From the office of Sen. Nancy Jacobs:
Dear Editors and Reporters:
At the recent Joint Commission on BRAC I asked about traffic problems at various locations, particularly Route 40 during rush hour near Aberdeen Proving Ground. Some constituents have complained about congestion there since all of the workers from Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey have now transferred to our area. I have just received a response regarding one area of concern from the State Highway Administration. It appears that there will be a bit of relief by late September and more when final construction is complete. I thought the people of Harford and Cecil Counties as well as employees at APG would like to hear what State Highways has said in its response. I am forwarding their e-mail below with attached diagrams.
Sincerely,
Senator Nancy Jacobs
Minority Leader
Harford and Cecil Counties
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THIS IS THE RESPONSE FROM SHA ON AUG 25, SEE NEWER DETAILS BELOW
From: David Peake
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2011 12:47 PM
To: Jacobs, Nancy Senator
Cc: Darrell Mobley; Doug Simmons; Gregory Welker; Billy Hwang; Linda Singer; Kathy Ochrzcin
Subject: US 40 at MD7
Senator Jacobs:
Thank you for bringing this important matter to SHA’s attention. SHA’s District 4 traffic engineers have finished their review along US 40 from MD 715 to MD 7. The Greenway Business Park development project (striping plan sheets attached) will add a continuous lane from the ramp at MD 715 to MD 7. This work will begin soon with the interim phase completed by the end of September. The interim phase will shift traffic on US 40 to facilitate the widening of a culvert structure and base widening on US 40. During this phase the developer will stripe a ramp lane from MD 715 that continues thru to MD 7. The ramp lane will tie into the right turn lane in the vicinity of the Budget Inn. This will remedy the situation once the interim phase is implemented (end of September).
In the final phase the developer will shift traffic to the ultimate configuration which will include a continuous ramp lane from MD 715 to MD 7. As in the interim phase the ramp lane will tie into the a right turn lane that continues to MD 7. Thanks again for bringing this to our attention. If you require additional information, as always, please feel free to contact me. Take care.
Dave
David W. Peake
Metropolitan District Engineer
District Four – Baltimore and Harford Counties
State Highway Administration
320 West Warren Road
Hunt Valley MD 21030
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THIS WAS SENT BY MY OFFICE LAST WEDENSDAY:
From: Jacobs, Nancy Senator
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 5:14 PM
To: David Peake
Subject: FW: US 40 at MD7
Dear David,
I was in the area of Route 40 recently and would like an update on road construction. Below is your memo that says interim work is expected to be completed on the strip of Rt 40 between 715 to 7 around the end of September. Can you give us a progress update? I didn’t see much change at all while driving there.
Also what is the status of Westbound 40, where traffic turns right onto Route 7 in front of Cook Motor Cars? If you recall my constituents complained that the turn lane wasn’t long enough and backed up during rush hour. We thought you were going to temporarily extend that down Rt. 40 toward Aberdeen.
Thanks so much for your time. We look for the latest status on this congested area and the progress of improvements.
Sincerely,
Nancy
Senator Nancy Jacobs
Minority Leader
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THIS IS A RESPONSE RECEIVED TODAY FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
From: David Peake
Sent: Friday, September 23, 2011 7:54 AM
To: Jacobs, Nancy Senator
Cc: Doug Simmons; Linda Singer; Steve Foster; Damilola Kehinde
Subject: RE: US 40 at MD7
Dear Senator Jacobs:
To follow up on your email, I wanted to let you know our District Four Utilities staff contacted the developer for the Greenway Business Park to get the latest update on their project.
In addition to the design issues mentioned before, BGE had been relocating the overhead wires to allow for the contractor to bring in a crane to do the bridge work. Due to Hurricane Irene, BGE was diverted from the site for emergency response. The developer’s project is now on hold, and the developer does not have a time frame for when BGE will resume work on the site.
To address your constituents’ concerns about the length of the storage lane for right turns from westbound US 40 (Pulaski Highway) to westbound MD 7 (Philadelphia Road), I am pleased to report that SHA recently extended the right turn storage lane by 600 feet. The right turn lane is now more than 800 feet long, which should provide enough storage and similar benefit as the developer’s proposed interim phase that was scheduled to be completed by the end of this month.
Also, SHA is meeting today internally to discuss how we can help facilitate resolution of the design issues and construction of the project. In addition, I will be personally monitoring the progress of this project and will provide you with additional updates when they arise.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss further; I would be happy to meet with you and your staff to discuss. My cell phone number is [removed]. Take care.
Dave
David W. Peake
Metropolitan District Engineer
District Four – Baltimore and Harford Counties
State Highway Administration
320 West Warren Road
Hunt Valley MD 21030
What happened to all the money that the state of MD promised for road and infrastructure improvements? The state and local politicians promised everything and have to date provided nothing. As recent BRAC transplants from NJ, we were optimistic that the MD politicians would do a better job than the bozos in NJ that allowed Fort Monmouth to be closed. Unfortunately, however, it is more of the “same old same old.” Like Pete Townshend said long ago, “meet the new boss . . . same as the old boss.”