Capital bypass toll road plan goes ahead with council vote
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – A board of directors voted Wednesday to move forward with preliminary work on a multibillion-dollar plan to alleviate suffocating traffic by replacing the aging American Legion bridge connecting Maryland and Virginia and creating toll lanes for Interstate 270 and parts of the ring road that surrounds the nation’s capital.
The three-member Maryland Public Works Council, which includes Governor Larry Hogan, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kopp, approved a pre-development agreement for a public-private partnership on a vote of 2- 1.
Hogan, who voted for the plan estimated to be around $ 6 billion with Franchot, described it as a “historic and transformative traffic relief plan.”
A final construction contract will still have to be submitted to the Board of Directors for final approval. The deal approved on Wednesday includes $ 50 million the state would pay companies if the project did not move forward.
“This traffic alleviation plan is a victory for families, commuters and small businesses, and it will finally begin to solve the crushing traffic and the worst in the country that people have failed to solve in 50 years. “Hogan, a Republican, said at the start of the board meeting.
The proposal would create four toll lanes – two in each direction – on both Interstate 270 and the western portion of the ring road. This would be done in two phases along I-270, first to Interstate 370, then I-370 to Interstate 70 in Frederick, Maryland.
Transportation Secretary Greg Slater noted the plan is a scaled-down effort. Four years ago, he said, the state was considering four express toll lanes on the entire ring road and I-270. The scope has been changed to focus on approximately 37 miles in the populated suburbs of the nation’s capital.
“It’s about trying to relieve congestion with another option to choose from, and it’s about finding other ways to provide the infrastructure, because our needs far exceed the resources we have,” he said. Slater said.
Franchot, a Democrat, said he voted for preliminary work after state transportation officials confirmed that no construction award contracts would be presented to the board next year before completion of all federal, state and local environmental impact studies and required permits.
âAs a resident of Montgomery County for over 40 years, I know firsthand how traffic congestion in the DC Metro area affects the quality of life for our residents,â Franchot said in a statement after the vote. âWe may not all agree on the solutions, but we all agree that this is an important problem that needs to be resolved.
Kopp, a Democrat, said she recognizes action is needed to tackle the terrible traffic jams. However, she opposed the continuation of the plan because there was not enough information on the environmental impacts and why the state should use a public-private partnership instead of traditional financing.
Two Australian companies, Transurban and Macquarie, will develop the toll lanes while a contract is negotiated with the companies to build the lanes and pay them in exchange for most of the revenue generated from the tolls.
State Senator Cheryl Kagan, a Democrat from Montgomery County who spoke out against the plan, noted that the board was moving forward with a public-private partnership, just as the United States Senate has this week approved a nearly $ 1 trillion infrastructure bill.
âWe know this is a historic opportunity to get federal funding, so why would we want to engage in a private partnership with someone else to get the benefits, to imbue our constituents, when could we get some of it for roads, bridges and mass transit bill which went from 69 to 30 last night? Kagan said.