November 11, 2006 by webmaster.

I managed to go out for a bit of a drive today, and ended up on MD 404 outside of Denton. The dualization project is really moving along. Right now… traffic has been shifted over to the new eastbound lanes while they reconstruct the original roadway, and prepare the approaches of the new Watts Creek bridge.

Speaking of dualization, the 4-laning of the US 113/Snow Hill bypass is nearing completion. I saw workers installing guard rails and preparing the median for the standard Worcester County double-sided guardrail that is featured throughout US 113 and MD 90. They also have footings poured and prepared for signals at the major intersections. It will probably be complete by the beginning of next month.

If you happen to be on Delmarva and are looking to take a nice ride… I’d highly recommend the MD 12 corridor south-east of Snow Hill. It’s a very scenic drive, going through the towns of Stockton and Girdletree (yes… you read that right… Girdletree). Also… if you’re a highway historian like me… you’ll notice a lot of original 20s and 30s era single slab concrete lining the route. Take it all the way into VA, then head to Chincoteague and check out the historic drawbridge there before they tear it down.

And… finally… CLEARVIEW! has made an appearance on Delmarva. A single CLEARVIEW! sign has been posted on US 13 northbound just prior to the MD/VA state line, directing motorists to the MD welcome center. It even features CLEARVIEW! numbers. Strange though… it’s in all capital letters. Too bad I didn’t have my camera… it would have been the first CLEARVIEW! sign I’d have posted on the site… even with my abundance of PA pics.

As always… comments about the website are welcome. Thanks for visiting.

- Corey Dukes
Webmaster
Delmarva Highways

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November 3, 2006 by webmaster.

On a recent jaunt through Salisbury on BUS US 50, I happened to drive the newly paved section through downtown. Apparently, like all recent resurfacing projects in the area, it was done by an outsourced outside contractor. And… apparently both this outside contractor and the MD-SHA lack any kind of quality control, based on what the job looked like after completion.

First of all, instead of painting the white lane dividing lines, “they” (being either SHA or the contractor) decided to use a new sort of reflective tape. It’s been used on other area projects, such as BUS US 13 in Salisbury and MD 528 in Ocean City with good results.

However, in this case, the person responsible for striping the new layer of asphalt was either visually impaired or wearing some sort of blindfold. The lines themselves were applied in such a way that most of them aren’t straight lines… instead being more “S” shaped. Also… they weren’t laid down along any sort of guide line in the pavement, so that traffic tends to weave around in order to stay between the lines like everyone has been enjoying adult beverages at happy hour.

Before outsourcing such projects to outside contractors, SHA did a fantastic job with highway maintenance. I can say from personal experience that a section of MD 14 that I drive on a semi-daily basis was last resurfaced around 1983, and the condition of the roadway is almost mint condition.

However… if SHA is going to continue to outsource resurfacing jobs to these outside contractors… someone (either SHA or MDOT) needs to check up on them to make sure they are going to do a respectable job.

Just my 2 cents.

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January 24, 2006 by webmaster.

First of all… welcome to the new Delmarva Highways blog!

I’ll be posting information about updates and other information relating to the website here. Also… should you wish to comment… you can do so here… and I’ll do my best to get back to you.

Thanks for checking out the site… and look for more updates soon!

— Corey Dukes
Webmaster
Delmarva Highways

Posted in News and Commentary | Print | 1 Comment »