Highway Projects

Baltimore and its nearby counties are flunking federal clean-air rules, thereby threatening to stall millions of dollars for highway projects -- including roads for the state's largest new retail complex.Until recently, the region appeared to be in compliance with the federal Clean Air Act. But it turns out that's because state and regional planners have been relying on misleading 1990 motor vehicle data to measure prospective traffic pollution and gain approval for road projects.Those outdated traffic figures do not reflect the region's growing number of vehicles, particularly higher-polluting sport utility vehicles, or that in 1990, motorists drove newer cars.

MARYLAND'S plan to clean up Baltimore's air pollution is close to the federally mandated goal for 2002, but squeezing out another 13 tons of pollutants from the local atmosphere each day presents some serious challenges.Of the nine U.S. metro areas with serious smog problems, Baltimore comes closest to meeting the federal standard, with only that 13-ton shortfall, the Environmental Protection Agency reports. Houston, on the other hand, exceeds the clean air standard by 118 tons per day.The current plan for the Baltimore metro region calls for expanded reliance on motor vehicle emissions testing and on cuts in pollution from coal-fired power plants in the state.

The State Highway Administration is making $2.5 million available for improvements to Route 140, the first of four projects that will make the highway eight lanes from Route 31 to Reese Road.Work to widen the segment from Route 97 north to Route 27, a stretch used by about 40,000 vehicles daily, could begin within a year, officials said.Plans call for reducing the grass-covered median to create a third travel lane on both sides of the highway. The right-turn-only lane from Route 97 to Gorsuch Road will be extended to Route 27 to provide motorists with safer turning and merging.

NO ONE SHOULD BE surprised at the recent dismissal of state roads chief Hal Kassoff. The amazing thing is that he lasted as long as he did, given the animus Gov. Parris N. Glendening expressed toward Mr. Kassoff even before his first day as Maryland's chief executive.The governor apparently held a grudge against Mr. Kassoff for disputes he had with the state highway administrator during Mr. Glendening's long tenure as Prince George's county executive. He never forgave, or forgot. But Mr. Glendening was told so often by politicians and transportation experts that Mr. Kassoff excelled at his job that the governor kept him on. Until now.There's no doubt that Mr. Kassoff is headstrong and tenacious, at one point ignoring a request that he quietly submit his resignation.

WASHINGTON -- When the House slashed $17.2 billion from the budget this week to pay for disaster relief and make a small down payment on reducing the deficit, it overlooked one plump target.Left untouched -- after deep cuts in housing for the poor and elderly, reductions in school aid, and the elimination of summer jobs for teen-agers -- was $280 million allocated for highway pork projects.Members didn't even get a chance to vote on whether to cut them.Under the rule granted by the Republican leadership to control debate, an amendment by Rep. Ronald D. Coleman, a Texas Democrat, was barred.

State transportation officials said yesterday that a project to widen Mountain Road, having reached a fiscal dead end last year, may again be considered for funding.But the money to improve Route 3 in Crofton and relieve congestion is not likely to materialize any time soon.The transportation officials, who included state Secretary of Transportation O. James Lighthizer and State Highway Administrator Hal Kassoff, made the remarks at an annual briefing to Anne Arundel officials.District 31's State House delegation and Councilman Carl G. "Dutch" Holland have been pressing the state to widen Mountain Road.

Here's what to look for if you are traveling in the Baltimore metropolitan area this week.This list of highway projects includes only newly announced work, not continuing construction, which is extensive on several highways, including Interstate 95, U.S. 50/301 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.New highway projectsU.S. 1 (Belair Road) -- Effective until 5 a.m. tomorrow, only one southbound lane will be available on Belair Road between Dunfield Road and Silver Spring Road. Northbound traffic will follow posted detours.

It may have looked odd to motorists driving south on Route 97 in Cooksville, the huge mechanized shovel scraping away clay inches at a time in front of a man squinting at an upright ruler.But inches are critical when it comes to creating wetlands, as State Highway Administration workers from the Dayton maintenance shop are learning.About eight people from the Dayton facility hope to be the first SHA workers in the state to create a wetland to replace one damaged by a highway project."We go out and cut trees down and build roads and everybody's saying, 'Well, boo you,' " said Charlie Watkins, the resident maintenance engineer who supervises the Dayton shop.

Here's what to look for if you are traveling in the Baltimore metropolitan area this week. This list of highway projects includes only newly announced work, not continuing construction, which is extensive on several highways, including Interstate 95, U.S. 50/301 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.New highway projects:I-695 outer loop: between Interstate 795 and Security Boulevard -- Two right lanes will closed from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. today for bridge deck repairs.MTA bus route change:The MTA has scheduled the following bus route change.

State transportation officials told Anne Arundel County politicians and community members yesterday that dwindling resources will put many local highway projects on hold.Hal Kassoff, state highway administrator, said that tax revenue and federal grants during the booming development years of the 1980s helped boost spending for highway projects. Resources peaked in 1990 when the state set aside $750 million for roads.As the economy weakened, tax revenues fell. "The outlook for the late 1990s looks poor," Mr. Kassoff said, predicting that combined federal and state spending for highway projects will fall below $400 million a year by the 1997 fiscal year.

Washington -President Barack Obama says unprecedented transparency will be a hallmark of his presidency. But following the money in the stimulus package might not be as easy as he suggests. Almost daily, state and federal officials proclaim their commitment to openness. Just yesterday, in conjunction with a day-long White House conference that dealt largely with that subject, Gov. Martin O'Malley expressed his determination to help Maryland citizens track federal stimulus dollars with "accountability, transparency and efficiency."

William Roe Kahl, a former partner in the Baltimore civil engineering firm of Rummel Klepper & Kahl, died of a heart attack Monday at a hospital in Jupiter, Fla. The former Reisterstown resident was 94. Mr. Kahl was born in Baltimore and raised on Reisterstown Road. After graduating from Polytechnic Institute, he earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in 1932. He later earned a master's degree in civil engineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic College in Brooklyn, N.Y. While at Hopkins, he was manager of the lacrosse team that participated in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, said his son, W. Bailey Kahl of Sapulpa, Okla.

The state will begin construction on 15 highway projects in Baltimore County in the next fiscal year - including the long-awaited extension of White Marsh Boulevard - Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari has informed county officials. The projects are part of the state Department of Transportation's six-year, $722.9 million budget for the county, which Pocari reviewed with officials at a recent meeting. One project not on the list, however, is construction of an interchange at Dolfield Boulevard and Interstate 795. County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger called it the county's top priority.

According to a recent newspaper article that I carefully clipped out and then lost but remember the gist of, traffic gridlock in the United States is very bad. It's getting to the point where many commuters arrive at work, use the bathroom, then immediately begin commuting home. Fact: The average American commuter whose car radio is tuned to a "Classic Rock" station spends more time singing along to the Kiss song "Rock And Roll All Nite" than talking with his or her spouse. Fact: I made the preceding fact up, but for all we know it could be true.

WASHINGTON - Because of a deceitful publicity campaign being waged by anti-union construction firms through the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the debate over negotiation of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the Wilson Bridge needs a serious injection of truth. PLAs didn't come "on the scene in the 1990s," as the ABC would have taxpayers believe. They've been used successfully on big federal public works projects since the 1930s. Examples are the Grand Coulee Dam in Colorado, Shasta Dam in California, Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee and Cape Canaveral in Florida.

MARYLAND'S plan to clean up Baltimore's air pollution is close to the federally mandated goal for 2002, but squeezing out another 13 tons of pollutants from the local atmosphere each day presents some serious challenges.Of the nine U.S. metro areas with serious smog problems, Baltimore comes closest to meeting the federal standard, with only that 13-ton shortfall, the Environmental Protection Agency reports. Houston, on the other hand, exceeds the clean air standard by 118 tons per day.The current plan for the Baltimore metro region calls for expanded reliance on motor vehicle emissions testing and on cuts in pollution from coal-fired power plants in the state.

Baltimore and its nearby counties are flunking federal clean-air rules, thereby threatening to stall millions of dollars for highway projects -- including roads for the state's largest new retail complex.Until recently, the region appeared to be in compliance with the federal Clean Air Act. But it turns out that's because state and regional planners have been relying on misleading 1990 motor vehicle data to measure prospective traffic pollution and gain approval for road projects.Those outdated traffic figures do not reflect the region's growing number of vehicles, particularly higher-polluting sport utility vehicles, or that in 1990, motorists drove newer cars.

The State Highway Administration is making $2.5 million available for improvements to Route 140, the first of four projects that will make the highway eight lanes from Route 31 to Reese Road.Work to widen the segment from Route 97 north to Route 27, a stretch used by about 40,000 vehicles daily, could begin within a year, officials said.Plans call for reducing the grass-covered median to create a third travel lane on both sides of the highway. The right-turn-only lane from Route 97 to Gorsuch Road will be extended to Route 27 to provide motorists with safer turning and merging.

NO ONE SHOULD BE surprised at the recent dismissal of state roads chief Hal Kassoff. The amazing thing is that he lasted as long as he did, given the animus Gov. Parris N. Glendening expressed toward Mr. Kassoff even before his first day as Maryland's chief executive.The governor apparently held a grudge against Mr. Kassoff for disputes he had with the state highway administrator during Mr. Glendening's long tenure as Prince George's county executive. He never forgave, or forgot. But Mr. Glendening was told so often by politicians and transportation experts that Mr. Kassoff excelled at his job that the governor kept him on. Until now.There's no doubt that Mr. Kassoff is headstrong and tenacious, at one point ignoring a request that he quietly submit his resignation.

WASHINGTON -- When the House slashed $17.2 billion from the budget this week to pay for disaster relief and make a small down payment on reducing the deficit, it overlooked one plump target.Left untouched -- after deep cuts in housing for the poor and elderly, reductions in school aid, and the elimination of summer jobs for teen-agers -- was $280 million allocated for highway pork projects.Members didn't even get a chance to vote on whether to cut them.Under the rule granted by the Republican leadership to control debate, an amendment by Rep. Ronald D. Coleman, a Texas Democrat, was barred.