but on the other side, and all around whitemarsh boulevard. here, the state is beginning a project that should have been done by now. but a few years ago, worked slow to a trickle. >> reporter: the reason the weak economy means that the tollauthority hasn't been collecting as many tolls. >> reporter: but with fewer road projects nationwide, contractors began offering better deals on all state roadwork. >> a lot of the bids are coming in lower than expected. which has freed up a portion of the commony. -- money. >> reporter: soon, this whitemarsh bridge will have ramps that connect it down to the new toll lanes, being built where the median used to be. yes, toll lanes. you'll pay a toll for the privilege to drive past the most congested for the of 95, to whitemarsh. >> some people just want to go, go, go. and others are mindful of what they put in their pocket. >> here's your penalty for running late. >> reporter: along 95, in whitemarsh, mike schuh, wjz eyewitness news. and the idea of express lanes is to have them stretch to the delaware line

that's 95 right there at whitemarsh boulevard.his traffic report is brought to you by the all new 2013 lexus gs. when a sports sedan has raised your expectations of what is possible, there is no going back. back to you. >>> there's something for everyone here at this year's preakness. this morning, the country band little big town and the rock band, signed on this year. they joined the headliners, maroon 5, and rapper whiz khalifa, who will remain on the in stage. they are set for saturday, may 19th, at pimlico race course. >> so a reason to go to the race. >> i love it. >>> straight ahead on eyewitness news at 4:00. court collapse. what the man said he drank when the guilty verdict was read. >>> and if you search google on your iphone, we've got a story you don't want to miss. >>> and a spring-like friday. but winter is returning on sunday. bob is updating your first warning forecast. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> trooper turner's son says he was nominated for a seat. jay paterno says he never declared his candidacy, though, and he ca

. >>> the slowing in the economy slowed down the expansion of i- 95, near whitemarsh. now it's back on track. i'm mike schuh, how it could affect you when eyewitness news continues. >>> and rain is on the way. and we actually need it, believe it or not. stick around for the updated first warning forecast. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> easing congestion on one of maryland's most heavily traveled roadways. the state had hoped by now to have special express lanes open from the city to past whitemarsh. now, as mike schuh reports, the final project allowing these new toll plain -- lanes to open has begun. >> the scream drowns out what they want to crow about. construction here and around. here the state is beginning a project that should have been done by now. but a few years ago, work slowed to a trickle. >> the recent weakened economy means they didn't collect as much tolls and they didn't have as much revenue. >> contractors began offering better deals. >> a lot of the bids are coming in lower than expected which has freed up a portion of money. >> enough so that in two years, it

see, the traffic patterns are starting to build in the southbound lanes, but no major delays from whitemarsh to the topside of the beltway and if you're coming from the south, i-95 at 395 inbound is heavy. that's as you approach conway street. >>> in health news, an accidental discovery could help alzheimers patients. this skin cancer drug helped reduce symptoms in alzheimers. >>> as if you need another reason not to drink soda, it could put you at a highier risk for heart disease and asthma. 16% of the people had chronic disease. >>> well, a new study shows a level of transfats in your blood. the drop was 58% in 2009. transfats are found in prepackaged and fried foods. restaurants are trying to remove the transfats from menus. >>> europe is tightly in the winter's grip. the shipping industry is taking a toll. >>> and changes are on the way for hotel workers in new york city. >>> a man charged with killing his roommate is standing trial. he's charged with murder in the beating death of his roommate. his lawyer will say he was sexually abused and acting in defense. he was found in 2006 after

northbound 95, the accident at whitemarsh boulevard has been cleared.e still have heavy traffic back of the 895 split. we also have another accident, northbound 95 at moravia road. that one blocking the left-hand lane. other accidents include 97 southbound, crain highway. pulaski highway, at south mountain up there in the joppatowne area. and back to baltimore city, moravia road at wal ther avenue. you can see, things are a bit slow on the west side as well at the baltimore national pike. this traffic report is brought to you by the cochran firm. if you or someone you know has suffered a personal injury, call 1-800-the firm. or visit them online. back to you. >>> some of our area's brightest students are all smiles after participating in the wjz black history oratory contest. >>> education is the pas port to the-- passport to the future. tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for today. >> and that was winner, mashia ilan ryan, sharing her orientation for malcolm x. she was one of 20 semifinalists who competed yesterday. of course, our kai jackson hosted

the cheapest we found so far is $3.43 at the costco sitting there in whitemarsh. >>> who wouldn't want to save on money, especially in you could get a break on your mortgage payment. that's the hook of a letter making its rounds in baltimore. joce sterman has more. >> reporter: it's one of the hardest checks to write each month. your mortgage payment is a real shock to the pocket boofnlgt what if you're paying too much because of a prob emin your paperwork. could you get money back. >> i want to believe the mortgage will go down. if they tell us how much we can save, we will fall for it. >> reporter: angie barnett with the better business bureau beeb warns people are falling for mortgage audit letters like this one that started showing up around the baltimore area. they claim your mortgage may have been miscal cue lotted -- miscalculated and could get a refund. the average refund is more than $1400. >> they're led to believe there's a likelihood there was a mistake made and that they could challenge that mistake. >> reporter: but the bbb said even if a mistake is found in the papers fo

light to moderate shower north and east of towson up towards the whitemarsh area and this is toward theower area. most of us seeing, if anything, increased clouds. so not much wet weather but maybe bring the umbrella. temperature now 50. most of the state mid-40s to the west, still not bad there. mid-50s were our highs, running five degrees above anticipated level. after we had the midday sun, now we're seeing showers, harrisburg north up into the northwestern corner of pa. here in maryland a couple of light showers. here at the surface it's dry. some of the raindrops are evaporating. high pressure and slightly cooler weather, we think tomorrow, but things have been tricky all month. we do know there's very dry air in place. even if we get decent radar returns, not much is hitting the ground. our trend shows a clear off tonight into the day tomorrow. a clear wednesday with lots of sunshine, a northwest wind so low 50s and then our next rain maker looking more significant and arriving into the mid-afternoon afternoon and late evening of -- mid-afternoon and late evening. overnight 36, a

i'm gigi barnett in whitemarsh. the details are just ahead. >>> the skies are mostly clear. the sun is bright. could rain clouds ruin your thursday? >>> wjz 13 is always on. for the top stories on wjz.com, for instant updates and first warning weather all the time, click wjcom. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> everybody coming in, tim says, it's like spring out there right now. >>t is. >> it's beautiful. >> except it's beautiful in the sky. but when you look at those pictures, all the trees are brown. it's like it doesn't match. something in your brain doesn't register. you're expecting to see all the green. and we're already starting to hear talk about an early allergy season. but we are going to enjoy these warm temperatures while they last. and we ve another day or so of them before we see any changes. right now, we have 53 degrees, our temperature. relative humidity at 41%. winds from the west/northwest, at 31 miles per hour. barometer is high at 30.24. across the state, look at these temperatures. our average now is 74 degrees. we have temperatures in the 50s. we have 53 in bwi

and 95 in that northbound direction, stop and go from the beltway past whitemarsh boulevard on that northeast corner. as far as accidents go, still plenty of them. reisterstown lane at nailer's lane. east joppa at pleasant lane. york road at timonium. york at timoanium. and east fayette at gay street. that's a look at dulaney valley road. gets a little heavier as you make your way around the bend there on the right-hand side of your screen. this traffic report is brought to you by pizza bolis. stop in and try two medium one- topping pizzas for $6.99 each. only at pizza bolis. >>> hooking people on fresh water fishing. the maryland department of natural resources wants to designate one or two locations in every county, where people can fish for free. a free fishing bill has been introduced to the general assembly. the fishing sites could allow novice anglers to learn a bit about the sport before buying a license. i like fishing. it's fun. i don't do it often enough. >> but i like the freebie. and if you don't catch a fish, it's not your thing, you're not out any money. >>> well, still ahead on

northbound 95, the accident at whitemarsh boulevard, now on the right-hand shoulder.l air, a crash at old emerton road. eastern boulevard at stemmers run in the essex area. benson avenue, at south caton. also, west rogers at park heights avenue. let's now take a live look. you can see, your drive seems to be pretty good there. and we'll take another look, as you can see, right after that accident, traffic is moving free and clear. this traffic report is brought to you by the cochran firm. if you or someone you know has suffered a personal injury, call 1-800 the firm. or visit them online at cochranfirm.com for your free consultation. >>> valentine's day is a day for surprises. >> i'm looking for christine brewer. are you christine? >> yeah. >> hi. your sweetheart -- >> they surprised christine at the salon where she works today. christine's boyfriend nominated her to win $700 worth of prizes. among other things, she won a hotel stay, dinner, jewelry and show tickets. christine is one of 12 winners. happy valentine's day, christine and to matt. >> wow. that's very nice

also slows down again from eastern avenue past whitemarsh boulevard. that's on the northeast side. as far as the beltway goes, the north side inner loop slows down from charles street around to providence road. the outer loop, also struggling there from york road to charles. as you can see, we have red in that middle spot there. average speed in that area, about 25 miles an hour. west side inner loop, delays continue there from wilkens avenue to security boulevard. in bel air, a crash at emerton road, at plum tree. also falls road at smith avenue. and west northern parkway at wabash. let's take a live look. you can see, there is some busy traffic there on the beltway. that's a look at dulaney valley road. this traffic report is brought to you by pizza bolis. stop in and get two medium, one- topping pizzas. only at pizza bolis. >>> 6 months ago today, the earth moved under our feet. the state was rattled by the biggest earthquake in memory. now, a major baltimore landmark, left damaged and condemned, has reopened. >> reporter: st. patrick's church took a hard hit last august 23rd. a

. >>> some changes are coming to the whitemarsh area of baltimore county. if you travel route 43, near i- 45, you may start to see some delays. the state is widening i-95 and replacing the 43 bridges that go over top. the road will eventually link with the state's express toll lane. when it's complete, drivers will see a big improvement in congestion. wjz has more on the plan coming up all new at 5:00 and 6:00. >>> michael douglas says he was wrong. greed is not good. and he is telling that to everyone on wall street who is willing to listen. betty nguyen reports for us for wjz, and how they are switching to a new public service ad campaign. >> greed, for lack of a better word, is good. >> reporter: in the 1980s, michael douglas was the fictional face of wall street excess. >> i play gord -- gordon, who played for profits while innocent investors lost their savings. >> reporter: he took on the oscar in 1987 ask is now trying out a new role, "fbi informant." >> the movie is fiction but the problem is real. our economy is increasingly dependent on the success

as 95 goes, in the northbound direction, that's jammed up pretty good from pulaski highway past whitemarsh boulevard. other accidents include pulaski highway at middle river road. and also druid hill at mcculloch. along with greenmount at east 33rd. let's take a live look. you can see, things are very heavy there. west of york road. and looks like pretty much the same situation there on the beltway at dulaney valley road. this traffic report is brought to you by volunteers of america, where 100% of donations go to people in our area. go online now to cars helping people.org. back to you. >> christy, thank you. >> well, what a wimpy winter we've had so far. may change on sunday. not 100% guaranteed. but there's a chance we'll see snow. >> all right. >>> take a look. yeah, some kids might be happy monday morning. 50 degrees. >> well, they're off school because of president's day. >> i know. maybe if we get a little snow. maybe they can get a little sledding in this year. >>> 35. humidity. very dry air. west/northwest wind. 10, the barometer. right now, holding steady. come back and take a lo

are traveling on northbound 95, we're seeing significant delays there from pulaski highway past whitemarshoulevard. as far as the outer loop of the beltway goes on the north side, stop and go there from york road to harford road. the inner loop also seeing some congestion there, as you make your way towards harford road. over on the west side inner loop, sluggish traffic as you make your way towards security boulevard. although things do ease up after that point. and we have other accidents, pulaski highway, at south mountain road, in joppatowne. also east pratt at south exeter in baltimore city. let's now take a live look. you can see, we have a bit of congestion west of york road. most of it on the right-hand side of the screen. this traffic report is brought to you by pizza bolis. stop in today and get a pair of one-topping medium pizzas. only at pizza bolis. back to you. >>> as part of our continuing commitment, wjz celebrates black history month, with an oratory contest. wjz is live. jessica kartalija spruces us to the winner -- introduces us to the winner. >> reporter: you were there

northbound 95, heavy congestion, 895 to whitemarsh boulevard.on the soargt north side inner loop. stop and go there. and the west side inner loop, just continues to crawl along, from southwestern boulevard past security. as far as the harrisburg expressway goes in the northbound direction, bumper to bumper there, from shawan road to belfast. two accidents in the towson area. west road at york road. also, east joppa at loch raven boulevard. other accidents include greenmount at east/northeast avenue. and south president. we'll take a live look as you can see, on the right-hand side of your screen. quite a build there on the harrisburg expressway. this traffic report is brought to you by pizza bolis. stop in and enjoy two medium, one-topping pizzas. only at pizza bolis. back to you. >>> february 29th comes along once every four years. and for those born on leap year, birthdays are few and far between. jessica kartalija explains why today is a big celebration for some maryland leaplings. >> happy birthday, mr. siegel. >> thank you. >> reporter: gle

and perry hall at whitemarsh boulevard. let's now take a live look. traffic delays on the beltway at providence road. this traffic report is brought to you by berger cookies. give a little love for valentine's day. berger cookies for yourself, your beloved for valentine's day. order your tin at berger cookies.com. >>> more car companies are building features to vehicles. the technology is on display at the motor trend auto show in downtown baltimore. wjz is live at the convention center. weijia jaingz -- weijia jiang has a look at the options and says she will pick me up a new car. >> we have been checking out your possible new cars all day long. talking to a lot of people who say they have been blown away, not by how fast or sleek these cars are, but by how safe they are. >> reporter: no doubt they're great eye candy. >> it's beautiful. it's beautiful. love to drive it. >> reporter: but the cars at the motor trend auto show parked in the baltimore convention center, boast more than beauty. they're smart. very smart. >> phone. >> reporter: in this for