From the office of Sen. Nancy Jacobs:
Nearly seven thousand jobs have now arrived in Maryland under the military’s Base Realignment and Closure plan (BRAC). Many of those jobs have come to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County, with thousands of employees transferring from Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey to Harford County.
TRAFFIC ISSUES
The influx of these employees and newly hired staff is creating traffic issues that are plaguing those using roads leading to and from APG, especially during rush hours.
Today at a meeting of the Joint Committee on BRAC Senator Nancy Jacobs asked the State Agency’s overseeing the BRAC process to give answers about when promised road improvements will be made and why little change is evident at this late stage in the BRAC process.
This is the information provided in response to the Senator’s questions by the Department of Transportation and the State Highway Administration about transportation projects near Aberdeen Proving Ground:
1) Improvements to US 40 and Md. 715: This project is fully funded and relocation of utilities is well underway. Not much construction is yet noticeable to drivers. Heavy construction is expected soon. The expected completion date is Summer of 2013.
2) Improvements to US 40 at Md. 159 and Md. 7: The funding is in place for Phase One which includes reconstruction for an additional lane on Rt. 7. Bids for additional work are expected in the fall and construction is planned for spring. The completion date for Phase One is the winter of 2013 or early 2013. The funding for Phase Two, a widening of US 40, is not secured at this point.
(Senator Jacobs says, “I am disappointed in the lack of progress on the US 40/Md 159 intersection because the funding is already in place. In fact the winning bid came in under budget with a great cost savings that should be used on another BRAC related construction project in Harford County. Yet, the state refuses to commit to that.”)
3) Improvements to 3 intersections along Md. 22 leading to the base: Design is complete. Funding is not currently in place. Two of the intersections at Paradise and at Beard’s Hill are eligible for Department of Defense funding under grants for Base Access Improvements that the state is perusing.
(Senator Jacobs says, “We can’t get commitments from our Congressional Delegation to move on trying to secure this funding.”)
4) MARC Train Station at Edgewood: Phase One is complete with expanded parking and platform improvements. Phase two calls for replacement of the existing trailer with a permanent structure. The Plan calls for construction to begin in September 2011 with a fall 2012 completion date. The Maryland Dept. of Transportation is awaiting Board of Public Works approval.
EDUCATED WORKFORCE ISSUES
Another disappointment is that Maryland universities have not stepped up to the plate by offering degree programs in the northeast part of the state to train people for future military and defense contractor jobs at APG. While Delaware’s university system immediately responded to that need, Maryland’s universities have not yet committed to providing high level degree programs in the area in science, math and technology. The state’s BRAC office just recently put out requests for proposals to Maryland’s universities. Senator Jacobs believes that should have happened long ago and a great opportunity is being missed.
correction on item #2. Completion is expected winter of 2012 or early 2013
How about Rt 22 being 2 lanes in each direction from Aberdeen to Bel Air & possibly 3 lanes in Aberdeen?
They’ve talked about 4 lanes to Bel Air for years, literally since rt 22 was conceived (if my father’s memory is straight), but I just don’t think the money is there to do it anytime soon.
You are absolutely right. There were surveyors looking at widening route 22 in the 70’s. LOL
The county wants to blame BRAC for all their traffic problems, but it was already bad enough before all those people came to work in harford county.
Go figure though, build housing before road infrastructure. That sure turned out well huh? Not going to comment on the morning and evening rush hour APG traffic.
They should have also put a direct route to I95 from 715 instead of that major overhaul on the route 22 and 95 interchange in 2000.
Are there any plans to extend the MARC service north of Perryville?
Cecil County has been clamoring for an extension to Elkton for many years. The State just doesn’t see the value in it, and it’s arguable. But the scale is sliding in it’s favor as time goes by.
There’s also an effort to get Amtrak service in Elkton as well.
Both would be a big deal in a County that has negligible public transit, even along the growth envelope.
I applaud Senator Jacobs efforts on the toll issue and on working with the BRAC impact within the Harford and Cecil County area. I also commend her for being accessible and responsive to the needs of her constituents. However, should we be asking for more federal tax dollars to fund local projects? Should we on one hand condemn government spending while on the other hand criticize the Congressional Delegation for not bringing home the pork. Fiscal conservatism should not be a political position of convenience. During difficult economic times, we all may need to make do with a little less pork on the plate. I would be especially interested in hearing from those who identify more with the Republican Party and/or those who see themselves as fiscal conservatives. Thanks.
This is the essential problem facing all of America right now. Including Rick Perry.
Everyone at the State level loves to get their hands on as much Federal money as possible and take credit for what gets done, and suddenly they put on their “national office” hats and sing a different tune.
Can’t wait to hear O’Malleys version.
People are going to have to start getting real when the budget axe swings.
Rt 715 will never make it to I-95 as long as the politicians are the sheep to the developers, the connected $$ people will not allow any of their property or industrial area to be taken. So saddle all the people who live on Rt-22 who have for over 30 years pushed back on state plans to widen it with the burden of again going against the state lackeys and politicians.
And for all the jobs that came to APG ( govt and contractor ) , our county and state reps did nothing to push for those who were already here to get jobs. All they looked at was more people = more houses..
I’m not sure how the county can push for those in the area to get jobs above others who apply.
If you (general you) don’t qualify for a math, science, or technology job, then it’s not like the state is going to force APG to hire you.
Most of the jobs at APG are or will be put up on USAJOBS. Any US Citizen can apply. How are they excluding people in the local area?
The reason why there is not any money for road improvements is rabble rousing politicians, keep misinforming people to keep getting elected, that taxes are too high and must be reduced. A recent example is the money needed to keep up the bridge across the Susquehanna. Jacobs felt it was too expensive to pay $1.39 a week to cross the bridge in the future.
If Jacobs were really interested in road improvements she would say we need to increase our taxes, especially on those making over 250K to pay for road improvements, military, schools, etc.
How about a hotel room tax on tourists? Every place taxes hotel rooms I have ever stayed at in the United States and Canada. Why does Jocobs not want to tax tourists and business travelers whose company pay their room costs? I know why?
Do not expect any road improvements with politicians like Jacobs.
Fogdog, Why does Jacobs not want to tax tourists? Hmmmm! Let me think about that a minute. I think we all know the answer but you. Please, tourists, don’t come to Harford County and spend money. Please stay away. Tax the business traveler? Well, the company then raises their price to recover the charge and then you, Fogdog, pay more for the product. That intense pain you feel in your foot is a self-inflicted bullet wound.
I have experienced high hotel taxes at all the tourist destinations all across the country. This never seems to keep people away. Harford County is not a tourist destination like Lancaster, PA that has a tax.
This seems to go against your argument. It is the people who contribute to elective officials who get laws to their advantage. Harford County is a destination of business and government travelers. If Harford County has a hotel tax, it would have to come out of the money businesses and government allots a night for a room. This would reduce the net profit of a hotel. Currently, this money goes to help the rich not us common people who pay taxes.
As they say, “You cannot have your cake and eat it.” I say, “You cannot have good roads and not tax those who can afford to pay for them.” How do you suggest we pay for roads?
The fact seems to be, they increase population on roads that practically cannot be ever widened or adjusted for all the traffic. It looks like we are just going to have to deal with all the congestion for a long time.
There’s just too many people in a small area.
North harford is such a nice area, at least for now.
I say make no road improvements. Don’t make it easier to commute. Commuters dramatically increase pollution. If you want to work in Aberdeen, live in Aberdeen.
Rt 24 needs to be expanded to four lanes from 755 until it enters APG. Rt 152 at Trimble Rd needs left turn lights for all directions.
I believe 152 and Trimble has a left turn light in all directions. I know it does both ways from Trimble and 152 southbound.
24 and trimble need left turn lights from both directions on trimble.
If you enlarge 24 you will need to enlarge the rest of 24 as it is traffic moves through there at a good pace.