The new 2010 HLR reflects conditions on December 31, 2010. My comments in italics.
ALLEGANY COUNTY
US 220 – From the southwestern corporate limits of Cumberland to the I-68 overpass (milepoints 18.37-18.86) was transferred from Cumberland municipal maintenance to SHA, from the Memorandum of Action dated 10/4/10.
MD 951 – The name of this road was changed from Vine St to Old Cresaptown Road.
MD 951 is unsigned off MD 53.
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY
MD 170 – After consultation with Anne Arundel County and State Aviation Administration officials, as well as SHA personnel, HISD determined the ramps to and from MD 170, Aviation Blvd and CO 573, Stoney Run Rd, are owned and maintained by Anne Arundel County. The ramp assignments have been updated to show county maintenance.
BALTIMORE COUNTY
State roads in this county have been re-inventoried. Check all routes for possible mileage changes.
Interstate 95, Interstate 895, Interstate 695 – These roads (northeast of Baltimore City) and their accompanying exit ramps are all in various stages of construction due to the I-95 Express Toll Lanes Project. Inventories and milepoints for these roads in the current HLR reflect ongoing construction conditions, and are subject to change.
The standard proviso since construction began.
CALVERT COUNTY
MD 231 – The functional classification of this road from MD 2 to MD 765-A (5.56-5.87) has been revised from Rural Minor Collector to Rural Other Principal Arterial.
MD 765-A – The functional classification of this road from MD 2 south of Prince Frederick to MD 2 north of Prince Frederick (0.00-2.15) has been revised from Rural Minor Collector to Rural Major Collector.
CAROLINE COUNTY
MD 331-D, Payne Rd – Previously indicated as maintained by Caroline County, it is determined Payne Road, from MD 331 in Preston to the beginning of County maintenance at milepoint 0.21 is maintained by SHA. The route number “MD 331-D” is assigned to this road section.
CARROLL COUNTY
MD 30-C, Doss Garland Dr – Transferred to Carroll County from the Memorandum of Action (MOA) dated 9/10/10; now CO 1625.
MD 30-D, Phillips Dr – Contract CL4165370 accepted for maintenance on 7/28/10. From the MOA dated 10/27/05, it was transferred to Carroll County; now part of CO 1028.
Both of these are stubs created by the Hampstead Bypass.
CECIL COUNTY
MD 7-C – The name of this road has been corrected to “W Old Philadelphia Rd”, “W Cecil Ave”, “E Cecil Ave”, and “E Old Philadelphia Rd”.
MD 7-D, W Main St – From the road end west of Jeffers St to MD 213 has been transferred to Elkton and is now designated MU 400. From MD 213 to South St is also municipally maintained, but will remain designated as MD 7-D for route continuity purposes. Milepoints will remain unchanged.
On East Main Street it’s one-way, and the corresponding westbound isn’t state maintained. That street should be signed if you want continuity.
MD 213 – The name of this road from US 40 to Katie La has been revised to “S Bridge St” and “N Bridge St”. Also, the name of this route from MD 273 to the Pennsylvania line has been revised to “Lewisville Road”.
MD 222-A – This road has been assigned the name “Chesapeake Overlook Pkwy”. MD 279 – The name of this road has been revised to “Elkton Rd” and “Newark Ave”.
CHARLES COUNTY
MD 382-G - Originally inventoried as a spur, this has been re-designated as a mainline route and is inventoried to provide connectivity to MD 382-F.
DORCHESTER COUNTY
MD 14 – Slight relocation at MD 392 in East New Market as a result of the SHA contract DO5815184. Milepoints have been adjusted for this road.
FREDERICK COUNTY
US 15, Exits previously indicated as 14A, 15 and 16 have been revised to 15, 16 and 17 respectively to reflect existing field conditions. All associated ramps have been updated to reflect these changes.
MD 85-B, Francis Scott Key Drive – This road (from MD 355, Urbana Pike to MD 85, Buckeystown Pike) was built under SHA contract FR3835172 and is maintained by SHA.
MD 806-N, a small service road paralleling US 15 at the Hayward Rd intersection, has been realigned to connect to US 15, and has been shortened from 0.56 mile to 0.086 mile.
Nothing about MD 355’s rerouting in Urbana. It’s still cross-referenced with OP-prefixed routes (Other Public).
GARRETT COUNTY
None.
HARFORD COUNTY
I-95, MD 24, MD 924 – Interchange construction continues; milepoints in this area reflect ongoing construction conditions, and are subject to change.
Although it’s some way up MD 24, this construction involves I-95, and so is within the purview of MdTA and not SHA.
HOWARD COUNTY
MD 100-X – Newly assigned route; From US 1 to a road end 0.095 miles north is a state service road which was constructed under contract #AW-890-501-070.
They haven’t run out of suffixes yet?
KENT COUNTY
None.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
State roads in this county have been re-inventoried. Check all routes for possible mileage changes.
IS 270-Y - Due to re-striping on the Capital Beltway, the total length of IS 270-Y was increased from 1.815 to 2.095 miles.
IS 370 – Realigned to connect with MD 200, IS 370 was shortened from 3.13 to 2.54 miles. Part of old alignment is now MD 200-A, Metro Access Rd. The interchange at MD 355 (former Exit 1) is now Exit 2. The new interchange at MD 200/MD 200-A is Exit 3.
MD 28 – Temporary intersection with MD 200 added at milepoint 28.216.
MD 97 – The new interchange at MD 200 (Exit 9) with its associated ramps is now open to traffic. The ramps will be maintained by MdTA.
MD 200, Intercounty Connector – Contract A from IS 370 to the temporary intersection at MD 28 is now open to traffic and will be maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority. The milepoint sequence on MD 200 will be consistent with (i.e. a continuation of) IS 370’s milepoints.
MD 200-A, Metro Access Rd – Newly assigned route; was part of the old alignment of IS 370, and will be maintained by SHA. The interchange at Shady Grove Rd (former IS 370, Exit 2) is renumbered as MD 200-A, Exit 1.
MD 355 – The new interchange at Montrose Parkway (with its associated ramps) is now open to traffic.
MD 655-A – Realigned to a new intersection at MD 97, shortened from 0.52 to 0.49 miles.
MD 927-A, Montrose Pkwy – Newly assigned route; from Hoya St to Maple Ave was constructed under contract MO8305171.
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY
MD 975-A, John Hanson La – Newly assigned route; was constructed under SHA contract P-722- 172-372.
All that stuff for Montgomery, and all Prince George’s got was one route?
QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY
None.
SAINT MARY’S COUNTY
MD 246 – This road name, from MD 235 to the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, is revised to “Cedar Point Rd”.
SOMERSET COUNTY
None.
TALBOT COUNTY
None.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
None.
WICOMICO COUNTY
None.
WORCESTER COUNTY
None.
That’s an 0-fer the Lower Shore.
I have a fear, and hopefully it’s an irrational and unfounded fear, that the toll/tax increases on current toll roads will never be enough, and we’ll see gradual “re-turnpiking”- first the formerly-free Interstates, then of all other roads - over the remainder of the century. The roads in 2100 may revert to the same funding structure as in 1900, only with a lot less mud.
My other highway dystopia involves some sort of mandatory GPS-based taxation structure to replace the gas tax, morphing through mission creep into a Big Brother situation. We would be required to furnish GPS tracks to any requesting law enforcement officer or agency the same way as our licenses, to establish alibis or prove innocence. Given Maryland’s geographic location, we will be at the vanguard of whatever happens on this front. Along with healthcare, security may be the only other growing sector of the economy in Maryland.
Got a look at the new 11-12 MD official maps. The cover is of a scene from Fort McHenry, and the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, which most of the combat actually took place in 1814. We have sailing ship icons in the Bay along with dotted lines denoting the paths of British ships. Also special symbols for War of 1812 battlefields, something I personally feel had been neglected in the past compared to battlefields of the Civil War. Living not too far from North Point, I have seen that there was no protection to these sites in this heavily industrial area.
The multi-colored counties, a novelty last year, is gone, back to all white in-state. Topographic relief remains, a feature I like. Out-of-state is a back to beige color instead of light yellow that accompanied the color treatment. Free expressways remain green and toll roads yellow, remaining true to 1970s Rand McNally colors. The lines on non-expressways are thinner this year, more resembling AAA cartography in this regard.
Now for the errors… the 268 as 727 error survives another edition. On the metro area inset, a shield in Germantown has MD 181 instead of 118. The ICC is shown as a divided road in black with yellow fill, not as a toll expressway. It’s also shown merging straight into Shady Grove Road, not the northernmost part of 370. In respect to cancellations due to budget issues, the ICC ends at I-95, and east to US 1 is not shown.
The remaining part of MD Route 787, Flower Avenue, will be one step closer to transfer to Takoma Park municipal maintenance, if plans for annexation proceed as planned in a public hearing of the Takoma Park City Council on February 7.
In order to proceed, Takoma Park must annex the entire right-of-way, while the city line is at the eastern curb. Ownership would transfer from SHA (and 787 dropped) 45 days after a council vote for the annexation. SHA would also pay Takoma Park $696,000 for maintenance instead of paving the road itself.
The city’s plan is to turn it into a Portland-style “green street” with new sidewalks and landscaping. The current setup is unsuitable for pedestrians on the east side of the street, with little or no sidewalk to speak of. According to the City Council, Flower Avenue “does not function as a state highway” and SHA wishes to transfer it.
The consensus among those attending the hearing was that SHA is distant and removed from day-to-day problems that plague streets in the city, citing the recent report of concrete falling from the Carroll Avenue (MD 195) bridge over Sligo Creek Parkway. (SHA closed the bridge the next day for inspection.) Local control was desired as the best solution.
Councilman Reuben Snipper (Ward 5) thanked those in attendance for their support, and urged those concerned to press their county-level officials about funding. The council’s view is that the annexation will remove the sidewalk from the county’s future maintenance responsibilities.
The hearing was attended by many property owners on the east (unincorporated) side of the street. One in particular was concerned about his wrought iron fence, and what impact the city’s streetscape would have upon it.
SHA has agreed to decouple the Flower Avenue annexation from the confusing situation with MD 410, where definitive ownership is in flux, as neither side has convincing documentation as to who owns what. The ownership issue does not extend to Takoma Park’s other state routes, MD 320 in particular, according to Suzanne Ludlow, Deputy City Manager. “That’s all SHA,” said Ludlow.
MD 787 was originally designated MD 194, before its number was transferred in 1954, to match numbers with Pennsylvania’s 194 (Current MD 194 had been MD 71). In 1999, Route 787 lost its northern half, north of MD 320 (Piney Branch Road) to Franklin Avenue, which also lost its designation as MD 516. This was part of a major transfer or truncation of state routes in Montgomery County in exchange for bringing Great Seneca Parkway into state maintenance as MD 119.
The final vote on annexation is not yet scheduled. According to Mayor Bruce Williams, the public comment period on the annexation and Flower Avenue will remain open.
