For county officials, a tanker crash on I-81 reinforces the need for expansion project

The Monday morning crash of a tanker traveling on Interstate 81 near Halfway prompted county officials to revisit safety concerns about the stretch that runs through Maryland.

One even toyed with the idea of a moratorium on warehouse development along the interstate until the county gets a fix on how much impact the added truck traffic is having.

The conversation began during the Washington County Commissioners' regular meeting Tuesday when Commissioner Wayne Keefer sought information about who is ultimately responsible for cleaning up leaks of hazardous materials on the freeway. The tanker that crashed Monday was carrying ammonium nitrate; about three gallons were spilled.

Ammonium nitrate is commonly used to make fertilizer, but can be explosive if ignited.

Acting County Administrator Michelle Gordon said that because the 12 miles of I-81 that run through the county are maintained by the state, "we typically don't have any costs associated with that" and that she didn't think county staff had been asked to help with the cleanup.

Governor's office aware of I-81 trouble

Commissioners' President John Barr noted that the Gov. Wes Moore's office had contacted him Monday asking that he keep the office apprised of the situation. Earlier in June, Moore's car was re-routed after a visit to the Volvo Group plant north of Hagerstown because I-81 was closed.

Barr said he later told the governor that "we experience that almost weekly."

Widening I-81 through Washington County has long been a priority for county officials. Phase 1, which included widening of the interstate across the Potomac River from West Virginia to Exit 1 in Williamsport, was completed in 2020.

Phase 2 calls for adding a lane in each direction, widening the road from four to six lanes total, for a stretch of 3.5 miles, between Md. 63/Md. 68 (Lappans Road) near Williamsport to the CSX bridges north of Halfway Boulevard.

Former Gov. Larry Hogan had included $100 million in state and federal funds for Phase 2 in the fiscal 2023-2028 Consolidated Transportation Program. Moore opted to keep the money earmarked for the project when he took office in January.

"He is aware; he is paying attention," Barr said Tuesday. "And hopefully we get some additional assistance, particularly financially, from the state."

Warehouses coming online will mean more traffic on I-81

But Commissioner Derek Harvey suggested that even widening the interstate to six lanes might not completely address safety issues in the future.

"Not only do we have many warehouses that are not fully operational that are empty that are going to be having trucks, but many more that are on the way … that are gonna impact I-81's safety," he said, "but then you've got dozens of those warehouses with trucks that are gonna be north of us in Pennsylvania and then dozens more new warehouses south of us that are gonna affect the congestion on I-81.

"We've lost too many lives on that short stretch of highway already, and I don't think there's a full appreciation by the state or the federal government about the character and scope of the problem that we're facing here."

Keefer observed that although Interstates 81 and 70 do "wonderful things for our community in terms of economic development, there's also some detriments that come along with that.

"Human safety is certainly a priority, convenience — probably at the bottom of that list, but that's important, too, if people can't get to work (when the roads are closed because of accidents). But there's a cost associated with that" to emergency services that respond, he added.

And while Gordon said insurance companies are billed for those costs, Keefer worried that not everything was covered and asked for a report on whether expenses are incurred by the county and the state.

"I'd like to boil that cost down a little bit better," he said, to make sure insurance companies fully reimburse for costs.

Gordon noted that while funding Phase 2 had been secured, "I think now is the time to let legislators know that we need to start budgeting at least $10 million for design of Phase 3 … to complete the final leg up to the Pennsylvania state line."

Harvey floats idea of warehouse moratorium

But there are "only a few options" for dealing with the congestion on I-81, Commissioner Randy Wagner said, and none of them is perfect.

"Either you increase economic development — which would increase truck traffic — for revenue, or you raise revenue or you cut services … it takes money for all of it," he said.

"We can't cut services, obviously, because we have our first responders" who are needed to respond to emergencies, he said. "If we curtail economic development, that's less revenue and if we raise revenue, that's probably not the most ideal thing in some cases anyway.

"Those are tough decisions," he said. "I don't think there's an easy answer to anything we've talked about."

Keefer added that the previous board of county commissioners had contributed county funds to the I-81 expansion.

"I think we have put forth a good effort," he said, since the interstates are maintained by the state.

But the commissioners don't know what the county's capacity is for absorbing I-81 traffic, Harvey said, and what the impact of already scheduled warehouses will be.

"I might suggest a moratorium until we fully understand the impact of that and the ability of our infrastructure to keep pace with it," he said.

"I just think there's a lot of unknowns and I think there's been some rose-colored glasses used in looking at the actual impact on safety and congestion, and the impact on the way of life in parts of our county."

He's not sure, he said, that highway studies reflect "what is really going on and what's coming down the pike towards us at a high speed right now."

Background: I-81 northbound, 1 southbound lane reopened near Halfway; traffic snarled

More: The road for I-81 funding continues with new administration, transportation secretary

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Tanker crash prompts county officials to renew push for improvements