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Montgomery County Department of Transportation officials listened to a reader's suggestion for a traffic safety sign:

"In Rockville, at the intersection of East Jefferson Street and Montrose Parkway, cars driving east on Montrose Parkway that bear right on East Jefferson have their own lane but need a yield sign. Cars traveling south on East Jefferson crossing through the light that need to turn into the first or second building on the right are unable to get into the right lane. I've had several mishaps trying to get into the right lane to turn into the building at 2115 E. Jefferson St.

"There is a yield sign for cars traveling south on East Jefferson that bear right onto Montrose Parkway going west at the same intersection.

"Can you please respond?  Thank you."

Carole Watson

Here's Montgomery County Department of Transportation's response:

"Montgomery County Department of Transportation staff looked at the situation described by the reader and agreed that a yield sign facing eastbound Montrose Parkway traffic turning right onto East Jefferson was needed. The yield sign will be installed soon. This sign should prompt traffic to be more attuned to the presence of southbound vehicles attempting to move to the right to access the first driveway south of Montrose Parkway, which is somewhat close to the intersection."

Always good when alert readers notice problems and come up with workable solutions.

Route 29 closes for 15-minute intervals for ICC work

Traffic on all lanes of Route 29 between Fairland Road and Briggs Chaney Road will be stopped as needed for 15 minutes at a time overnight beginning Monday.

The temporary closures will occur Mondays through Fridays between midnight and 5 a.m. to allow crews to set up structural steel for the new Intercounty Connector bridge over Route 29.

Drivers should consider using Old Columbia Pike or Interstate 95, both of which run parallel to Route 29.

The closures are needed to protect workers, according to the state.

Drivers also might encounter one lane closed on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and two lanes closed between 7 p.m. and midnight as part of the work.

Teen driver safety week

Vehicle crashes are the leading killer of teenagers, including about 100 Marylanders a year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In all, more than 20,000 of the state's teens are in crashes annually.

As part of National Teen Driver Safety Week, which runs through Saturday, the State Highway Administration is discussing safe driving with students statewide and raising awareness of new laws that took effect Oct 1.

"We owe our newly minted drivers every opportunity possible to develop safe driving habits," said SHA Administrator Neil J. Pedersen.

Gas prices stabilize after rise

The AAA Mid-Atlantic reported gas prices went up in the region 8 cents this past week, but appeared to have stabilized.

The average U.S. retail price for gas was $2.50 last week, well below the record price of $4.11 set July 2008. Ragina C. Averella, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said that recent rises in crude oil prices likely will result in slightly higher prices at the pump in November.

In the Washington, D.C., suburbs, gas averaged $2.49 per gallon, up 8 cents from a week earlier, but below the $3.07 per gallon from the same period last year.

Is there a detector problem?

A reader asks:

"Since the widening of Redland Road in Derwood a couple of months ago, I have trouble driving eastward on Needwood Road across the intersection at Redland Road. There are two lanes at the intersection, one for left turn, and the other for right turn and straight ahead. However, every time when I stop at the intersection for through traffic, there has never been a green light given at the intersection, forcing me to turn right and find a meandering path to continue on Needwood Road. Is the sensor failing to detect a vehicle on the right lane on Needwood Road eastward?"

Gang Chen

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation reports it will check the traffic signal to see if there is a malfunction.

Bumper to Bumper is a biweekly column dedicated to answering your questions related to transportation issues. E-mail Bumper@gazette.net.