Regional Inspection Stations Enhance Commercial Vehicle Safety on Maryland Highways

 

(September 15, 2009) – Earlier this month, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) started a $1.35 million project to improve 11 truck weigh/inspection stations throughout the State.  Weather permitting, the project will be complete 2012. 

 

At these stations, SHA is repairing aging concrete, resurfacing station approaches and replacing curb and gutter.  During construction, crews will temporarily close the weigh/inspection stations.  SHA will coordinate each closure with the Maryland State Police’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division.  Although the work will be completed off of the roadway, SHA will place signs to advise truckers when the stations are temporarily closed.  SHA began the project in Frederick County at the eastbound I-70 weigh/inspection station in New Market. 

 

The State’s 19 weigh/inspection facilities are designed to enforce safety requirements related to commercial vehicle operation.  Police officers at the stations typically check size, weight, cargo, condition of equipment as well as driver qualifications, hours of service and licensing.  The Maryland State Police and Maryland Transportation Authority Police conduct inspections every year and undertook more than 107,000 in 2008.     

 

"Maryland's commercial vehicle weigh and inspection stations provide vital facilities for state troopers and allied law enforcement officers to ensure laws and regulations relating to trucks and buses are being complied with," said Colonel Terrence B. Sheridan, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police said.  "Working with the State Highway Administration and the trucking industry, the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division daily makes traffic safety a priority through their efforts to increase commercial vehicle safety on our roads."  

 

SHA is improving the following 11 stations:

This project is made possible through Governor Martin O’Malley’s aggressive management of the requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, bringing critically needed transportation investments to Maryland.  Projects such as these are stimulating Maryland’s economy by supporting hundreds of jobs.  Follow the delivery of these projects at www.recovery.maryland.gov, which tracks every category of ARRA spending and provides contract-level details to the public in an effort to achieve new levels of government transparency and efficiency.  Evidence of the positive impact the federal stimulus funding is having is profoundly embedded in this project.  SHA awarded the contract to Ardent Company, LLC.

 

“This project will keep our employees working and on the job for up to two years,” said Arash Hooshangi, P.E., of Ardent Company LLC.   “The project will help us continue with our work until the market improves.”

 

When workers are on the road, THINK ORANGE, which is the color of construction signs, barrels and warning devices. Please slow down, stay alert and expect the unexpected. Choose safety for life and to make work zone safety your business at www.choosesafetyforlife.com
 
Anyone with questions about weigh station closures across the State can call SHA’s District 7 Construction Office at 301-624-8200 or toll free at 1-800-635-5119. 

 

# # #