Another day, another accident on I-70

Letters to Drivers

Dear Truck Driver, Man it must suck to have your rig separate from your load like that, and kudos for turning your hazard lights on. Might want to consider wearing a reflective jacket though. It was tough to see you but we were all driving slowly enough to avoid you. Dear Driver of Red Pick-up Truck with 4 tires in the back, Dude, if you can't drive faster than 35 mph on the interstate you gotta at least use your hazards. I mean REALLY, I don't get why you were driving that slowly... the tires were below your line-of-sight out the rearview mirror. Those tires can't possibly be so heavy to slow down your awesome pick-up truck that much. So dude get off the road and get on the shoulder, or stay off the interstate if you can't go any faster.

Road Work Update

The road work along Ijamsville Road from near Ball Road to Prices Distillery is expected to go through about June 2013, according to the project manager. I've driven on the new road from MD-80 to Ball Road... it's really nice.

CSX Railroad crossing work near Mussetter/Ijamsville Road intersection has closed off the commuter route recently. Word is that such projects take about a week. They should be motivated to finish things up given the upcoming rain and wind potential by Sunday night into Monday and Tuesday (from Sandy). I'll go check out the status later this afternoon. UPDATE- This project was finished Friday Oct 26! YES!

First Main Snow of the 2010-11 Season

I know we had light dusting the other day, but this was our first real measurable event. 1.75 inches trumps 0.25-0.50 inch every time. The commute home wasn't even all that bad. Chalk it up to the fine salt crews.

Just What We Need...

So, it looks like it is time for another
traffic law enforcement initiative ... so watch your speed out there boys & girls.

Speed Control on Mussetter?

Alcohol may be involved, but could it have been road rage? Based on what I've seen firsthand, those who understand the recent history of this segment of road are going the speed limit. The ones who don't get it tailgate, and get fed up with going 35 when they're used to going 50.

Relaying from the FNP:
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyID=96132

Crash injures three

Monrovia -- Alcohol is suspected in a head-on collision about 5:30 p.m. Sunday in the 5200 block of Mussetter Road, according to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office.

Three men were taken to different hospitals to be treated for injuries, although none were considered life-threatening, Cpl. Mike Easterday said.

Witnesses told deputies the collision occurred as a 2000 Ford Mustang was headed north at high speed on Mussetter Road, tried to pass on a curve at a hillcrest and crossed a double yellow line, Easterday said.

The Mustang collided with a southbound 2003 Dodge Caravan head-on, deputies said.

Deputy First Class Ben Whitehouse is investigating the crash; no charges have been filed, Easterday said.

Chance C. Siros, 25, of Ijamsville, the driver of the Mustang, and his passenger, Sean M. Donahoe, 30, of Kannapolis, N.C., had to be cut out of the car, authorities said.

Siros was flown by helicopter to R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma in Baltimore. Donahoe went by ambulance to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda.

Hospital authorities could not be reached Monday for condition reports.

Steven Gerard Boie, 45, of Clarksburg, the driver of the Dodge, was taken by ambulance to Frederick Memorial Hospital.

He was released after receiving treatment, a hospital operator said Monday.

-- Kate Leckie

Mussetter Speed Check!

For those who commute on Mussetter Road, the Frederick County Sheriffs are protecting and serving the county these days. Watch your speed especially during the commuting hours.

Now open at a theater near you

The Mussetter Road project is complete. The new roadway is less sloped, I believe.

Groomed Dirt

This is the state of the construction on Mussetter Road. Groomed dirt. I think we might be looking at another week or two before it's open. The weather hasn't cooperated lately. It looks good most of next week, though.

The Mussetter Mess

Do you commute to Montgomery County or the Beltway from New Market by using Old National Pike (MD 144) and Mussetter Road which joins with Ijamsville Road? Well, you won't be able to do that beginning on or around April 6.

According to Frederick County Government, Mussetter Road will be closed 30 days for construction, pending weather conditions of course. Good luck to the local traffic between Hyatt Rd and Royal St. Andrews, which is the segment to be worked on according to the signs that are posted on the route.

Nothing to Report Here

Black billowing smoke did not invade the northeastern Germantown sky early this morning. The Rockville fire department was not called to the scene to put out a raging dark fire on the roof at the Milestone Center school construction site. Hess construction crew workers were not spotted working on the roof later in the day.

Snow flurries were a mere figment of everyone's imagination this afternoon. It was a cosmic hologram similar to CNN's ridiculous Star Wars stunt on election night.

In other news, there was not a lengthy backup on I-270 northbound, just north of the scenic overlook, between 5:15 and 6:00 p.m. this evening.

Deer!

I just had a great vacation that included skiing at Seven Springs Resort in Pennsylvania. All good things must eventually end, which meant going back to work. I was greeted to a field of deer close to the house. Work is busy as usual.

I find the political prelims interesting and entertaining. As usual, the Democrats and Republican get first rate billing, while viable third parties such as Green and Libertarian get fringe treatment. I don't like any of the "candidates".

Lazy Blogger

It's pathetic that I haven't posted anything since the new year. So, I'll try to make my first post of 2008 a fun one. The commute to work has been rather uneventful with only one exception... deer. Deer are pretty common at 3:30 in the morning, so watch out if you drive curvy, hilly streets. One morning, I saw about 10 deer grazing within a half mile of the house, in between two houses on a grassy knoll.

Another interesting tidbit, is the traffic at 3:30 in the morning is practically non-existent. Don't get caught off guard by the Saturday morning folks returning from their Friday nights out.

If we ever get snow or wind damage again, I'll post that.

Rain, Fog

Thanks to a nice blast of rainfall last night, there was plenty of fog in Frederick County this morning. I managed to spot what appeared to be a fox on the way into work this morning. The fog was less impressive in Montgomery County. I also spotted a group of deer along the ride.

All in all, a pretty typical Saturday morning!

Got Deer?

Just in case you didn't know this already by reading previous entries, deer are a common site on my commuting route. Today, I was coming home between 5 and 5:30pm, and I saw about a dozen dear just south of the intersection of MD 144 and Musseter Road. Five of them were hanging out on the street. I'm glad that deers' eyes are so reflective. It makes them pretty easy to spot. Also, they run off the road pretty readily when they see cars. Thank goodness they don't run TOWARDS cars!

Doe, a deer...

Yet another deer spotted today along Boyers Mill. It leapt over the fence that contains the cows. Non-descript day with light rain, drizzle, low clouds... really blah.

Today's Commute

It was back to the normal commuting route today. I got to see the RR crossing in daylight, and there were piles of rocks and those huge railroad ties. Not sure if they're done or if they've even really started.

Gotta give a shout-out to the trash truck driver who allowed me through. That was awesome to see. A black cat with white lower legs was roaming around near the main entrance gazebo. If it were mine, I'd call it "Boots". It also had a little white on its face. Nice looking cat.

Very light traffic today, and even with the light rain, no problems. The only backup was on MD 80 near MD 355 (Urbana Pike) where the road widening project is still underway. The traffic light took several cycles, but nothing horrendous. I heard a radio report that an accident occurred there as I approached the office.

Today's Route

My usual commuting route will be unavailable since RR track work is being done near the intersection of Ijamsville Road and Musseter Road. So, I decided to take MD 75 instead. But first, let's start at the house.

I left the house about 8:30 this morning. It was quite frosty, so I used my car starter before stepping into the vehicle. Pongo was apparently amused by the smell of his frosty gift pile, but we digress. I had forgotten to pick up the yard waste can from yesterday, so I'll have to put that on my to-do list this evening.

Up the street at the gazebo near the trail entrance, a dozen or so parents and kids await the school bus, which for some strange reason, stops at the end of a narrow street to the east, then has to make a painfully slow turn to go down to the gazebo and its nice HUGE parking area. This doesn't make much sense to me. Why is there a school bus that late any way? What time does school start, 9 am?

Down to Boyers Mill Road, and a young buck bounds from west to east across the street. That little spot could be dangerous as he was hidden from my view until the last second, and did I mention he was bounding?

Since I chose MD 75 today, I had to go all the way into town (New Market) on Old National Pike (MD 144). A jogger with 2 dogs and a school bus about to pull out from dropping off kids made it pretty interesting. It was pretty slow going through Monrovia, but once the huge moving trailer (for construction equipment?) turned left, I was moving nicely. An interesting little area is near the Green Valley Vet Center... there's some sort of animal farm with what looked like an ostrich. Now horses and cows are pretty typical along this route.

Everything was honky dory all the way to MD 355, with a poor little dead fox on the way. A quick little jaunt on MD 109 to get on I-270 and I was back up to speed. Nice flow to the traffic, fairly light although it was a bit after 9 by this point.

From there to the office, just typical navigating. I was hoping for a parking spot at the front side of the bldg today to avoid the construction and the new speed bumps, but like I said, it's after 9, so I get an okay spot on the sunny side. My car will be nice and warm when I go to lunch.

Sunday drivers

Ever get caught behind someone taking their sweet time, and of course, it happens when you're running a bit behind? Well, I was joking the other day about how I do a daily commuting blog. Now, I don't commute every day obviously, but maybe that would be fun.

I could do a daily roll call for animals. I frequently see deer on my commute. Sometimes, they're standing in the road, but mostly, right next to the road on the edges of the meadows.

Or, if I happen to come to a complete stop and watch the MediVac land, which happened on Fri, Oct 12.

Anyway, we'll see how this blogging project goes.