Monday, May 20, 2013
Gaithersburg, Ft. Meade, Bethesda, Columbia and College Park could lose some public transportation options.
The Intercounty Connector could lose three of its existing five commuter bus routes by Aug. 1, 2013, according to The Washington Post. Based on low ridership numbers, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is considering axing three commuter bus routes, including: The article notes that initial supporters of the toll highway, which stretches for 18 miles between I-270/I-370 and I-95/US 1, hyped the highway's ability to provide bus transportation. Now, 60 percent of those bus routes, which provided peak-hour weekday service, could end in the coming months. The MTA has scheduled a number of public hearings in the first week of June: If you are unable to attend one of the meetings in person, the MTA will accept comments with a name and …
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Weather permitting, officials are changing posted limits.
Commuters take note: State transportation officials are changing signs on the Intercounty Connector (MD-200) to officially increase the speed limit from 55 mph to 60 mph. Weather permitting, westbound signs were to be changed over the weekend, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA). Officials said new warning signs for curves have also been added to the highway, which runs between I-270 and I-95 through Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The MDTA elected to raise the speed limit this past winter following engineering studies and crash analysis based the ICC’s first year open. “We needed one year of ICC operations and full consideration of the design speed and geometry of the roadway to ensure that a 60 mph speed …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Weather permitting, officials will change posted limits on Friday and Saturday.
State transportation officials are set to change signs on the Intercounty Connector (MD-200) this weekend to officially increase the speed limit from 55 mph to 60 mph. Weather permitting, westbound signs will be changed on Friday and eastbound signs on Saturday, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority. Officials said new warning signs for curves have also been added to the highway, which runs between I-270 and I-95 through Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The MDTA elected to raise the speed limit this past winter following engineering studies and crash analysis based the ICC’s first year of operations. “We needed one year of ICC operations and full consideration of the design speed and geometry of the roadway to ensure …
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Catch up on headlines you might've missed in Montgomery County.
With 13 websites across Montgomery County, Patch brings you news from every corner of our community. Catch up on headlines you might have missed this week, including a fatal hit-and-run in Aspen Hill, a foiled plot to kidnap and cook a Germantown woman, a phone scam and more: Pedestrian Killed in Hit-and-Run on Connecticut Avenue ASPEN HILL—A 53-year-old woman was fatally struck near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Randolph Road Tuesday night. Police are searching for the driver. Read more on Wheaton Patch. Report: Alleged NYPD Cannibal Planned To Kidnap, Cook Germantown Woman GERMANTOWN—An alleged plot by a New York City police officer to kidnap, kill and cook a Germantown woman was foiled by the FBI, NBC Washington reported …
Monday, February 4, 2013
The change will likely take effect on March 31.
The speed limit on the Intercounty Connector is going up, the Maryland Transportation Authority announced Monday. The ICC's speed limit will receive a 5 mph boost, upping the limit to 60 from 55, likely effective on March 31, according to the MTA. The decision to raise the speed limit comes after an MTA engineering study and crash analysis. With the crash analysis, traffic engineers examined vehicular crashes for the ICC’s first year of operations between I-270 and I-95. The analysis helped the MDTA confirm that the speed limit may be safely raised to 60 mph. “This is a win for everyone and will certainly please the growing number of drivers who regularly travel the ICC,” Sen. Jennie Forehand said in a statement. “I appreciate the [MTA…
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Catch up on the top news in Montgomery County this week.
Report: Study Shows ICC Speed Limit Can Safely Increase To 60 MPH GAITHERSBURG—An engineering study of the ICC has concluded that the speed of the highway can safely be raised to 60 mph, pending an analysis of crash data. Read more on Gaithersburg Patch. Montgomery Village Man Killed In Gaithersburg Crash GAITHERSBURG—A 21-year-old Montgomery Village man was killed early Sunday in the collision of his Honda Civic and another car on Snouffer School Road in Gaithersburg. Read more at Gaithersburg Patch. New Renderings Unveiled For Bethesda Purple Line Station BETHESDA -- Maryland Transit Administration officials unveiled new renderings Tuesday for the Bethesda station on the planned Purple Line. Funding for the 16-mile light rail line …
Friday, December 21, 2012
Highway officials will analyze crash data on the Intercounty Connector before increasing the speed limit, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Those clamoring for an increase in the Intercounter Connector's 55 mph speed limit may have some positive news on the horizon. An engineering study of the ICC has concluded that the speed of the highway can safely be raised to 60 mph, pending an analysis of crash data, The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday. The accident review of the toll road is expected to be completed by the end of February, at which point the Maryland Transportation Authority will make a decision on the speed limit, according to the report. The highway — designed for speeds up to 60 mph — has yet to see a fatality and MdTA Police have recorded just 20 single-vehicle accidents, according to the report. Earlier in December, Montgomery County Council Member Phil Andrews …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Montgomery County Council Member Phil Andrews proposes a cut in ICC tolls to get more drivers to use the road, NBC Washington reports.
Montgomery County Council Member Phil Andrews says a deep cut in tolls would increase traffic on the Intercounty Connector and he's calling on the state to do it, NBC Washington reported. Andrews says the $8 round-trip rush-hour toll is among the highest in the nation. He would propose "at least a trial period of several months, if not, a year when the tolls would be...cut in half, in hopes of doubling the traffic," according to the report. A decision on the toll rate is up to the Maryland Transportation Authority. A spokeswoman for the MTA told The Washington Post the ICC is meeting both traffic and revenue projections. The road was designed to carry traffic volumes projected for 2030, according to the report. Andrews said he hopes that …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
One contractor disputes that the company is at fault.
Engineers for Maryland's most high-tech highway are nearly half way to mending hairline fractures found in 10 of the bridges that carry the Intercounty Connector between Gaithersburg and Laurel. Repair work has wrapped up on four of those bridges and is set to start this week on three more. But who’s to blame for cracks at two other bridges remains at question. The contractor who designed those bridges is disputing the state’s assessment that the cracks are the contractor's fault. The ICC’s western third opened in February 2011 amid a flurry of both fanfare and skepticism. Eight months later, inspectors found cracks in three bridges along that 7.2-mile stretch—known as “Contract A”—in the ICC’s “pier caps,” the concrete structures …
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Twelve highway employees have been killed while repairing Maryland roads in the last 10 years. National Work Zone Awareness Week kicked off today with stories of preventable worker injuries.
Laurie Moser’s husband, Rick, worked with the State Highway Administration (SHA) in Maryland for 21 years, repairing roads and making highways safe for motorists, even while putting himself in precarious proximity to passing cars. Moser knew Rick’s profession was dangerous but she never expected to hear that a speeding driver had killed her husband on a summer day, June 26, 2007. “[I worried] mostly in the winter,” she said Monday. “Never in my life did I dream it would be a clear summer day that I would receive this news.” While her husband worked to clear debris from a state road, a Chevrolet 3500 truck crossed the shoulder of the lane and barreled into Rick at a speed of 60 mph, five miles above the posted limit. Rick was projected 170…
Eric S.
10:00 am on Thursday, March 28, 2013
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