Questions about the work can be directed to the State Highway Administration District 3 Office at 301-513-7300 or 1-800-749-0737. For a list of all major State Highway projects, go to its project portal or visit its homepage at roads.maryland.gov. To see real-time traffic conditions, go to md511.maryland.gov
All traffic currently stopped (9:00pm) on northbound I-270 after Exit 12, Watkins Mill Rd, due to a vehicle fire. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) and Montgomery County Police is currently on the scene. Featured photo and video below by Instagram user @lxl.d
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cq6rRlKgkAz/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center has provided an update on the mother who gave birth to her baby girl on southbound I-270 early Friday morning: “Alexa Almonte never expected her first daughter to arrive roadside, but baby Valentina had other ideas. Mom and baby are resting comfortably at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center after the exciting delivery Friday, April 7. Valentina was born along southbound I-270 in Germantown at about 2 a.m.
Valentina weighs 7 pounds, 15 ounces and measures 21 inches. Her name means “healthy and strong” says Alexa, who also has two sons. Alexa says the delivery was “very unexpected” and came just 30 minutes after experiencing signs that she might be in labor. She praised the outstanding nurses at Shady Grove Medical Center for the care and emotional support they are providing to her family after the experience. “It’s so important to have,” Alexa says.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a vehicle fire involving a “Chariots for Hire” charter/limo bus on the inner loop of I495, between River Rd. and the I270 spur on Tuesday morning around 11am. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, the fire has been extinguished and there were no passengers on board. No injuries have been reported. Some lanes are currently blocked and drivers should expect residual delays.
Per @mcfrsPIO on Twitter: “Traffic Advisory – IL I495 beltway north of River Road before Bradley Boulevard overpass, right side of road way is blocked, traffic gets by to the left, @mcfrs PE710, E752, PE726, T706, UT752, BC702, PIO on scene @MDSHA @MDSP @MCDOTNow”
I-270 was closed in both directions between Montrose Road and the I-270 split (Old Georgetown Rd/Democracy Blvd) due to a collision and police activity on Friday morning. According to Chief Spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services Pete Piringer, “units responded for a personal injury collision in the northbound lanes of 270 between the split and Montrose Rd. They came across an unattended vehicle… but it turns out the alleged driver of the vehicle disrobed, dropped all of his clothes in the middle of the road, and attempted to get into several vehicles… as truck 10 from Cabin John was heading southbound, the man jumped onto the truck and was attempting to get into the moving vehicle. They slowed down so the man would have to hold on. The doors were locked ”
It appeares as though the person was suffering from “excited delirium” and has been secured and transported to the hospital for evaluation. All lanes have reopened.
Transurban has announced that Accelerate Maryland Partners (AM Partners) has decided not to proceed with the Maryland Express Lanes Project and as a result has today submitted a notice to terminate to the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) in regard to the preferred developer agreement. Additional information below, per the Transurban press release:
AM Partners was originally selected in February 2021 as Maryland’s preferred developer for Phase 1 of the project. Since that time, extensive work has been undertaken on the project and draft concession agreement in partnership with MDOT. However, the project continues to face challenges including significant delays to environmental approvals, changing political landscape and environmental lawsuits that remain unresolved. Following extensive good faith negotiations by AM Partners, agreement with MDOT on the form of the concession agreement has not been reached and a committed section proposal will not be submitted by the deadline of 21 March 2023.
More – SB I270 Spur IAO Fernwood Rd, prior to Democracy Blvd, collision, some lanes blocked pic.twitter.com/NKpT4JAULN
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) January 11, 2023
Per WMATA: Metro Transit Police Officers have a new tool to protect customers and save lives. All active duty MTPD officers and Metro’s crisis intervention specialists will be equipped with naloxone (commonly known as Narcan) to prevent deaths by opioid overdose.
The addition of naloxone as a life-saving resource comes as a result of increased calls to MTPD reporting suspected overdoses, from 27 incidents in 2021 to 43 incidents in 2022. MTPD officers are often first to respond to reports of sick customers possibly experiencing an overdose, and naloxone can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose in the critical minutes before paramedics arrive. An MTPD officer administered life-saving naloxone to revive an unresponsive person suspected of experiencing an opioid overdose on the first day they were equipped with the drug.
A Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) bridge rehabilitation project is bringing Safe Zones Automated Speed Enforcement (“speed cameras”) back to the Beltway. This project involves the rehabilitation of the bridge carrying I-95 above the Outer Loop of the Beltway (I-495 West) within the I-495/I-95 interchange in College Park. Contractor crews will be repairing the bridge’s deck joints as well as its concrete piers and columns.
The Automated Speed Enforcement is focused on traffic on the Outer Loop of the Beltway, just past the split with I-95 North, headed towards New Hampshire Avenue and into Montgomery County. In a written statement, the State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) highlighted the different phases of this Automated Speed Enforcement effort:
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue responded to two separate collisions in between Connecticut Avenue and Rockville Pike/NB I270 on Thursday morning around 8am. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, the first collision involved multiple vehicles, including one vehicle that hit the median/jersey wall/divider.
The second collision on the OL I495, prior to exit/split to NB I270, involved an overturned vehicle. One adult is is being transported by EMS with Priority 2 trauma. Some lanes are currently blocked prior to exit 34 and drivers should expect delays. We will post an update when additional information becomes available.
A change.org petition has been started to remove the bike lanes that were recently added to Old Georgetown Road (MD187) in North Bethesda. MDOT converted one travel lane in each direction of the road, between south of I-495 and north of Nicholson Lane, to a buffered bicycle lane that include flex posts and green pavement. The remaining 11-foot travel lanes have also been narrowed to 10.5 and 10 feet.
According to the petition, “There are serious safety concerns regarding the new bike lanes on Old Georgetown Road (Maryland State Route 187) in Bethesda, MD. This heavily-trafficked 6-lane major highway has been reduced by 39% by removing 2 driving lanes and by reducing the width of the 4 remaining driving lanes. This ill-advised change was made in order to add 2 bike lanes with white plastic spikes separating the bike lanes from the driving lanes. This busy highway serves schools, the National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins University, Suburban Hospital, and the Bethesda Fire Station. It is often used by emergency vehicles such as ambulances, fire engines, and police cars. Reduced by 39% in driving capacity, the road now is consistently congested, with back-to-back traffic even in the middle of the day in good weather. This non-stop traffic has resulted in cars trying to avoid the gridlock by cutting through quiet residential side streets where children play. Ambulances, fire trucks, police vehicles, buses, and drivers in their personal cars can no longer quickly reach their destinations, potentially endangering many lives.”