Route 170

Motorists on Route 170 can expect some delays today when traffic is shifted on both the northbound and southbound sides of the thoroughfare as part of a widening project. It is one of two road closings planned in Anne Arundel this week.A section of southbound Interstate 97 between Routes 648 and 100 will be closed Saturday to allow construction crews to open newly completed lanes on the heavily traveled highway.For the Route 170 project, State Highway Administration crews will move traffic east for one mile between Route 176 and the Route 100 bridge over Route 170 at 9 a.m. today to accommodate the opening of a second lane on both sides of Route 170 between Route 176 and the Route 100 bridge.

The ramp from eastbound I-695 to southbound Route 170, also called Camp Meade Road, will be closed from 11 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, Maryland State Highway Administration officials said. Signs for a detour will be posted.  Motorists should take Route 170 north to Route 648, turn right on Route 648, then right onto Route 169. From there, they can reach Route 170 southbound. The work, in Linthicum, uses a polyester-epoxy modified concrete and may accomplish the job over a weekend.

Two women were flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center and one man was taken to the emergency room at the University of Maryland Medical Center after a collision early yesterday at Route 170 and Amtrak Way in Hanover, county police said.Alyssa Brooks, 26, of the 4500 block of Springdale Ave., Baltimore, and Cionita Placer, 34, of the 600 block of Stafford Hill Road, Glen Burnie, were treated at Shock Trauma. Mrs. Placer's husband, 35-year-old Perlipo Placer, was treated at the emergency room of the University of Maryland Medical Center.

A motorcyclist suffered non-life-threatening injuries after he collided with a car off Route 170 near Amtrak Way on Friday morning, police said. The accident caused airport officials to reroute buses from the Amtrak station, a spokeswoman for BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport said. But by 10 a.m., roads were reopened and the scene was cleared, said a spokesperson with the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. Police said the crash happened about 100 yards north of Amtrak Way at about 7:25 a.m. The motorcycle rider was taken by ambulance to Maryland Shock Trauma and the driver of the car was treated at the scene, police said.

Four Anne Arundel County road improvement projects would be put on hold under the state construction budget proposed last week by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., county officials said. Officials noted the state's projected $1.2 billion budget gap for the next fiscal year. All of the state-funded projects are for revitalization, which typically involves the addition of sidewalks and street lamps. The projects are planned for Route 170 from Interstate 895 to Route 648, Route 170 from Interstate 895 to Route 2, Route 256 in Deal and Route 648 in Glen Burnie.

Jazz concert -- The Women's Club of Linthicum Heights will present the Annapolis Bluegrass Coalition, at 6 p.m. Sunday at Linthicum Park, on Benton Avenue, off Route 170. Participants are asked to take chairs, blankets and coolers. No alcoholic beverages are permitted. The show will be canceled if it rains. Free. 410-859-3308.

The State Highway Administration will close the Route 175 bridge over the Amtrak tracks in Odenton from 10 p.m. tomorrowto 5 a.m. Wednesday.During the closure, workers will pour a concrete bridge deck as part of the $1.6 million project to replace and widen the now four-lane bridge. The project, expected to be completed next spring, will add a center turn lane.Motorists eastbound on Route 175 should use Route 32 east to Route 170 south to Route 175. Motorists traveling west on Route 175 should use Route 170 north to Route 32 west to Route 175.If weather delays the work, the bridge will be closed from 10 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday.

A new return loop, off Interstate 195, opens today, improving access to Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The loop leads back to the airport's departure and arrival areas, and to the parking garage. The traffic configuration will eliminate the need to use Aviation Boulevard (Route 170) and the stops at two traffic lights when returning to the airport. The loop was constructed as part of BWI's expansion plan.

The State Highway Administration plans to add lanes and widen a bridge at the Interstate 195-Aviation Boulevard interchange near Baltimore-Washington International Airport.The project is to start early next year and take more than a year.Traffic volume in the area has increased steadily, creating a need for better and safer access to both roads, said SHA spokesman Chuck Brown.Interstate 195 takes motorists from Interstate 95, past industrial and business parks, to the passenger terminal at the airport.

Two people died yesterday in accidents on area roads. A 49-year-old man was killed last night in a two-car collision on Interstate 83 between Northern Parkway and Ruxton Road in Baltimore County. The man, whose name was not released, was driving north on I-83 about 6:30 p.m. when his car struck the back of a Volvo, said Sgt. Doug Cawman of the state police Golden Ring barracks. The man's Acura then struck the guardrail, Cawman said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Volvo was not injured, police said.

Two people died yesterday in accidents on area roads. A 49-year-old man was killed last night in a two-car collision on Interstate 83 between Northern Parkway and Ruxton Road in Baltimore County. The man, whose name was not released, was driving north on I-83 about 6:30 p.m. when his car struck the back of a Volvo, said Sgt. Doug Cawman of the state police Golden Ring barracks. The man's Acura then struck the guardrail, Cawman said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Volvo was not injured, police said.

Jazz concert -- The Women's Club of Linthicum Heights will present the Crabtowne Big Band at 6 p.m. Sunday at Linthicum Park, on Benton Avenue off of Route 170. Participants are asked to bring chairs, blankets and coolers. No alcoholic beverages are permitted. If it rains, the show will be canceled. Free. 410-859-3308.

What major state road projects are beginning this year around Anne Arundel County? That spring feeling is here, accompanied by more hard hats, traffic cones and "slow" signs. We are entering road construction season. In the county, there are four state projects that are expected to commence in the coming weeks, according to the State Highway Administration: Ordnance Road (Route 710) and Chesapeake Centre Drive: Construction is set to start next week to create a separate through lane and right-turn lane on Ordnance Road.

Police don't suspect foul play in death of 6-month-old girl Anne Arundel police do not suspect foul play in the death of a 6-month-old whose body was found Friday at a baby sitter's house. The child, Alexis Michelle LaPinto, had no signs of outward trauma, said police spokesman Sgt. Shawn Urbas. No definitive cause of death will be released for some time, he said. Police were called to a home in the 1600 block of Cananaro Drive in Annapolis about 8:30 p.m. Officers found the baby girl dead in one of the home's bedrooms.

The State Highway Administration unveiled yesterday a $23.7 million plan to ease traffic jams and improve safety on a 2 1/2 -mile stretch of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Anne Arundel County. The project would add one lane in each direction of the parkway between Interstates 695 and 195 -- a heavily traveled section near Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Arundel Mills mall. It would also add a new ramp connecting northbound Route 170 to westbound I-195, near the airport.

Four Anne Arundel County road improvement projects would be put on hold under the state construction budget proposed last week by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., county officials said. Officials noted the state's projected $1.2 billion budget gap for the next fiscal year. All of the state-funded projects are for revitalization, which typically involves the addition of sidewalks and street lamps. The projects are planned for Route 170 from Interstate 895 to Route 648, Route 170 from Interstate 895 to Route 2, Route 256 in Deal and Route 648 in Glen Burnie.

A 70-year-old man was killed yesterday when his van tumbled 80 feet from a Baltimore Beltway exit ramp onto the Central Light Rail tracks near Linthicum, state police reported.The accident at 3 p.m. left the crumpled van on the tracks, halting the rail service for about an hour, police said.The victim, whose identity was withheld pending notification of relatives, was southbound on the outer loop when he lost control of the Dodge van on the ramp leading to Route 170, police said.Pub Date: 10/06/99

A 65-year-old man was fatally injured in Odenton yesterday when a car struck him from behind as he pedaled a cycle along Route 170, county police reported. The victim, whose identity was not immediately available, was riding his three-wheel cycle with the flow of traffic near Rodgers Lane about 1:30 p.m. when a Plymouth Acclaim hit him from behind, police said. The man, an Odenton resident, was taken to North Arundel Hospital, where he died of his injuries. The 37-year-old driver, also of Odenton, failed to stay in his designated lane, police said.