Home » Blogs Page

Ready For More Route 15 Headaches?

There is good news and some bad news.  The good news, one day Monocacy Boulevard will be finished and help drives get from one end of Frederick to the other.   The bad news, this week SHA is going to start putting the steel beams on the new bridge taking Monocacy Boulevard over Route 15.  That means delays, congestion, and lots of brake lights!  Are you ready for it.

Crews will close the highway for 10-minute intervals.

Frederick, Md. (KM)  Beginning this week, the Maryland State Highway Administration is expected to install steel beams for the new bridge taking Monocacy Boulevard over Route 15. Spokesman Dave Buck says that will mean the closure of the median at Route 15 and Biggs Ford Road.

Detours will be set up. “In order to reach Biggs Road if you’re on Route 15 southbound, you’ll turn on to Devilbiss Bridge Road and then you’ll turn on to Dublin Road and that will get you back to where you need to go,” he says. “And then if you’re northbound on Route 15, you’ll make a u-turn up at Sundays Lane and then go southbound on Route 15 and get there that way.”

SHA says the crews will be reconstruct the deceleration and acceleration lanes at that intersection.

Buck says laying the steel beams for the new bridge for the interchange at Monocacy Boulevard will require Route 15 be closed for ten-minute intervals. He says the work will be done between 11:00 PM and 4:00 AM. “Those beams will be swung into place with some huge cranes. So if you’re out there in that area, be alert in the overnight hours,” he says.

That work is expected to be finished within two to three weeks, Buck says.

SHA says the $59-million project is expected to be completed sometime next year.

By Kevin McManus

Kids Day At The Fair-Will This Be The Last One For Local Schools?

For those of us who went to Frederick County Public Schools, we remember the excitement of ‘Fair Day’.  A  day students would be off from school and be able to go to the fair and learn about our agricultural community while hanging out with friends.

It was a chance to see classmates who had been absent from school for the week because they were busy showing their animals and representing their 4-H groups with pride.

But-what happens to ‘Fair Day’ now the Gov. Larry Hogan has signed an executive order stating that all schools in Maryland start after Labor Day.  Some elected officials say this will give a boost to local economies while giving families more time to spend together.

Now school districts in Maryland are scrambling to figure out how to have students attend the mandatory 180 days of classes between Labor Day and June 15th while working in professional development days and holidays. There are also rumors circulating that ‘Fair Day’ may be removed from the Frederick County Public School calendar next year.

Some think ‘Fair Day’ should be eliminated, others disagree and believe its necessary for kids to learn the importance of agriculture in Frederick County.  How food actually gets to their dinner table.

I graduated from Middletown High School and always loved going to the Great Frederick Fair on ‘Fair Day’. I hope this in not the last year local school children will be able to have this day off from school to learn how important their local farmers are to the community.

Today Katie, Tom, Dave, and I will be out at the 154th Great Frederick Fair for Kids Day.  This is a day we all enjoy at the fair. Stop by and play corn hole with the WFRE crew.  You may win a t-shirt while making memories at the fair that will last a life time!

-Dianah Gibson

270 Commuters–What Would Help Your Ride?

For those that travel on 270 there may some help!  This interstate has been jammed for years. it’s called the ‘big-ugly’ for a good reason!

Organization Launched To Push For I-270 Congestion Relief

Germantown, Md (KM) A new organization has been formed to push for relief of the traffic congestion along Interstate 270. Fix270Now, launched on Monday at the Milestone Business Park in Germantown, consists of representatives from Frederick and Montgomery Counties who want I-270 fixed.

“We’re going to working with state and local officials to get moving on a pair of project studies that have been tied in basically gridlock, just like the traffic, for years,” says Richard Parson, the Vice Chairman of the Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance.

He says one study is the I-270/Rt. 15 Multi-Modal Study. It considered expanding Metro to Frederick, but that idea was dropped. “There wasn’t the transit alternative other than running express buses and new toll lanes, the only viable transit option to emerge,” says Parsons. “But that study also showed significant traffic relief if we move forward with express toll lanes like Virginia’s done. But that study was put hold in 2008.”

“And the idea is you can use the revenue from those toll collections and keep the existing lane free. But add new lanes that are going to be toll lanes that are going to pay for the construction of that new lane capacity. But also to pay for the running and acquisition of the bus rapid transit vehicle,” says Parsons.

The other study looked at the I-270 spur toward the Capitol Beltway, and recommended that additional lanes be added to that roadway.

Both studies call for widening I-270 which  Parsons says  has a lot of support. “There was poll done by Opinionworks throughout the DC Region, in Frederick County and Montgomery County in particular. And over 70% registered voters want to see I-270 widened,” he said.

The Fix270Now Coalition has picked Congressman John Delaney (D-Md) as its honorary chairman. “The terrible traffic conditions on I-270 are a daily dilemma and a nightly nightmare for Marylanders,” Delaney said in a statement. “The gridlock and endless congestion on I-270 is one of the biggest problems facing Maryland, impacting the quality of life and economic competitiveness of one our most critical job-creating regions. I’m proud to Chair the Fix270Now Coalition because we can’t wait any longer.  We can’t accept minor fixes. We need big transformative improvements to I-270.”

“There’s a great interest across this region now in looking at innovative ways to solve congestion,” says Parsons. “And we think it’s high time Maryland starting catching up with Virginia because they’re way ahead of us.”

By Kevin McManus

Go Fund Me Page Created For Family Whose Barn Was Destroyed By Fire

On Tuesday morning the Smith Family in Woodsboro lost their barn is a massive fire. Now family and loved ones are rallying around the family!

https://www.gofundme.com/2qkc7ca4

smith-barn-fire
Photo: Bob Miller

 

Early in the morning on September 20th, the Smith family of Woodsboro lost their barn and milking parlor due to a devastating fire. The Smith family owns and operates Dublin Hills Brown Swiss.

There will be many costs involved with helping the family until they are able to get another milking parlor up and running. Insurance deductibles will need to be met, feed purchased, etc… Thankfully, their beloved cows were spared. Another local farmer was so gracious and stepped up to take the cows in at his farm, where they can be milked and kept safe. The barn is still burning, as the family has not received the go ahead from their insurance company to demolish the ruined structure. There is wood and hay inside the barn that is continuing to rekindle.

Please donate if you are able. Frederick County is a strong farming community and we need to pull together to help this farm get back up and running.

-Dianah Gibson

Woodsboro Barn Fire Video

Here’s the video that I posted on facebook this morning. If you saw it on Channel 9 or 5–this is where it came from. Special thanks to Bob Miller from WFMD for the video and pics.

Powered By SoCast