New Md. law aims to crack down on toll scofflaws
LAUREL — Hundreds of thousands of tolls have gone unpaid on Maryland’s Intercounty Connector, but officials hope a new law will help them crack down on toll scofflaws. Records obtained by WTOP-FM show 862,458 tolls have not been paid since January 2012, costing the state millions of dollars. Documents also show 88,593 drivers with two […]
Eye Opener: O’Malley’s next step
A few Maryland government and politics headlines for Monday.
$3.5B capital budget includes money for Ripken Stadium, Rocky Gap resort
The House of Delegates on Saturday approved a $3.5 billion capital budget that includes money for major Baltimore revitalization projects, infrastructure improvements for a proposed Western Maryland casino and renovations of Cal Ripken Jr.’s minor league baseball stadium in Harford County.
Nearly 7,000 ticketed for speeding on ICC
LAUREL — Nearly 7,000 speeding tickets have been issued to drivers on the Intercounty Connector since it opened in November, 2011. That’s according to documents obtained by WTOP, which reports that nearly 200 of the tickets were to drivers traveling less than 65 mph in a 55 mph zone. The speed limit rises Saturday on […]
Miller: Transportation plan is governor’s responsibility
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. has plopped the burden of pushing a transportation funding plan through the General Assembly squarely on the shoulders of Gov. Martin O'Malley.
Miller pitches transportation funding proposal
ANNAPOLIS — A gas tax increase is among the ideas Maryland’s Senate president is floating to raise badly needed money for transportation. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller told reporters Wednesday his plan includes a proposal to raise about $300 million annually with a gas tax increase. Miller, D-Calvert, also is proposing regional transit authorities […]
Md. officials fixing cracks in ICC overpasses
GREENBELT — Maryland State Highway Administration officials say crews are working to repair cracks found in overpasses on the Intercounty Connector. Inspectors for the administration have discovered cracks on 10 bridges along the new $2.5 billion toll highway. David Buck, a spokesman for the agency, says half of those cracks were found last year. This […]
Some love the new Intercounty Connector, but few use it
WASHINGTON — Since opening last year, the Intercounty Connector has provided thousands of Maryland motorists with their first direct, congestion-free drive between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Gleeful drivers say the highway has cut up to a half-hour off their east-west trips between the busy commercial corridors of Interstates 95 and 270. But six months […]
Transportation head Swaim-Staley to resign
Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Beverley K. Swaim-Staley said Monday she is stepping down effective July 1 after a 25-year career in state government. Swaim-Staley was appointed in September 2009 by Gov. Martin O’Malley to oversee the department’s $3.8 billion annual budget and 9,000 employees. She was the first woman to serve in that post. […]
Pipkin demands Maryland transportation head step down
State Sen. E.J. Pipkin, R-Upper Shore, has turned his sights on another branch of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration. The top Republican in the upper chamber, Pipkin called Friday for the resignation of Transportation Secretary Beverley K. Swaim-Staley in the wake of a highly critical review of the State Highway Administration. Swaim-Staley “has presided over a […]
Editorial: The ICC conundrum
The long-debated, long-awaited, long-constructed Intercounty Connector opened in its 18.8-mile entirety just in time for the annual Thanksgiving traffic scrum. On the drawing boards for decades, the six-lane toll road links Interstate 270 in Montgomery County with Interstate 95 in Prince George’s County. In terms of traffic, proponents of the ICC say it will help […]
Intercounty Connector off to a smooth start
GAITHERSBURG — Officials say everything went smoothly on opening day for approximately 11 miles of a new toll road linking Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. The section of the Intercounty Connector that opened Tuesday runs from Georgia Avenue to just east of Interstate-95. The first seven miles of the $2.55 billion roadway opened in February […]