Tuesday, February 26, 2013
A letter to the editor about raising the speed limit on the Intercounty Connector and other state highways.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Greg Cohen
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Tuesday, February 26
The following is a letter from Fred Flaharty, a Montgomery County school bus driver, in regards to a late January story about the Intercounty Connector potentially having a 70 mph speed limit: The bill that would raise the maximum speed limit on interstates and expressways statewide from 65 to 70 miles per hour is an incredibly BAD IDEA!....no...INSANE idea. As a regular daily driver of the ICC both in my personal car (twice per day) and as the driver of a Montgomery County school bus (4 trips per day) I protest in the strongest possible terms this proposed raising of the speed limit on the ICC. There are several important reasons for this the first of which is the road was never designed for faster speeds as are interstate highways. As is…
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Icy conditions could occur at the onset of the morning rush hour.
The Maryland State Highway Administration strongly urges motorists to avoid traveling early Thursday morning, especially before dawn. "Stay off the roads early [Thursday] morning, so that SHA crews have the opportunity to proactively treat roadways before morning rush hour," SHA Administrator Melinda B. Peters said in a news release. "When you step out and see ice on your doorstep, you can assume that roads will be icy as well. Also remember that conditions can change rapidly within just a few miles, and we ask motorists to remain on guard and exercise extreme caution tonight and tomorrow morning." The SHA warns that those traveling during inclement weather and poor conditions pose a threat to themselves, first responders and other drivers…
Friday, September 28, 2012
Four serious accidents, including three fatals, have occurred along Great Seneca Highway in 2012.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Greg Cohen
-
Friday, September 28, 2012
The Maryland State Highway Administration has no plans to reconsider the 50 mph speed limit on Great Seneca Highway (Route 119) following the road's third fatal accident of 2012, SHA spokesperson David Buck told Patch. A 69-year-old Gaithersburg woman was killed Sunday evening in a car crash on Great Seneca Highway at Lakelands Drive in the Kentlands area of Gaithersburg. Less than two weeks earlier, a 24-year-old Germantown man was killed after a collision at the intersection of Great Seneca Highway and Longdraft Road. The SHA will review the operations at those intersections after the final fatal crash report is submitted by police, Buck said. Police said the victims turned directly in front of motorists in both recent crashes. "It is …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
State Highway Administration briefs Gaithersburg mayor and City Council on the Watkins Mill Interchange project.
Plans for the Watkins Mill Interchange project sit in a preliminary engineering phase with 30 percent of the design completed, a State Highway Administration official told the Gaithersburg mayor and City Council Monday evening. The preliminary engineering phase is part of a process with $6.67 million in funding and could take another 18 to 24 months to complete, said Randy Gray, SHA project manager for the Watkins Mill Interchange. The project initially received design approval in February 2002 and will eventually result in the completion of a link between the existing Watkins Mill Road segments over I-270, providing a new East-West connection for the city of Gaithersburg. A major issue for the project — whether the full interchange will …
Monday, April 30, 2012
Expect periodic closures between Georgia Avenue and Needwood Road this week.
Expect temporary delays due to periodic closures if you're traveling the Intercounty Connector near Rockville in the early morning hours over the next two nights. Road crews will close the entire span of the roadway between Georgia Avenue and Needwood Road periodically and for 20 minutes at a time between midnight and 5 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a news release from the State Highway Administration. The work, and closures, may be canceled in the event of rain. During the closures, eastbound traffic will be allowed to enter the ICC at the I-370/Metro Access interchange, the release said. Flagpersons will stop traffic before the first toll gantry in order to prevent motorists from being double-billed for one trip. Westbound …
Duke Ganote
6:30 pm on Monday, April 29, 2013
The traffic engineer who pointed out the references to me assured me that a nominal "design speed" usually has a wide safety margin. Sharper curves should be (as the ICC engineering report stated) have specific warning signage. more ›