure bill will have thing ship shape in a flash.

 

[trickg]

MoCo roads suck. Who is responsible for this? Liberals of course but fear not, Odumbo's shovel (the sh!t) ready jobs coupled with bidet's infrastructure bill will have thing ship shape in a flash.

Oh, you mean Waste Moore? Yeah - I'm super duper confident about that guy.

Fat Larry's first 2 years were decent enough. Everywhere I looked there was construction going on to repair infrastructure, but within short order all of that just kinda stopped.

I've driven back and forth to my Mom's in central Nebraska 3 times of the last year and a half, and with and exception of the Gary, Indiana/Chicago, Illinois area roads, MD roads are the worst along the whole stretch.

 

[smokey]

Yeah, traffic congestion ideas are dumb AF from leadership as well. College ave is bumper to bumper every day in the morning and evening. Instead of widening it to a 4 lane, they are doing a massive infrastructure project parallel to it in order to build a large biking path. Traffic will continue to be a parking lot twice daily for peninsula residents, but at least county leadeship can engage in a big circle-jerk about their green biking initiative.

 

[John from MD]

I'm not sure if this is going on all over Maryland, but here in Central MD in Anne Arundel county, I swear the roads are getting worse and worse. I was out with the missus just today and coming around a cloverleaf on-ramp to I97, I banged a wheel on a hole in the road hard enough to cause concern. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the tire or wheel fortunately, but this seems to be an ongoing issue. I97 is all full of holes and the on and off ramps are just as bad.

My question is, who is responsible for this, the state or the county? I've done some Google-fu and can't seem to find anything definitive with a cursory search. I'd tend to think that I97 would be state maintained, but I don't know if that covers on and off ramps.

Regardless of whether it's state or county, we've had a couple of dunces running things for a while - Fat Larry the Wonder Slug at the state level and Screwart Shittman at the county level. I know I'm getting tired of hitting bad patches on these roads when I'm not able to dodge them.

Ok - rant over.

Hey, they took 2 years to fix a water issue and add a traffic light at the intersection of Riva Rd and Gov Bridge Rd. They have been paving Route 2 in Edgewater for over a year and it doesn't look like it will be done anytime soon.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Yeah, traffic congestion ideas are dumb AF from leadership as well. College ave is bumper to bumper every day in the morning and evening. Instead of widening it to a 4 lane, they are doing a massive infrastructure project parallel to it in order to build a large biking path. Traffic will continue to be a parking lot twice daily for peninsula residents, but at least county leadeship can engage in a big circle-jerk about their green biking initiative.

In Baltimore City there is a solution to the bad roads and bike initiatives seem to be taking hold. Everywhere I have seen in the 1/2 dozen trips I have been to Baltimore for, there are all manner of dirtbike riders and pedal bike stunt boys riding wheelies with no front wheel.

 

[trickg]

In Baltimore City there is a solution to the bad roads and bike initiatives seem to be taking hold. Everywhere I have seen in the 1/2 dozen trips I have been to Baltimore for, there are all manner of dirtbike riders and pedal bike stunt boys riding wheelies with no front wheel.

There is a designated bike lane all the way down Merritt Boulevard in Dundalk. I have yet to see a single bicyclist on it - seems like a waste of effort to me.

 

[smokey]

Hey, they took 2 years to fix a water issue and add a traffic light at the intersection of Riva Rd and Gov Bridge Rd. They have been paving Route 2 in Edgewater for over a year and it doesn't look like it will be done anytime soon.

The entire broadneck peninsula lost water back around march 1-2. When it came back, it was splurty and looked like mud for a while. We also all lost electric back at the start of june for a while. Infrastructure around here isn't the greatest.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

I'm not sure if this is going on all over Maryland, but here in Central MD in Anne Arundel county, I swear the roads are getting worse and worse. I was out with the missus just today and coming around a cloverleaf on-ramp to I97, I banged a wheel on a hole in the road hard enough to cause concern. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the tire or wheel fortunately, but this seems to be an ongoing issue. I97 is all full of holes and the on and off ramps are just as bad.

My question is, who is responsible for this, the state or the county? I've done some Google-fu and can't seem to find anything definitive with a cursory search. I'd tend to think that I97 would be state maintained, but I don't know if that covers on and off ramps.

Regardless of whether it's state or county, we've had a couple of dunces running things for a while - Fat Larry the Wonder Slug at the state level and Screwart Shittman at the county level. I know I'm getting tired of hitting bad patches on these roads when I'm not able to dodge them.

Ok - rant over.

I have hit the big holes on 97 too. Once it broke a steel belt in my pickup tire. I had to limp back home to Halethorpe instead of completing my trip to Delaware that night.

Also, where we live, we also have irate neighbors as per this news story. https://www.wbaltv.com/article/halethorpe-bridge-too-short-residents-fed-up/43978706#
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Anticipation over the opening of a new bridge in Halethorpe has turned into frustration and protests after it was reportedly "too short."

"This should not have happened. You (have) engineers. This should not have happened," said resident Desiree Collins.


The bridge on U.S. Route 1 Washington Boulevard is partially open, but neighbors in Halethorpe and Arbutus wonder when the state will fully open it. They said they have been asking for months, and now they finally know the problem.

It's a height flaw. The bridge, which crosses over CSX railroad tracks, is an inch and a half too low.

"I understand you get hiccups, but this is just too big of a hiccup. This is not a hiccup. This is a mistake. It needs to be fixed. Somebody needs to be held accountable and it needs to be taken care of," Collins said.

Residents also worry about traffic safety, claiming this is dangerous for drivers and pedestrians.

"The traffic patterns are so dangerous. You can see there is no room for error as you are crossing the bridge," said David McIntyre.

The I-Team obtained traffic data from Baltimore County police. The records show 67 crashes from Jan. 1, 2018, through May 21 of this year in the area of Halethorpe Farms Road, Washington Boulevard and I-195. Of that number, 15 took place in 2022, and six so far this year.

The I-Team contacted the state about the bridge. A State Highway Administration spokeswoman wrote in an email, "The State Highway Administration is actively working with CSX to address the requirements for clearance needed to accommodate the rail system that runs under the bridge."

But McIntyre shared an email he received just a few days ago from a Maryland Department of Transportation engineer. It explains that CSX requires a minimum vertical clearance of 23 feet and will not allow the remaining construction needed to complete the bridge until the clearance issue is resolved.

Possible options, according to the engineer's note: raising the bridge or improving drainage along the tracks.

Otis Collins, president of the Halethorpe Civic League, just wants everyone to be able to travel safely.

"We just want the state to come out, complete the job and give us a safe bridge to cross over without any bumps and without encountering potential motorists running into us," he said.

CSX did not respond to a request for comment

The SHA said the estimated timeline to complete the project is winter of 2023 or spring of 2024.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

There is a designated bike lane all the way down Merritt Boulevard in Dundalk. I have yet to see a single bicyclist on it - seems like a waste of effort to me.

I have practically NEVER seen a bicycle in a bike lane in Baltimore Co, Howard Co, B City., Anne Arundel or PG.

 

[MJD438]

Interstates and State Highways (rectangular "numbered" signage roadways) are maintained by the State. Named streets that are not state numbered are maintained by the counties or HOAs (depending on whether the road is treated as public or private). We can thank the MGA for the "equity" funding of state road funds that puts all of the highway funds in one big bucket to be divided up according to their convoluted Public Works schemes where the Counties lobby for funding, only to get their projects turned away due to either the Public Works pork-barrel or "equity"-driven choices.

On the bike lane BS - MoCo did an experiment with a dedicated Bike lane on University Blvd W between Sligo Creek Parkway and Amherst Ave during COVID. It got such overwhelmingly heavy use (/sarcasm - meaning there was almost zero usage), it went back to 3 lanes and is now being planned to be turned into a year-long experimental dedicated Bus Rapid Transit/Bike Lane. So, University Blvd W, between Dennis Ave and Amherst Ave will go down to 2 lanes of regular traffic, 24x7, because of some bogus survey - https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DOT/Projects/buspriority/university.html. The only advantage for me (and folks like me) - emergency vehicles are permitted to use the lane at all times, as well as buses and bikes. Still going to be a right royal pain in the backside.

 

[trickg]

Interstates and State Highways (rectangular "numbered" signage roadways) are maintained by the State.

Ok, so Fat Larry is the one to blame for the crappy roads all around Central Maryland. Figures. He was so busy pushing agendas that he felt would make him "look good for a "Presidential run" that he completely neglected the things that actually mattered. Sounds like a typical democrat.

 

[Blaster229]

I have practically NEVER seen a bicycle in a bike lane in Baltimore Co, Howard Co, B City., Anne Arundel or PG.

There's literally a "bike lane" that spawns from the shoulder starting at Earleigh Heights fire station and ends at Harris Teeter. That's maybe 1/8 of a mile. WTF

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

There's literally a "bike lane" that spawns from the shoulder starting at Earleigh Heights fire station and ends at Harris Teeter. That's maybe 1/8 of a mile. WTF

I can picture what you are saying.

Here is a crazy thing I witnessed in another part of AA CO.

One evening about a year ago, I was heading north on Ritchie HWY headed toward the shopping centers where there is an Aldi, Mcdonald's and a Long John Silvers. I witnessed a young person riding a wheelie on the downhill traffic lane in the parking lot to my right. He was heading right toward the exit at the intersecting road where there was an entrance to another shopping center on the other side. Cars were on that road in both directions as he insanely never stopped his wheelie and essentially dig a wheelie frogger game move on across and into the other shopping center still on his wheelie. He was faster than me, and I actually saw him riding down the median heading toward Brooklyn Park.

 

[RAF]

The bridge is too low for the double stack container trains that CSX wants to run thru there. Of the 67 accidents along that section, I'd bet most of them are from people driving like idiots. I can't tell you how many times I've been going to work in the morning, crossing Rt.1 from Selma Ave to Halethorpe Farms Rd. and have some clown blow thru the red light there...5 seconds after my light turns green.

On the other hand, CSX may be the ones to solve the problem. It's only a matter of time before they have a major derailment along the interlocking there & it'll need regrading before new rail gets put in.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

The bridge is too low for the double stack container trains that CSX wants to run thru there. Of the 67 accidents along that section, I'd bet most of them are from people driving like idiots. I can't tell you how many times I've been going to work in the morning, crossing Rt.1 from Selma Ave to Halethorpe Farms Rd. and have some clown blow thru the red light there...5 seconds after my light turns green.

On the other hand, CSX may be the ones to solve the problem. It's only a matter of time before they have a major derailment along the interlocking there & it'll need regrading before new rail gets put in.

RAF, where I see accidents at the bridge are typically where Southwestern dumps into approaching traffic at the merge area where the RT1 traffic is heading toward Relay/Elkridge.

It is a bad line of sight looking back toward the beltway and trying to merge onto Rt1 by Clarke Blvd. It's a gamble of either impact to the left or getting rear ended, or being lucky enough to see past the weeds and see no cars coming.

 

[Baldheaded]

It is a state wide problem. Marylands roads are in decline and have been for some time. Lets face it the dems have bigger priorities. Between the shitty roads and horrible traffic I have driving to work every morning. Wish I could say it will get better but I don't see that happening any time soon. I don't know how anyone can make that drive to OC on Friday and Saturday either.

 

[RAF]

Chili, yeah, that is a bad sight line, but some people don't know what a yield sign means.....nor a stop sign for that matter. That area is a construction zone, signs with lowered speed limits, lane shift...people don't pay attention or care anymore.

 

[jspero]

I agree this is state-wide. I drive all over the place and the roads have been on a steady decline since at least Spendening's administration when I first noticed it. Maryland always had better roads then other states until that time frame.

 

[Mr H]

I'm seeing increased repaving/maintenance being done in AACo. Must be Covid munnies

As for I-97 in the main?? Blows [concrete] chunks.