TOMORROW'S ROADS TODAY - Maryland State Highway ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

26 Baltimore city limits in new suburban developments. Traffic in new areas outside the cities was an unanticipated problem that increased highway congestion and accident rates. A final issue compounding the SRC’s traffic problems was Maryland’s common border with Washington, DC. The start of the Cold War with the threat of nuclear war required the SRC to improve the road system for better military readiness and possible civilian evacuations. When the Baltimore-Washington Parkway opened on October 23, 1954, The Baltimore Sun reported that travel times between Baltimore and Washington had been reduced to forty-five minutes compared to the over one-hour commute on US 1. 39 The ease and high speed of traveling between two distant places on a wide and stoplight-free highway became the hallmark of Maryland’s post-war highway system. During the Five Year Program, in addition to the construction of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the SRC also worked on a number of other state highways, widening them and building new bridges for the wider roads. With the large number of projects to complete, the agency used standardization for every aspect of road construction because it decreased the design and construction periods. One aspect of the standardization was in the SRC’s incorporation of the AASHO guidelines and standards for highway and bridge design into the SRC’s own published standards. The AASHO and SRC guidance did not specify a particular design, but provided information about how to design safe and adequate roads and bridges and a dependable product. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge In 1949, as construction of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway continued, the SRC also began building the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, including the US 50 approach roads outside of Annapolis and on the Eastern Shore towards Queenstown. In particular, the SRC confronted a poor crossing between Maryland’s Eastern and Western shores. In addition to the distance of four miles, the bridge crossed over the main shipping channel leading to the Baltimore port. Although delayed by World War II, the Section 10 permit that had been issued in 1940 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was still effective and work began in 1949. 40 The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is a multi-span structure with concrete beam approaches, Wichert and simple deck trusses and two types of cantilever trusses, which form a suspension bridge at the main crossing between the two towers. 41 Originally the bridge had a 24-foot roadway width with two 18 inch emergency footways. One lane of vehicles crossed the bridge in each direction. 42 When the first bridge was completed in 1952, it was notable as the largest suspension bridge in the world and for permanently connecting Maryland’s Eastern and Western shores. More importantly, it was the first toll facility constructed under Governor Lane’s Five- Year Program using money generated from the highway bonds. Unlike the Baltimore- Washington Expressway, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was planned as a revenue generating 39 The Baltimore Sun, “45 Minutes to Washington,” October 24, 1954, Maryland Department, Enoch Pratt Free Library Vertical Files. 40 Section 10 of the Harbors and Rivers Act of 1899 permits are issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers. 41 Also known as the William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge in honor of the Governor’s patronage 1947-1952. The Maryland Toll Authority (now Maryland Transportation Authority or MdTA) added three lanes to the crossing when the parallel span opened in 1972. 42 The Chesapeake Bay Bridge was widened by removing safety sidewalks and reducing the width of the shoulders.
27 project. The highway bonds sold slowly but steadily and by 1953, all $100,000,000 were expended or committed for specific projects In addition to the bridge, the SRC also constructed the approach roads on US 50 between Annapolis and Queenstown, along with a new bascule span bridge between Kent Island and the Eastern Shore mainland (Figure 7). Figure 7: US 50 Westbound of US 301 Northbound, Queen Anne’s County, MD (Source: SHA Photo Archive) Governor Lane was defeated in his reelection bid in 1950 because of the voters’ dissatisfaction with his increased sales taxes. However, under his Five Year Program, the SRC had constructed or reconstructed 757 miles of highway, and started the planning and construction of the expressway system and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge with its approach roads in Anne Arundel and Queen Anne’s counties. The SRC completed the Bay Bridge in 1952, and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway opened to traffic in 1954 between Baltimore and Washington, DC. Lane lost the 1950 election to Theodore R. McKeldin of Baltimore. Although the defeat meant an end to Lane’s Five Year Program, McKeldin understood Maryland’s need for highways, and would approve the construction of the Washington and Baltimore Beltways or Circumferential Highways, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, and the start of the interstate construction specifically associated with President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1956 program.
Page 1 and 2: "TOIORROW'S ROADS TODAY" EXPRESSWAY
Page 3 and 4: 3 SHA identified 286 highway bridge
Page 5 and 6: 5 Table of Figures Figure 1: US 40
Page 7 and 8: 7 Until 1941, Maryland did not have
Page 9 and 10: 9 plate metal girder bridges. The n
Page 11 and 12: 11 Epigraph “Tomorrow’s Roads T
Page 13 and 14: 13 after 1965. Those developments h
Page 15 and 16: 15 Figure 1: US 40 over the Patapsc
Page 17 and 18: 17 State Struggles The SRC also pro
Page 19 and 20: 19 As the SRC finalized the bridges
Page 21 and 22: 21 This central shore location was
Page 23 and 24: 23 William Preston Lane, Jr. and th
Page 25: 25 The BPR and National Park Servic
Page 29 and 30: 29 highways that connected county s
Page 31 and 32: 31 Figure 10: I-695 at Dulaney Vall
Page 33 and 34: 33 Figure 12: Atomic Energy Commiss
Page 35 and 36: 35 Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956
Page 37 and 38: 37 Maryland continued to apply for
Page 39 and 40: 39 SRC expanded the road to a four-
Page 41 and 42: 41 completion of the two interchang
Page 43 and 44: 43 Figure 17: Governor Elbert N. Ca
Page 45 and 46: 45 Each of these bridges provides u
Page 47 and 48: 47 Bibliography American Associatio
Page 49 and 50: 49 Maryland-National Capital Park a
Page 51 and 52: 51 ____________, Report of the Stat
Page 53 and 54: 53 Appendix A: Results of Field Inv
Page 55 and 56: 55 Steel Deck Truss - similar to St
Page 57 and 58: 57 Concrete Encased Steel Beam, SHA
Page 59 and 60: 59 or Bethlehem Steel types would b
Page 61 and 62: 61 Eligible Bridges The following b
Page 63 and 64: 63 to carry boats. Sometimes carrie
Page 65 and 66: 65 Bridge Condition Ratings - Throu
Page 67 and 68: 67 to the arch below. The first arc
Page 69 and 70: 69 Deck Bridge - A bridge in which
Page 71 and 72: 71 Embankment - Angled grading of t
Page 73 and 74: 73 Girder - A horizontal structure
Page 75 and 76: 75 Headwall - The device placed at
Page 77 and 78:
77 Lag - Crosspieces used to connec
Page 79 and 80:
79 Parapet - A low wall along the o
Page 81 and 82:
81 of multiple members of a truss.
Page 83 and 84:
83 Spandrel - The roughly triangula
Page 85 and 86:
85 Swing Bridge - A movable deck br
Page 87 and 88:
87 Unit Stress - The stress per uni
Page 89 and 90:
Appendix D: SHA Bridges Included in
Page 91 and 92:
91 Eligibility Description Bridge N
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
101 Eligibility Description Bridge
Page 103:
Appendix E: Resume Anne E. Bruder i
show all

TOMORROW'S ROADS TODAY - Maryland State Highway ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?