Volume 172, Page 34 View pdf image (33K) |
84 MARYLAND MANUAL pelled to undertake a gigantic road and bridge building program. A number of outstanding projects have already been com- pleted. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge, crossing four miles of water and allowing clearance for craft to a height of 187 feet, was completed in 1952 at a cost of $45,000,000 and it is one of the largest continuous over-water steel structures in the world. Its use has exceeded expectations to such an extent that an additional span is now being seriously con- sidered. Another remarkable engineering feat, the Baltimore Har- bor Tunnel, was opened to traffic at midnight, November 29, 1957. Built at a cost of $130,000,000, it is 6,300 feet long and has in all, sixteen miles of approach expressways that enable the motorist to speed rapidly through one of the most highly congested areas of Baltimore. The Jones Falls Ex- pressway, the Baltimore Beltway and the Harrisburg Ex- pressway have also greatly facilitated the movement of traffic through, around and away from the City. Our national capital has been linked to nearby Maryland cities by dual highways which lead to Baltimore via the Baltimore-Washington Expressway, to Annapolis via the John Hanson Highway and to Frederick via the Washington National Pike, one of the most beautiful highways in the country. The Capital Beltway was opened on August 16, 1964. Maryland's only toll road, the John F. Kennedy Highway, (Route 95), runs from Baltimore to the Delaware line and connects with the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the New Jersey Turnpike. Originally dedicated as the Northeastern Expressway by the late President on November 14, 1963, only a few days before his tragic death, it was subsequently renamed by joint action of both Maryland and Delaware. The Blue Star Highway (Route 301), extending from the Eastern Shore end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the Delaware State line, makes similar connections. Spurred by a series of shocking revelations about the care of the mentally ill which was published in one of Baltimore's leading newspapers in 1949, the General Assembly estab- lished the Department of Mental Hygiene and gave it full supervision over all matters pertaining to the custody, care and treatment of persons who are mentally ill or mentally retarded. Since then, the State has spent millions of dollars erecting new buildings and improving existing facilities. More important, there has been a change in concept which regards such institutions as treatment centers rather than |
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Volume 172, Page 34 View pdf image (33K) |
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