Maryland Manual 1994-1995

STATE AIRPORTS

The State owns and operates two airports, Balti-
more/Washington International (BWI) and Martin
State Airport.

BWI Airport, a gateway airport for the United States,
is served by 19 airlines and has 600 daily commercial
flights. In 1992, BWI reported handling 8.8 million
commercial passengers and 238 million pounds of air
freight. The Airport offers both passenger and cargo
flights to a variety of international destinations that
include Reykjavik, Iceland; London and Luxembourg
in Europe; Montevideo, Santiago, and Buenos Aires
in South America; Tel Aviv in the Middle East;
Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto in Canada; Aruba, St.
Maarten, St. Thomas, and Jamaica in the Caribbean.

In 1993, BWI became the first east coast airport
home of Southwest Airlines. In 1993, two interna-
tional carriers. Air Aruba and British Airways, also
began service. In 1994, the airport will undergo a
$16.3 million enhancement program, including the
addition of carpeting, lighting, a Baltimore-Wash-
ington regional photo mural, interior and exterior
landscaping and an observation area. An extension
of one of the two major jet runways also will be
completed. The State also has proposed the con-
struction of a new $130 million international wing
at BWI, featuring a light rail terminal in the Airport,
to be completed in 1996.

Martin State Airport is the largest general aviation
facility on the East Coast. Handling primarily pri-
vate and corporate aircraft, Martin is also the main
base for Maryland's two air National Guard Squad-
rons; the Maryland State Police Aviation Division
(MED-EVAC); the Baltimore City Police Helicop-
ter Unit; and the Baltimore County Police Marine
Division.

HIGHWAYS

The National Road, begun in Cumberland in 1806,
was the nation's chief route west for many years. As
U.S. Route 40, it remains a principal east-west
artery today. The State's highway network has over
5,200 miles of interstate, primary and secondary
roads and over 2,000 bridges, designed, built, and
maintained by the State Highway Administration.

The William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge
(Chesapeake Bay Bridge) spans 4.2 miles between
Sandy Point, Anne Arundel County, and Kent Is-
land, Queen Anne's County. Opened in 1952, it
transformed access to the eastern shore of the State.
A second parallel Bay Bridge opened in 1973.
Beltways encircle Baltimore and Washington with
connections to the major routes between the cities.
The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel opened in 1957,
providing the first direct link north and south under
the Harbor for vehicles bypassing Baltimore City.
The Harbor Tunnel was followed by the 1.6-mile

long Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Harbor in
1977 and the Fort McHenry Tunnel in 1985.

Most Maryland highways are open to all travelers
without fee. Tolls are required, however, at the John
F. Kennedy Highway (Interstate 95) at Perryville;
the Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels; the Francis
Scott Key Bridge; the Thomas I. Hatem Bridge
(U.S. 40 ) at Perryville; the Chesapeake Bay Bridges
(for eastbound traffic only) outside Annapolis in
Anne Arundel County; and the Governor Harry W.
Nice Bridge in Charles County. The maximum
speed limit anywhere in the State is 55 miles per
hour.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Bus. Bus transportation is provided by the Mass Tran-
sit Administration (MTA), the Washington Metro-
politan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and local
buses. The MTA operates statewide commuter bus
routes linking metropolitan areas, funds general bus
transportation for elderly and disabled persons on a
statewide basis, and supports local public transporta-
tion funding in many counties and small cities. Under
its state-wide commuter bus program, the MTA pro-
vides eight privately contracted services from Crofton,
Annapolis, Columbia, Frederick, Hagerstown, Hunt-
ingtown. North Beach, Charlotte Hall, and Waldorf
to Washington DC. The MTA. also operates over 62
bus routes in the Baltimore area. With suburban
service operating from Annapolis, White Marsh, Co-
lumbia, Bel Air, Havre de Grace and Laurel to down-
town Baltimore, 850 buses serve more than 250,000
passengers daily. Services for passengers with disabili-
ties include regularly scheduled lift-equipped service;
Call-A-Lift service for passengers on bus routes with-
out scheduled accessible buses; and Mobility, a van and
taxi service for passengers unable to use regular MTA
buses. In winter months, the MTA operates a Shelter
Shuttle which picks up homeless individuals and fami-
lies and transports them to city-run shelters seven
nights a week. In Montgomery and Prince George's
counties, bus transportation is provided byWMATA's
Metrobus system, Montgomery County's "Ride-On"
service, and Prince George's County's service called
"The Bus."

Subway. Subways operate in the Baltimore and
Washington, DC, areas. The Baltimore Metro, op-
erated by the Mass Transit Administration, runs 14
miles from Owings Mills to Charles Center in Bal-
timore City, carrying 40,000 passengers per day. A
northeast extension to Johns Hopkins Hospital in
Baltimore City is scheduled to open in 1995. Com-
muters between Washington, DC, and the Mary-
land suburbs are served by Metrorail, operated by
the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority
and financially supported by the Maryland Depart-
ment of Transportation. Metrorail has 70 miles in
operation, with 22 stations in Montgomery and
Prince George's counties.