we can do it. The Legislative Council believes we can do it within the
limits of a reasonable revenue-raising plan. I know the people of Mary-
land want it to be done.
A program of construction continuing at present levels is one way to
do the job—to meet the needs. To do this, government must live up to
its responsibility and the contracting industry must live up to its respon-
sibility. As long as I am Governor, I shall see to it that government will
do all in its power to meet as many of our highway needs as is financially
practicable. I know government can count on Maryland's highway
contractors to help us do this job.
ADDRESS AT OPENING OF THE CAPITAL BELTWAY
INTERSTATE 495
August 17, 1964
There are few days in the history of the growth of our State more
important than today.
By the addition of the Capital Beltway to our highway system, we
give to Maryland additional opportunities for economic growth, addi-
tional opportunity for success in the fight for highway safety, additional
opportunity for the savings of time and money on the part of the motor-
ists who will use this great highway, additional opportunity for safer and
more efficient travel by both local and through traffic. The Capital
Beltway is truly a road of opportunity. Not only, my friends, will it
benefit the great counties of Prince George's and Montgomery, but it
will benefit the State and the nation as well. Permit me briefly to
examine a few of the many benefits and opportunities made possible by
the completion of this great road.
Most of you know that highway safety has been one of the most
vigorously pursued goals of my Administration. The rapid construction
of expressways to handle large volumes of traffic has been one means of
attacking the safety problem. We must remember that Maryland's
expressway and primary highway system carries 70 per cent of the traffic.
The death rate on these big freeways is 60 per cent less than it is on
ordinary roads. Here are some examples: The death rate on the Balti-
more Beltway is only two per 100 million vehicle miles, a tremendously-
low rate even with its traffic counts of 40 thousand a day. The Kennedy
Memorial Highway has not experienced a single fatality since it opened
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