Ocean City Live Cam

In 1993, two international carriers, Air Aruba and British Airways, also began service. In 1994, the airport will undergo a $16.3 million enhancement program, including the addition of carpeting, lighting, a Baltimore-Washington regional photo mural, interior and exterior landscaping and an observation area. An extension of one of the two major jet runways also will be completed. The State also has proposed the construction of a new $130 million international wing at BWI, featuring a light rail terminal in the Airport, to be completed in 1996.

Handling primarily private and corporate aircraft, Martin is also the main base for Maryland's two air National Guard Squadrons; the Maryland State Police Aviation Division (MED-EVAC); the Baltimore City Police Helicopter Unit; and the Baltimore County Police Marine Division.

The State's highway network has over 5,200 miles of interstate, primary and secondary roads and over 2,000 bridges, designed, built, and maintained by the State Highway Administration.

The MTA operates statewide commuter bus routes linking metropolitan areas, funds general bus transportation for elderly and disabled persons on a statewide basis, and supports local public transportation funding in many counties and small cities. Under its state-wide commuter bus program, the MTA provides eight privately contracted services from Crofton, Annapolis, Columbia, Frederick, Hagerstown, Huntingtown, North Beach, Charlotte Hall, and Waldorf to Washington DC. The MTA also operates over 62 bus routes in the Baltimore area. With suburban service operating from Annapolis, White Marsh, Columbia, Bel Air, Havre de Grace and Laurel to downtown Baltimore, 850 buses serve more than 250,000 passengers daily. In winter months, the MTA operates a Shelter Shuttle which picks up homeless individuals and families and transports them to city-run shelters seven nights a week.

In Montgomery and Prince George's counties, bus transportation is provided by WMATA's Metrobus system, Montgomery County's "Ride-On" service, and Prince George's County's service called "The Bus."

The Baltimore Metro, operated by the Mass Transit Administration, runs 14 miles from Owings Mills to Charles Center in Baltimore City, carrying 40,000 passengers per day. A northeast extension to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore City is scheduled to open in 1995. Commuters between Washington, DC, and the Maryland suburbs are served by Metrorail, operated by the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority and financially supported by the Maryland Department of Transportation. Metrorail has 70 miles in operation, with 22 stations in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

The main leg of the first light rail line in Maryland, with electric-powered trains that run mostly on existing railroad rights-of-way, began service between Timonium and Camden Station on May 18, 1992. Called the Central Corridor Light Rail Line, it is operated by the Mass Transit Administration. Eventually, it will link the region from Hunt Valley north of Baltimore, through Baltimore City, to Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Airport and Glen Burnie in Anne Arundel County.

The State currently runs three commuter train lines. Two Baltimore-Washington lines and a Martinsburg, WVþBrunswick-Washington line form the Maryland Rail Commuter Service (MARC), carrying nearly 19,000 passengers each weekday. Service also operates north of Baltimore on the northeast corridor into Harford and southern Cecil counties with these trains terminating at Perryville. The Mass Transit Administration contracts out operations for four freight lines on Maryland's Eastern Shore and two through Frederick and Carroll counties, covering over 100 miles. Additional train service is provided by Amtrack (passengers) and CSX Transportation (freight).

Maryland and the Arts

Maryland is home to important museums, including the Walters Art Gallery, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury. These and 30 other art museums and galleries attracted more than three million visitors in 1992. The State has 12 regional interdisciplinary arts institutions, including Easton's Academy of the Arts, the Strathmore Hall Arts Center in Rockville, Frostburg State University's new Performing Arts Center, and Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis. Historically a center for the performing arts, Baltimore is the site for the Baltimore Symphony, Center Stage, the Arena Players and the Baltimore Center for the Performing Arts.

More than 2,000 actors, creative writers, dancers, musicians, singers, and visual artists live in Maryland. Annual scholarship and award programs and in-school artist residencies nurture student interest in the arts, as do more than 30 schools and academies devoted to training young artists, including Baltimore's School for the Arts, the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, and the Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts. Aggregate State, county and municipal funding for the arts totaled more than $21 million in 1992.