Maryland

The board of directors of Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) operator of the I-95 Kennedy Highway Toll Road has approved signing of a 35 year concession on its two service plazas. The selected concessionaire Areas USA is a local subsidiary of a large established international company Grupo Areas SA head-officed in Barcelona Spain with major food concessions in 70 airports and 160 other toll and travel service plazas mostly in Europe and Latin America.

It was London weather, fog, drizzle, persistent light rain, a day without the sun, Tuesday Nov 22, but Marylanders in Montgomery Co, the state's most populous county immediately north of the District of Colombia, celebrated.

Melinda Peters who over six years as Project Director has overseen first the planning, then design and construction of America's latest toll road - the 18 mile $2.5 billion Inter County Connector - has been promoted to head the Maryland State Highway Administration.

Harold Bartlett executive secretary of MDTA, Maryland's toll authority tells us he's excited about what they and the State Highway Administration have achieved and feels entitled to "blow our trumpet a bit" to tell the world.

Design errors have caused cracking in 13 pier caps on three overbridges of Maryland's new Inter County Connector (ICC) tollroad. Maryland State Highway Administration's project director for the ICC Melinda Peters is saying the design team companies Parsons Transportation Group and Jacobs Engineering have accepted responsibility, acknowledging mistakes in their work - specifications for the steel rebar - led to the problem.

Similar roads can vary enormously in cost. A striking example is Maryland's Inter County Connector (MDICC) and Texas' 121 Sam Rayburn Tollway (TX121SRT). They have a lot in common. They are both 3+3 mainline lanes, they are roughly comparable length (18.8 miles vs 26 miles, 30km vs 42km).

Neil Pedersen, 59, head of the Maryland State Highway Administration for nearly nine years is retiring from government. He is a much liked and admired figure for his ability to advance difficult highway projects.

Chairman of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) and state secretary of transportation Beverley Swaim-Staley says that the state toll authority needs to increase its revenues on its present $305m/year by $80m to $90m a year next year and by a total of at least $200m to $500m/yr in 2013. The Baltimore Sun carried a report yesterday of the proposed toll increases which are the largest in years, but come after a long period of frozen toll rates.

Harry Blauvelt, a wellknown sports reporter died last Monday around 10:30am on Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Bridge (CBB). He was traveling in a single eastbound lane on the older southern 2-lane span, the second lane being closed for maintenance. Blauvelt's car broke down and he stopped in the roadway - there is no shoulder. He got out of his car, which moments later was hit by a following flatbed truck driven by 63-year old Enos Sage.

Settlement of a longrunning dispute over the value of land needed at the eastern end of Maryland's Intercounty Connector (ICC) will allow the State Highway Administration to accelerate completion of the $2.57b, 18.8 mile, 30.2km tollroad. A spokesman told us they are working up a request for proposals (RFP) for the final work, known as Contracts D and E to be advertised in May.