What happened??

MR47930

Member
In the last few months the bridge traffic has been horrendous. It's always been sh*tyy but here lately it's been a real mess. I assume it's all the Dominion people, but they've been here for a while now. Every car that passes me on the shoulder and cuts me off has out of state tags though, did they hire some more? When are they all going back home? Not soon enough!
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
Actually..the majority have long since left. Construction done..it's tests and cleaning going on now, preparing to start moving product. I met a few of the guys working the job and many of them came from the Baton Rouge project before this one and have moved on to the next new export facility builds. There is something like 11 of them already under permit and I guess the experienced construction guys get paid more so they follow the jobs.
 

MR47930

Member
Actually..the majority have long since left. Construction done..it's tests and cleaning going on now, preparing to start moving product. I met a few of the guys working the job and many of them came from the Baton Rouge project before this one and have moved on to the next new export facility builds. There is something like 11 of them already under permit and I guess the experienced construction guys get paid more so they follow the jobs.

Doesn't appear that way when I pass by at 0600 and the shoulder on the southbound side of RT 4 is a mile long waiting to get in. Or at 1530 trying to come home and every car on the road has an out of state tag.
 

littlelady

God bless the USA
Actually..the majority have long since left. Construction done..it's tests and cleaning going on now, preparing to start moving product. I met a few of the guys working the job and many of them came from the Baton Rouge project before this one and have moved on to the next new export facility builds. There is something like 11 of them already under permit and I guess the experienced construction guys get paid more so they follow the jobs.

Baton Rouge! No one ever talks about my home state or the city of my alma mater. It caught my attention. I do have to say that Route 4 is very scary. One way in and one way out; and the bridge doesn't help. If Calvert/St. Mary's had a true catastrophic emergency, it would be beyond awful.

Go, LSU! Hear the roar!!!!!
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
Doesn't appear that way when I pass by at 0600 and the shoulder on the southbound side of RT 4 is a mile long waiting to get in. Or at 1530 trying to come home and every car on the road has an out of state tag.

Knowing how many have left, I'm surprised. Maybe an entirely new crew comes in for all the start up activities?
 

MR47930

Member
Knowing how many have left, I'm surprised. Maybe an entirely new crew comes in for all the start up activities?

Yea I'm not really sure. I just know that the past 2 or so months have been a mess on the roads. Can't wait until it all dies down and they move on to the next project. I'm sure the local businesses dont have the same feelings however.
 

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
Yea I'm not really sure. I just know that the past 2 or so months have been a mess on the roads. Can't wait until it all dies down and they move on to the next project. I'm sure the local businesses dont have the same feelings however.

I have a friend who has been working for the last few months as a temp for the HR company onboarding the workers and each week ranges from a little under 100 to close to 300. Most are temporary workers brought in for a specific job and are mainly from out of state as they had to get people from wherever they could after exhausting the pool of local workers.

Hopefully it will die down soon as the work is completed.
 

nobody really

I need a nap
Doesn't appear that way when I pass by at 0600 and the shoulder on the southbound side of RT 4 is a mile long waiting to get in. Or at 1530 trying to come home and every car on the road has an out of state tag.

yep, I'm guaranteed to get a red light every time, and I sit and watch at least 3 or 4 coach busses roll through. And that's the evenings. In the am, like you said, there is a long line of cars waiting to get in the lot.
 

luvmygdaughters

Well-Known Member
You are right,it used to be traffic leaving St. Mary's going to Calvert was always backed up. I picked my granddaughter up a few weeks ago, about 5 on a Friday evening in Prince Frederick. When we got to Solomons, I couldnt believe the amount of traffic waiting to get into St. Marys. Going to pick her up tomorrow after work to do some school shopping, hoping the traffic wont be so bad on a Thursday.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
Most are temporary workers brought in for a specific job and are mainly from out of state as they had to get people from wherever they could after exhausting the pool of local workers.
.

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of the temporary workers were brought in from out of state because they had direct and recent experience with exactly what Dominion just built. Makes sense to me. I know some pipeline guys that live like that..out of a suitcase basically. Not for me but I'm sure they are chasing the money.
 

MR47930

Member
As I mentioned earlier, a lot of the temporary workers were brought in from out of state because they had direct and recent experience with exactly what Dominion just built. Makes sense to me. I know some pipeline guys that live like that..out of a suitcase basically. Not for me but I'm sure they are chasing the money.
Hopefully they chase the money right out of SOMD here soon. Rt 4, the bridge, and the 235/4 split weren't meant to handle the base traffic, let alone the addition of all the new folks.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
They will. And next up...the influx of people working on the offshore wind projects. But they'll bother other towns.
 

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
Hopefully they chase the money right out of SOMD here soon. Rt 4, the bridge, and the 235/4 split weren't meant to handle the base traffic, let alone the addition of all the new folks.

Amen. I commute from Solomons to Wildewood for work. I leave the house at 7 and at my desk by 7:15. Leaving work at 4:15 like yesterday, it was a good 30 minutes to home. Monday I left the same time time, heard there was an accident on the bridge, so didn't even try to go across until much later.
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
I think the governor should petition the Navy to close NAS Patuxent River.
Not only would it remove a major portion of the rush hour traffic, but the infrastructure requirements would be less, less schools, etc.
Traffic could return to a normal flow.

Just tell the Navy that previous administrations didn't plan for this volume and the legislature doesn't see transportation in the region as a priority
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
Speaking in general terms, on the St. Mary's side, I now understand why vehicles in Virginia are less expensive.
They don't come with turn indicators or headlights.
 

DEEKAYPEE8569

Well-Known Member
I think the governor should petition the Navy to close NAS Patuxent River.
Not only would it remove a major portion of the rush hour traffic, but the infrastructure requirements would be less, less schools, etc.
Traffic could return to a normal flow.

Just tell the Navy that previous administrations didn't plan for this volume and the legislature doesn't see transportation in the region as a priority

C'mon Bernie.....do you really think that that will ever happen? .....Just to alleviate traffic congestion? St. Mary's County is barely a dot on the map as it is.
Closure of PAX River might just eliminate it altogether. You must have plans to move to or already be in another area; because if PAX closes, SMC will be a ghost town.
 
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BernieP

Resident PIA
C'mon Bernie.....do you really think that that will ever happen? .....Just to alleviate traffic congestion? St. Mary's County is barely a dot on the map as it is.
Closure of PAX River might just eliminate it altogether. You must have plans to move to or already be in another area; because if PAX closes, SMC will be a ghost town.

With traffic congestion reaching critical mass, it might have to come to that.
If we needed to evacuate this area during the day, it would be a disaster.

But no, I think I see it as calling the legislatures bluff. If they view the priorities of this region so little, then let them deal with the economic fallout losing the lynch pin employer
 

MR47930

Member
C'mon Bernie.....do you really think that that will ever happen? .....Just to alleviate traffic congestion? St. Mary's County is barely a dot on the map as it is.
Closure of PAX River might just eliminate it altogether. You must have plans to move to or already be in another area; because if PAX closes, SMC will be a ghost town.

Yea and good luck selling any property you have without the base being here...I'd be all in favor of a new 6 lane bridge, 3 lanes each way, with a $5 toll each way. Calvert/St. Marys residence can buy an "EZ-Pass" for like $50 a year and the rest of the out-of-towners pay cash. 2 "resident" lanes, 1 cash lane each way. The bridge would pay for itsself in no time...
During heavy traffic, or an accident (which seems to happen bi-weekly) they could have people travel in oncoming lanes like they do on the bay bridge.
 
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