Drivers Should Use Caution and Allow Extra Travel Time; Crews Continue Pushing Back Shoulders, Ramps and Turn Lanes

(December 21, 2009) –State Highway Administration (SHA) crews continue the process of pushing back snow from shoulders, ramps, turn lanes and some secondary roads as clean up continues from this weekend’s massive snowstorm. Crews are removing snow using front end loaders along interstate shoulders, ramps and areas between mainline highways and ramps.

Motorists should be aware that crews may temporarily close or restrict lanes to allow front-end loaders to pick up snow, place it into a dump truck and transport the snow to nearby State Highway facilities. This process - while tedious - is crucial following major snowstorms to fully open shoulders, ramps and transition areas.

SHA owns and maintains all non-toll roads in Maryland except those in Baltimore City. Examples of State routes include MD 45 (York Road) in Baltimore County, MD 202 (Landover Road) in Prince George’s County, MD 589 (Coastal Highway) in Ocean City and I-68 in Western Maryland. If the route does not have a State number it is owned, maintained and plowed by a local jurisdiction or municipality. Toll roads (I-95, the Bay Bridge, Fort McHenry Tunnel) are owned and maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA). To call about a particular non-State road, see the list of local road agency numbers.

“SHA crews and contractors have worked nearly non-stop since late Friday night and everyone involved with fighting this storm deserves a huge pat on the back,” said SHA Administrator Neil J. Pedersen. “Our monumental clean up efforts will continue until all lanes are completely open. I am proud of all of the hard work to fight this record-breaking snowstorm.”

Crews will remain out Monday and Tuesday, continuing clean up efforts and preparing for possible freezing road surfaces overnight. Motorists need to be extremely cautious, as black ice is a major concern as temperatures fall into the 20’s.

Citizens can monitor road conditions by logging on to www.roads.maryland.gov and clicking on “CHART,” which stands for the Coordinated Highway Action Response Team. The CHART website, which received a record 1.6 million hits over the weekend, offers a treasure trove of travel information, snow emergency plans, real-time traffic camera views, weather information, average travel speed maps and incident-related road closure reports. ###