Tag: State Highway Administration
Former MDOT/SHA employee says he was fired for refusing to remove his mask for an alcohol screening test
Imagine being fired from a state job you held for more than two decades because you refused to take off your mask for a routine alcohol and drug screening test at an indoor out-of-state facility as the Delta variant is spreading rapidly both nationally and in certain parts of Maryland.
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Md. road system again ranked low, but highway officials strongly counter ratings
Maryland continues to hover toward the bottom of rankings by a nonprofit organization evaluating state road systems, but the State Highway Administration continues to take issue with the ranking methodology.
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Rising Seas 5: 800 miles of roads at risk, especially in shore counties
Maryland has more than 5,200 miles of state roads and about 21,000 miles of county roads, according to the Maryland State Highway Administration. A CNS analysis found that roughly 800 miles of roads would be affected if sea levels rise another 2 feet. At 5 feet, an estimated 3,700 miles would be under water.
Read MoreTransportation agencies are correcting problems auditors found
Maryland Department of Transportation has put new measures in place to ensure that all five of its agencies are taking correct steps to modify contracts with approval from the Maryland Board of Public Works, the powerful board consisting of the governor, state comptroller and treasurer.
The department has also implemented a revised contract justification process, which requires agencies to provide more documentation when they seek contract authorization approval from the board, which meets today.
Read MoreHighway agency has continuing contract problems, auditors find
The Maryland State Highway Administration wrongfully authorized modifications and extensions to architectural and engineering contracts without the approval of the Board of Public Works, auditors have found. They also found that the highway agency is not providing proper justification for the board to approve maximum contract awards. These findings are similar to findings in a previous report on SHA contracts. The audit also found problems with the speed camera program in highway work zones.
Read MoreMore contract problems found in transportation department by auditors
The Maryland Transportation Department violated procurement procedures by allowing some contractors to perform work outside the scope of their original contracts without rebidding the jobs and without the approval of the state Board of Public Works, auditors found.
Read MoreTransportation secretary calls ignorance of contracting law ‘unacceptable’
Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley told legislators Tuesday that the culture at the procurement arm of the State Highway Administration dealing with construction inspection comes from an “unacceptable pattern of poor contract management and administration in the organization.”
Read MoreAuditors find rampant problems in highway construction inspections
When auditors delved deeper into the way contracts are handled for construction inspection services by the State Highway Administration, their fears of rampant, systemic problems in the agency came true. “It was surprising and disappointing,” said Legislative Auditor Bruce Myers.
Read MoreAnalysis: Snow job: Complaints mount as drifts pile up
Gov. Martin O’Malley on Tuesday was collecting thank-you notes to “winter heroes” – more than 2,700 state workers helping to keep the roads open.
But other state officials were tossing snowballs at municipal leaders, the State Highway Administration and the Pepco electric company.
Blizzard points to transportation needs
Plowman in Chief Martin O’Malley has been the public face of the Blizzard of 2010, seen and heard more in the media over the weekend than in the wake of last Tuesday’s State of the State address.
The formal trappings of power in the marbled State House were replaced this weekend with a show of casually-dressed executive power in a mundane briefing room at the State Highway Administration command center in Hanover.
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