Two Lanes

State transportation workers are scheduled to shift lanes along Interstate 95 tomorrow as they continue the bridge repair project north of the Fort McHenry Tunnel toll plaza. Under the new traffic pattern, I-95 will be divided between the toll plaza and Exit 57, Boston/O'Donnell Street. Two lanes will go to the left of construction, and two lanes will go to the right. Motorists seeking to exit at Boston/O'Donnell Street must stay in the right two lanes after leaving the toll plaza. The new traffic pattern is expected to continue until mid-October.

An Eastern Shore construction bottleneck has been unclogged, just in time for beach traffic. Both westbound lanes of the U.S. 50 bridge over U.S. 301 opened to traffic Friday, several weeks ahead of schedule, the Maryland State Highway Administration announced. Crews expedited work on the $2.8 million project by closing one of the two lanes late last September after the summer traffic abated. More than 44,000 vehicles on average use that stretch of U.S. 50 daily, volume that increases by 30 to 40 percent on summer weekends.

Repaving in the area where a pedestrian footbridge collapsed after being hit by an improperly loaded truck will close two lanes of the Baltimore Beltway in both directions today and tomorrow, state highway officials said.Two lanes of the inner loop will be closed from 7 p.m. today to 5 a.m. tomorrow, according to highway authorities. Two lanes of the outer loop will close at 9 p.m. tomorrow and reopen at 5 a.m. Tuesday.Signs, arrow boards and orange traffic drums will be placed along the affected areas, and motorists are asked to stay alert and use caution when driving through the work zones.

Collisions closed lanes along I-95 south and the outer loop during Thursday's commute. A four-car collision closed one southbound lane and the left shoulder of I-95 before White Marsh Boulevard at exit 67. The accident had cleared as of 8:25 a.m., according to the State Highway Administration. A three-vehicle collision also shut down a southbound lane and the left shoulder of I-95 near MD 32 in Howard County. Both had reopened as of 8:10 a.m. Earlier, a three-vehicle collision briefly shut down two lanes and the shoulder of the outer loop at Edmondson Avenue, according to the State Highway Administration.

State transportation authorities advise that construction will affect motorists on the following state roadways this week:* U.S. 1 Northbound -- Traffic from Miller Road to Sheradale Drive has been switched to the new three-lane roadway while the southbound lanes are reconstructed. There will be two lanes of traffic southbound until noon, and then two lanes northbound. A concrete barrier prevents left turns to and from Miller Road.* I-95 North -- Single lane closures in northbound lanes from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Single lane closures southbound from White Marsh Boulevard to the Baltimore Beltway from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily and 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday.

A hearing will be held tomorrow to discuss alleviating traffic congestion on Interstate 95. One of the proposals being considered includes express toll lanes. The 10-mile stretch of highway being discussed begins at the I-95 and Interstate 895 split and ends north of White Marsh Boulevard (Route 43). Conducted by the Maryland Transportation Authority, the hearing will be from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Perry Hall Middle School, 4300 Ebenezer Road. From 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., residents can review materials and displays.

A 25-year-old Baltimore woman was critically injured yesterday when her car slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer and a jersey barrier on northbound Interstate 95, toll facilities police said.Leora Yael Hamosh of Portland Street received extensive head injuries and a broken arm shortly before 9:25 a.m. when she switched from a left lane to the center lane and her car struck the back of the flatbed tractor-trailer, police said.The car careened off the flatbed, hit the jersey barrier, spun out of control and crashed into the truck a second time, police said.

Collisions closed lanes along I-95 south and the outer loop during Thursday's commute. A four-car collision closed one southbound lane and the left shoulder of I-95 before White Marsh Boulevard at exit 67. The accident had cleared as of 8:25 a.m., according to the State Highway Administration. A three-vehicle collision also shut down a southbound lane and the left shoulder of I-95 near MD 32 in Howard County. Both had reopened as of 8:10 a.m. Earlier, a three-vehicle collision briefly shut down two lanes and the shoulder of the outer loop at Edmondson Avenue, according to the State Highway Administration.

An Eastern Shore construction bottleneck has been unclogged, just in time for beach traffic. Both westbound lanes of the U.S. 50 bridge over U.S. 301 opened to traffic Friday, several weeks ahead of schedule, the Maryland State Highway Administration announced. Crews expedited work on the $2.8 million project by closing one of the two lanes late last September after the summer traffic abated. More than 44,000 vehicles on average use that stretch of U.S. 50 daily, volume that increases by 30 to 40 percent on summer weekends.

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.New highway projectsU.S. 1 north-- Traffic from Miller Road to Sheradale Drive has been switched to the new three-lane roadway while the southbound roadway is reconstructed. There is daily two-lane traffic southbound until noon, when traffic is reversed to two lanes northbound. Miller Road is expected to reopen Oct. 10.I-695 Inner Loop -- From 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. today, there will be lane closings at Exit 24, the link to I-83; between Dulaney Valley and Providence roads, and between Charles Street and York Road while maintenance work is done.

A collision involving four vehicles on eastbound Route 50 near the exit for Rowe Boulevard in Annapolis on Wednesday morning left two people injured and significantly slowed morning traffic through the area, according to the Maryland State Police. Two people were taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center with injuries sustained in the accident, a police dispatcher at the Glen Burnie Barrack said. She did not know their condition. The two right-hand deceleration lanes onto the exit ramp for Rowe Boulevard remained blocked as of 10 a.m., and police remained on the scene, the dispatcher said.

As of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, two southbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Baltimore before exit 57 to O'Donnell Street were closed due to a two-vehicle accident, state highway officials reported. In Anne Arundel County, one off ramp lane was closed on Maryland 100 at Maryland 2.

A tractor trailer overturned on southbound Interstate 95 in Howard County Monday afternoon, injuring the driver and leaving trash and other debris strewn across the road, Maryland State Police said. Police and Howard County fire and rescue units were first called to the scene just north of Route 32 about 5 p.m., police said. The man driving the truck sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Laurel Regional Hospital, police and fire officials said. The two left lanes of the highway were closed to traffic for hours as crews worked to clear the truck and the debris, officials said.

As of 9:30 a.m. Thursday, two lanes of the inner loop of the Baltimore Beltway near Hawkins Point Road were closed due to an accident involving three vehicles. Ridgely Street in Baltimore City was closed temporarily between Alluvion Street and West Ostend Street because a train was delayed by engine failure in the Howard Street tunnel. Bayard Street was temporarily closed between Severn Street and Ridgely Street for the same reason. No delays have been reported on mass transit systems.

Two lanes of northbound Interstate 95 have reopened in Harford County while crews clean up a tractor-trailer crash early Tuesday morning that injured one driver, according to Maryland State Police. The crash of two tractor-trailers was reported at about 2:30 a.m. about two miles north of the Churchville Road exit, state police said. One driver was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in serious but stable condition. I-95 was shut down at 3 a.m. Northbound drivers were directed onto Route 40 via exit 80 until about 8 a.m., police said.

Praise God and all the construction workers on the Hatem Bridge. After three years of one-lane back-ups every night as I left Havre de Grace and headed home to Port Deposit, last week, in the middle of the bridge, two lanes opened up and it was heavenly. The next day, it was clear sailing all the way on two eastbound lanes. Hooray!! Water Witch Fire Company's annual Firemen's Carnival is running all week through Saturday on the grounds of Woodlawn Station, off Jacob Tome Highway.

The State Highway Administration's $5.4 million construction project on Route 22 in Bel Air is half finished and on schedule to open in summer 1996.The two-mile rebuilding of the road between Shamrock Road and just east of Route 543 includes widening it by two lanes, improving drainage, relocating a stream and landscaping.Chuck Brown, spokesman for the SHA, said the improvements are necessary to handle heavy traffic and to increase safety."There is a lot of traffic heading out to Havre de Grace and Aberdeen Proving Ground," Mr. Brown said.

Trying to smooth over differences with neighboring businesses, the developers of the proposed Baltimore FinancialCentre are offering to amend their plans to close a portion of Redwood Street in downtown Baltimore.Charles/Redwood Limited Partnership, the development team that wants to build a 32-story office tower at the corner of Redwood and Charles streets, is offering to narrow the project by 10 feet. Instead of taking two lanes of Redwood as the developers had asked to do, the project would take one lane.

Maryland State Police have closed two of four lanes of southbound Interstate 95 near the Washington Beltway as they investigate a fatal car accident that occurred this morning. Police said one person was killed in the single-vehicle accident near Route 212, also known as Powder Mill Road, just north of the Washington Beltway. The accident occurred shortly after 8 a.m., police said, and they warned of backups in the area. The exit is the last before the Washington Beltway. The lanes that are closed are the two on the right side of the highway.