I was the victim of a Brick Joke today

glennmagusharvey

The state of Maryland decided to fine me for allegedly doing 71 in a 55 MPH work zone, sometime back in May.

I think the alleged location of this incident is the work zone at the northern intersection of I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) and I-95.  They have this huge thing that looks like a cloverleaf turned inside out or something.

The stupidest part about this is that, if that place really does have a 55 MPH work zone speed limit, I gotta ask: why did they route the traffic so well?  It's practically routed seamlessly!  Sure you can see all the construction around you but the point of it is that traffic just flows right past it seamlessly and without a hitch.  No bumpy road joints, no lane closures, no erased lane markets, no nothing.  So why reduce the speed limit if they routed it like this?

lrdgck

For some reason I can't shake the feeling this is a set-up for some kind of pun.

Central Avenue

There are two possible answers, neither of which is all that satisfying.

The first answer is the cynical one: "Why would they care? They just want your money!"

The other answer is that, although they've managed to work with minimal disruption of traffic flow, there may be certain times during the project where workers or equipment must work in close proximity to the open portion of roadway, possibly (but not necessarily) including short-term lane closures on nights and weekends.

Personally, I like the approach ODOT's using with this summer's I-71 resurfacing: they've put out electronic speed limit signs. During the day, the speed limit remains at its usual 65 mph, but at night, when the work begins, the speed limit is dropped to 55. It's a nice considerate way of maintaining worker safety while still minimizing the impact to drivers.