Lane Closures

Golf tournament likely to create road congestion 1 Baltimore County police warn that traffic could be heavier than usual tomorrow through Oct. 12 along the Shawan Road area in Hunt Valley because of the Constellation Energy Classic Golf tournament at the Hayfields Country Club. There will be no parking along Shawan Road during the tournament, which has a rain date of Oct. 13. Parking will be available at a farm near the event.

Baltimore fall cleanup planned for Oct. 18 1 The deadline is approaching for city communities to participate in Mayor Sheila Dixon's Fall Harvest Cleaning and Greening. The event, scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Oct. 18, will focus on how communities can transform dumping sites into green urban spaces, including future Adopt-A-Lot gardens. For neighborhoods that sign up to participate, the Department of Public Works will provide brooms, rakes and bags for volunteers to clean up and remove debris.

Long-term lane closure to begin The State Highway Administration will begin a long-term temporary closure of the Route 159 bridge over Cranberry Run tomorrow. The circa-1925 bridge will be replaced with a new two-lane bridge with 4-foot shoulders. The project is expected to be completed early next year, weather permitting. During the closure, motorists will be directed to a posted detour using U.S. 40 (Pulaski Highway) and Route 715 (Short Lane). After the bridge reopens, daytime lane closures with flagging operations may occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays.

Mary K. Tilghman of Catonsville and Cherry M. Sparks, spokeswoman for the Maryland Transportation Authority, must have known it's my birthday. As a present, they got together and wrote most of my column for me. Well, they didn't actually get together. But when Tilghman wrote in with a great question and Sparks sent an informative reply, putting the two together seemed like a natural way to take it easy. Tilghman's query: What causes the 8-, 10- or 11-mile backups on the Bay Bridge westbound at the end of a holiday weekend?

City road closings today City officials have announced temporary lane closures and road repairs on sections of 21st Street and Guilford Avenue today. Road repairs are scheduled on 21st Street between Barclay and Calvert streets from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parents, teachers, and students traveling near Dallas F. Nicholas Sr. Elementary School are urged to use caution. No work will occur before school starts and all work is expected to be completed by the end of the school day. Also today, Guilford Avenue will have temporary lane closures between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., with the bulk of work between Saratoga and Lexington streets.

The State Highway Administration has announced plans for lane closures starting tomorrow so that it can work on two projects in Baltimore County. The right lane of northbound Charles Street (Route 139) at Gatehouse Drive, near the entrance to Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, will be closed from 9 a.m. tomorrow to 3 p.m. April 17 so workers can install a curb and gutters, and traffic barriers, the agency said. The work is part of a $900,000 project near Sheppard Pratt and Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

City transportation officials are expecting traffic backups today from 8 a.m. until midnight along Greenmount Avenue from 32nd Street to 33rd Street. Crews will be repairing a break in a 36-inch water main, officials said. Though some lanes will be closed today, the traffic pattern is expected to be restored to normal in time for Monday's rush hour.

A selection of road advisories for the Baltimore metro region. Previously listed closures still may be in effect. Closures are subject to weather conditions. Anne Arundel County 1. Bay Bridge West, lane closed 8 p.m., second lane closed 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with all lanes reopening at 5 a.m. the next day. Lane closed 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Left lane closed at 9 a.m. Friday for use by eastbound traffic. Eastbound approach to bridge between Exits 30 and 32, lanes closed 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, reopening 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. the next day. 2. Md. 450 near U.S. 50 and Md. 2 interchange, lane closures in both directions 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, reopening 5 a.m. the next day. Baltimore City 3. I-895 South between tunnel toll plaza and Exit 7 (Potee Street)

As Marc LeGoff was driving to work on U.S. 32 west just before 10 a.m. Tuesday, he noticed a couple of men wearing orange road worker vests on the right shoulder. One started walking closer to the road, and LeGoff noticed he had something in his hands. "Call me paranoid, but I'm pretty sure it was a silver camera and could have sworn that he took a picture of the back of my car as I drove by. Have you heard of anything like this before or am I imagining things?" he asked. He noted that it really seemed like the camera was directed toward him and not toward the island between westbound and eastbound lanes.