AGWG Civic Association

 Traffic & Roads

Updates on issues related to traffic and roads will be posted as they become available. To stay abreast of the latest developments related to the Intercounty Connector, subscribe to the AGWG Announcements. AGWG will continue to distribute bulletins from the county and other sources during the implementation phase through the association's email distribution list. To subscribe to our email list, go to the subscription page, type a few entries, and hit the Submit button.

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MD Route 28/198 Expansion Project Open House

For those of you who were unable to attend the open house on November 18, 2008, the AGWG offers the following summary of the event. On display were several options related to the widening of these state routes between Georgia and Route 29. One option was to make some landscaping and cosmetic changes such as adding a medium, but not expand the road. The second option is to expand these routes to four lanes as is now the case on Route 28 between Layhill and New Hampshire.

The recommendations presented at the open house were the result of a task force formed in 2001 and supposedly last met in 2004. The SHA representatives were informed of the AGWG's interest in participating in any further activities related to this project. The project has not been funded and public hearings have not been scheduled. The earliest any action could be taken to begin construction would be between 2011 and 2013. Again, this is assuming that funding is available, which is very unlikely unless the ICC was modified due to the lack of funding, especially Section B that goes through our community.

In response to questions as to why this expansion is needed along with the ICC, SHA officials responded that their analyses, which are quite old, show that the ICC would not be sufficient for the traffic volume by 2030. At the same time, the SHA also emphasized that revisiting this project had nothing to do with the completion of the ICC.

The plans on display, specific to our area, did show Norbeck road being expanded to four lanes between Georgia and Layhill. There would also be a service road parallel to the main road and on the South side perpendicular to Drury. The service road would begin just west of Drury and continue to Woods Center. This service road would assist residents in entering or exiting traffic between Drury and Norbeck.

The drawing indicated additional land would be needed for this expansion and the service road. The SHA representative could not provide any specifics on how much additional land would be needed because the plans are only preliminary. In talking with a few other AGWG board members, it appeared that between 30 to100ft of additional footage would be needed along the South side of Norbeck. But again, there were no specifics available. The SHA said that these plans would be available to view on the internet after the first of the year.

Based on the preliminary stages of the project, it is difficult to reach any conclusion regarding its revival until we could determine its true purpose and source of funding. This project is also currently seen as low priority by the County Council is not even noted on the County Council's annual wish list sent to the state for transportation projects.

MD Route 28/198 Expansion As ICC Alternative?

On November 18th at Blake High School, the State Highway Administration (SHA) will discuss the resurrection of a task force to study the widening of Route 28 and 198 to address traffic congestion. This project is considered mutually exclusive of the ICC, and this is the response one will hear from the SHA. Why would the state consider widening these routes, which would serve the same purpose of the ICC, providing a county East-West route? Unofficially, the state is faced with a critical shortage of funds and as a result state highway projects have been delayed for the foreseeable future. Financing Section A of the ICC is supported by anticipated tolls, but financing for the other two sections, especially section B may be beyond state's capability during this global economic crisis. In theory, it would be possible to complete Section A of the ICC, but abandon the construction of the middle and eastern segments in favor of expanding MD 28/198. In addition to monies saved by the state, funding would likely be available to address the Georgia/Randolph and Georgia/Norbeck intersections. The business community would also have a direct route connecting I-270 to I- 95.

Leggett Responds to Manno

State Delegate Roger Manno received a response from County Executive Ike Leggett, addressing current and future traffic volume issues in the community.maintenance schedule. For details on our request for "Residential Traffic Only" signs, speed bumps on Tierra Drive and Drury Road, and a speed monitor on Tierra, see Traffic Tales: Leggett Responds to Manno in the Fall 2007 Newsletter.

Road Resurfacing Completed in 2007

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Board, AGWG successfully navigated the county bureaucracy in 2007 to achieve resurfacing of most of the roads within AGWG boundaries.

The process used, known as micro-chipping, is now standard treatment for residential streets that are not major thoroughfares. It is an improvement over the slurry that was applied some years ago, but not equal to the traditional repaving process. Mr. Hawkes, Chief of Operations in the County's Department of Public Works, responded to the association's inquiry about Willson Hills, explaining those streets had slurry applied within the last five years. As a result, they are not scheduled for repaving in the immediate future, in accordance to the County's adopted road maintenance schedule.

County Exec Leggett Confirms Roads Will Be Paved [February 2007]

In a letter dated Feb. 14, County Executive Ike Leggett responded to an inquiry from AGWG Civic Association President Joel Mazelis about the sorry condition of roads in the AGWG area. Leggett acknowledged the county’s intent to take care of this problem. Here, word for word, is the text of Leggett’s letter to Mazelis:

The AGWG wishes to thank the efforts of Jim Wilkerson in bringing this matter to the county’s attention and assisting the AGWG Board of Directors.

Association Continues Fight to Have Roads Fixed [January 2007]

Traffic Issues at the Layhill/Baughman Intersection

Don MacIntyre. October 4, 2006

We will not forget the sight: a dump truck resting on the soccer field on its side, its large wheels facing Layhill Road at Baughman Drive. Although we did not witness this accident, we believe, based on the history of difficulties at this intersection, the truck's resting place resulted from a near rear end collision of a vehicle stopped waiting to turn left onto Baughman Drive. Speed and the lack of a right shoulder were contributing factors to this accident.

What followed our observation that day has been a series of letters to State and County officials seeking safety improvements at this intersection. We gave a copy to AGWG, our Civic Association, for we wanted its support.

After more than a year of letters writing, we finally got results on August 29, 2006. A 30-minute roadside meeting took place at the intersection. Attending this meeting were representatives of the State Highway Administration (SHA) including Jeffrey Wentz, Assistant District Engineer for Traffic (Montgomery County), one of his assistants, Joe Giacalone and Roger Manno, AWGW Board Members, and my wife carol and me.

During our letter writing campaign, we had written Council President George Leventhal. He responded to us in a letter dated January 26, 2006. The final paragraph of his letter stated that he was sending a copy of his letter to SHA’s District Engineer asking SHA to evaluate and address the current safety of MD 182 at the Baughman Drive intersection and at the bridge south of it.

At our roadside meeting, we showed Mr. Wentz the January 6th letter we received from Council President Leventhal. To our surprise, the State’s Montgomery County traffic engineer said he had never before seen this letter. He has the letter now! But nonetheless, my wife Carol and I plus the AGWG delegation, had a meaningful discussion of traffic safety issues, including issues at Park Vista Drive, with the two SHA representatives. Mr. Wentz promised to study the issues presented and observed, and to follow-up with us as his point of contact. Carol and I will continue to keep our Civic Association informed.

In the meantime, here are a few safety suggestions:

* Watch out for the drop-off on the eastside shoulder of Layhill Road at Park Vista Drive. We have asked the State to add gravel to the erosion plagued gully there. According to Mr. Willson, a County police vehicle became stuck with its drive wheel off the payment due to the gully’s condition. He has pictures of this incident.

* Signal a left-turn on to Baughman and slow your vehicle as soon as you pass Park Vista Drive. Remember the posted speed limit is 40 MPH, but most vehicles are exceeding this speed, and at Baughman, unlike at Park Vista, there is no paved or unpaved right shoulder for right-side passing.

* When approaching Layhill Road from Baughman Drive, watch for vehicles turning left onto Baughman, for many vehicles make a 45-degree, rather than a 90-degree, turn.

* Contact members of the Montgomery County Council, and the County Executive, seeking their support in improving the safety of this intersection. Copy the AGWG (Admin@agwgcivicassociation.org) with your correspondence.

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