Almost everyone in Kent County has noticed increased commercial traffic on Route 213, our major north-south artery. While the Maryland State Highway Authority continues to work with communities to promote safety, we all face the dangerous possibility of Congressionally approved “super-trucks” on our roadways. These vehicles, longer and weighing up to 91,000 pounds, take much longer to stop and impose a real burden on our aging roads and bridges.
Amendments attached to H.R. 8870, the Build America 250 Act, would tell Americans that much-needed funds to improve our infrastructure are contingent on allowing these heavier trucks. I urge readers to do their own research and then contact our Member of Congress and our Senators to pass a “clean” bill without amendments that permit these “super-trucks.”
Sheila Austrian
Ward One Member
Town of Chestertown
6 Responses
As I understand Maryland State Highway bridge regulations, the weight limit is 80,000 pounds, unless a special permit is issued. If indeed trucks up to 91,000 pounds are crossing our bridge, this needs to be investigated.
“The Chester River Bridge on Maryland Route 213 in Chestertown does not have a special reduced weight restriction and is rated to carry standard legal state weight limits.Weight Limits and RegulationsStandard Legal Limit: The maximum gross vehicle weight allowed without a special permit is 80,000 pounds, conforming to standard Maryland and federal bridge regulations.”
Highways and bridges weight limits can also be reevaluated and changed based upon safety concerns.
The Cause of this issue is when the state lost the Key Bridge on 3-26-24,, Since then, our Gov Moore has dragged his feet and delayed the work so long!! If you think it is bad on 213, take a look at Rt 50, which is their destination to continue their trek to the South and Southeast destinations.. If Moore would have stayed out of the issue and let the Feds rebuild the bridge, the Corp of Eng. probably would have it built by now !! HR 8870 was to upgrade and prevent Key Brfidge disasters !!
Somebody also needs to tell Moore that “Dynamic Pricing” is “supply and demand” the bedrock of capitolism and free competion.. Dynamic is NOT used in socialist or Communist societies, the government sets the prices, which failed in NYC !!
If you don’t like what is happening today, befiore to VOTE.. The Midterms should decide if we return to a Republic, or we have a civil war again!!
This may be the most ludicrous thing I’ve read in recent days. The writer clearly has no concept of engineering requirements, deconstruction and site preparation; or for that matter the RFP (request for proposal), bidding and award, or manufacturing procurement, build out and delivery process that is required to build a bridge. After all, didn’t his hero figure out who to “fire” in just a few minutes on a TV show?
As to his comparisons of capitalism vs dynamic pricing, it too is as flawed as his spelling. Dynamic pricing is no different than war profiteering or stores who jack up prices on goods prior to or after hurricanes, blizzards or natural disasters. While it is clear that Mr. Kirchner will clap his hands in glee at others; seniors, the marginalized among us and others who would be affected, I am confident that everyone in the store would hear his screams if it happened to him. The travesty and injustice would rise to nuclear proportions and demands to have the offending store shut down and manager arrested and shot.
Thanks for the heads up, Sheila.
Normally I would not want to carry on on an issue, but sometimes there are some who may have been steered into a fantasy world on the pit of the internet.. First of all, I am a “senior” at 80 years old and still going strong in a successful business. As for the bridges, Mr Caputo’s comments perfectly describe the mechanics of bureaucratic disasters. I call it making a camel out of a horse, in a committee! I have in my lidfetime seen many bridges and overpasses in many parts of the U.S. get wiped out by floods and storms and quickly replaced or a temporary parallel provided. As the emergency may demand, “FIX IT” ! We have the people who can, provided a politician does not get into the matter for personal political gains. This happens too often today with RINOs arguing with DINOs. Americans are fed up with the profound mismanagement if the infrastructure, such as the major issues of the senseless “Solar Panel Fields” and obsolete left over communication technologies, such as Fiber and Microwave. Fortunately there is an effort to abandon Radar for GPS, and now (all of a sudden?) somebody important wised up to the perils of Automated Intelligence! Too much today is all about the MONEY! not the people’s desires and needs. As for spelling, I guess The C-Town spy can’t use a “spell check” to help us who may not be experts at typing and chewing gun at the same time. I go back to pounding on an NYPD open frame Smith Corona typewriter, that the ribbon cannot be replaced until it has holes in it. (budgetary restraints). Old dogs don’t learn new tricks well. As for the comment on Dynamic Pricing. I agree that “Price Gouging” should be enforced as a crime, but the government makes more with sales taxes! Dynamic pricing is supply and demand, and I remember an addage I learned, (overheard at a fruit and vegetable market); “Your vegetables look very good! but I will come back tomorrow when the price will be LOWER”, this is the greatest advantage of supply and demand of perishables. If the price is too hig, DON’T BUY IT! Another successful business adage I have learned long ago is: “If the price is too high, we will take less” . Customer satisfaction is primary, NOT the MONEY. Sometime you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you. This is American FREEDOM, but it does not exist in socialist or communist societies. Those against this need to be boarded onto a rocket ship and sent to our orphaned planet URANUS, and they can populate their own society. They can bring their solar panels with them, but the lithium batteries will work very well in the cold temperatures !! :oD
We all have to wait for the outcome of the Midterms, either we will remain a republic, or we will face another civil war ? America need the stop and think about their desires and talk to the canidates personally, to get the TRUTH, not what you hear over biased networks of news and social media. The pied piper led the children to jump into the river, but the piper never jumped in !! Everyone need to get out and VOTE in PERSON, don’t trust a mail in, they seem to be prone to being lost in storms and other exceuses. Remember, the poles will alwasys remain OPEN should there still be a line to vote. This is AMERICA. As said by some previous American leaders: Many need to leave their heritage at the door, and join the ways of America so they can really enjoy what they really came for. All of the American cities celebrate the various cultures in various neighborhoods and locations at various times.. I don’t know who changed the dress code for the U.S.Congress ? A famous battle hymn of WWII was “WE DID IT BEFORE AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN”. My confidence is with my country. And in America you can flush this comment down the toilet if you desire to. But then Thank GOD you have the right to do so. If there are any typos, blame them on the SPY.. At l;east AI knows how to spell :oD
Humph, the trucks that pass thru C’town are for local delivery, not super trucks traveling from Galena to get to the Rte 301/Rte213 interchange in Centerville
I did a little analysis looking at traveling from the traffic light in Galena to the Rte213/Rte 301 interchange in Centreville two ways, and it may surprise a lot of people, using a Microsoft MapPoint Software program I have;
#1 – via Rte 213 south all the way down, thru Kennedyville, C’town, Church Hill, Centreville to the Rte213/Rte 301interchange, and
#2 – via Galena Rd/Rte313, out to Rte 301, south on Rte 301 directly down to the Rte213/Rte301 interchange.
Via #1, it is a 35 mile distance, and would take approx. 50 minutes, maybe longer pending stop&go at traffic lights.
Via #2, it is a 30 mile distance, and would take approx. 35 minutes, no traffic lights.
It’s not like commercial truckers are trying to by-pass tolls, cause there aren’t any.
Given fuel usage, and time to travel, I seriously doubt commercial truckers are traveling down Rte 213 thru C’town from Galena to get to Rte 301.
The trucks I see are: Ace Hardware; Acme; Advanced Auto; AutoZone; Bramble; Coke; Dixon; Dunkin Donuts; Gillespie; NAPA; Pepsi; Redner’s; Sherwin Williams; Tractor Supply; restaurant supply delivery trucks, like SYSCO & US Food; Coraluzzo gas/diesel fuel delivery trucks to all the gas stations; beer delivery trucks like Kelly; propane delivery; poultry grain/feed delivery trucks; live-haul poultry trucks; UPS, Fed Ex, R&L delivery trucks; just to name a few, haulin’ stuff into and out of the entirety of Kent County.