Wyn Delano
WMAL.com
***CORRECTION*** 7/19/17 – 10:30am – The original version of this story reported the new Beltway speed cameras were the first on I-495 in Maryland. That was indeed what was reported to WMAL by the Maryland State Highway Administration. The state has since corrected itself. The first Maryland Beltway speed cameras were put in place at a Beltway construction zone at Northwest Branch in Montgomery County. WMAL regrets the error.
FORESTVILLE, MD (WMAL) — More speed cameras are coming to the Capital Beltway.
MDOT spokesman Charlie Gischlar told WMAL that the cameras will be installed in a work-zone near Suitland Road, on the southeast portion of the Beltway, as part of a bridge replacement project.
They will automatically cite any driver who goes more than 12 miles-per-hour over the posted speed limit and a ticket will cost you $40.
The cameras will be activated Monday, kicking off a 21 day warning period on the stretch of highway until actual citations are handed out beginning on August 7th.
You could be cited “anywhere from Auth Rd. to just south of Suitland Rd – anywhere within the project limits,” according to Gischlar.
And these cameras will stay on for a while.
According to Gischlar, “The project itself is going to be around for 3 years. In that whole time until that project is finished there could be speed cameras at that location during construction.”
Gischlar, however, insists that cameras are necessary to provide safety to MDOT contractors in a “tight work zone.”
“There’s going to be people that want to go fast there – we’re telling people in general, ‘don’t do that anyway’ – obey all the basic rules of the road,” Gischlar said.
He cites an incident two weeks ago in which, “we had three crashes in one work-zone in one night on the Baltimore Beltway.” He also added that in one of those cases a contractor for MDOT was struck.
Yet even with the warning period and signage, it is quite possible that many Beltway commuters won’t be even aware of the cameras until the bill arrives in the mail.
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An earlier version of this story referred to “Auth Rd.” as “Auff Rd.” and has been corrected.
