ROAD CONSTRUCTION, DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE

Road Design
    We suggest the State and County Highway Administration study newly widened as well as existing roads and correct any dangerous conditions created by landowners placing objects too close to the roadway. (For example: steel objects, reflectors, ornamental fences, or trees). ’07

    We recommend that the State and County Highway Administrations consult the Maryland Department of Agriculture when designing islands or the placement of road signs and mailboxes so that they do not prohibit or make difficult the passage of farm machinery. (For example, signs or mailboxes should not be placed directly opposite each other on both sides of the road. Staggering signs and mailboxes on either side of a roadway provides more room for the passage of very large equipment.) We suggest that batteries of mailboxes be used where possible and placed off of the main road in new developments.

    We urge the State Highway Administration to improve access for farm equipment at the signalized intersections on Maryland highways. ’06

    We urge the Department of Transportation to review the use of traffic circles on state highways to identify problems involved with moving farm equipment around the circles and through the intersection and to establish guidelines to solve the problems. '02

    We believe that land involved in highway interchanges should be properly designed and landscaped so that it is free of sight obstructions, attractive and easily maintained. We encourage the state to plant buffers on state property, including state highways on/off ramps and median strips and maintain them following the same requirements placed on CREP areas. ’05

    No curbing should be placed on rural roads with less than 13 feet from the centerline to the curb.’07

Road Construction
    An efficient highway system is of extreme importance to the economy of the state. We urge that a highway system, including adequate bridges, be built and maintained, to provide for the movement of goods and produce throughout the state. However, due to the high cost of highway construction, we recommend, where feasible, that existing roads and bridges be upgraded and improved instead of building new roads along different routes.’07

    We encourage the State Highway Administration to install painted islands rather than concrete islands at intersections wherever feasible. ’07

    We urge that revenues from the highway fuel taxes be used for highway construction and maintenance only. '03
’05 We believe that the state's share of the overall operation and maintenance cost of the mass transit systems should be limited to 25%, with 75% coming from the users and the local jurisdiction served by the system.

    We urge the counties and state to enforce the law requiring anyone working along our roads to provide safety devices and personnel to insure safe travel, as does the State Highway Department. ’07

    State and County personnel should cut or prune bushes along the roadsides, if necessary, so that large equipment can move to the side to allow traffic to pass. '98

    We encourage the State Highway Administration to proceed with urgently needed road construction projects. '99

    We recommend that the State Highway Administration begin construction on a project within five (5) years after they acquire the land. Furthermore, we believe the owner of the land acquired should have the opportunity to use the land until the construction of the project has been initiated.

    We are opposed to an increase in the State Fuel Tax. ’06

Road Maintenance
    The increasing hazard of tree limbs hanging in the roadway or on the edge makes it difficult to transport wide farm machinery. We recommend that trees and limbs be cut back a minimum of five (5) feet from the road edge and to a height of 16 feet on the shoulder, with reflective material placed on guide wires and poles that are surrounded or at the very edge of the pavement.’05

    We strongly urge the State Highway Administration to reinstate its policy of mowing the roadside rights-of-way and medians to ensure public safety and to enhance scenic views. ’05

    The government should increase the level of maintenance to insure safe passage of vehicles. '04

    We urge the state and local government and utility companies to undertake a public education program to teach citizens that trees do not live forever and there is a need to inspect, harvest and remove older, hazardous and diseased trees. '04

    We recommend that the State Highway Administration send advance notification to adjacent landowners whenever plantings are scheduled along the SHA right-of-way. ’05