O'Malley: Route 175 Widening Would 'Create Real Jobs'

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley touted Tuesday the potential widening of the main road through Odenton, as part of an effort to push for funding of infrastructure projects in the state.

In a blog post Tuesday, O'Malley highlighted one major infrastructure project from each county in the state, and specifically mentioned the widening of Maryland Route 175 from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to Maryland Route 170.

He described the project as "a real project that will create real jobs."

The state and county partnered with a developer for the , but work on improvements further east into Odenton to Route 170 has not begun due to a lack of money, county and state officials have said.

In his proposed budget for fiscal year 2013, O'Malley included a request for  $19.3 million for intersections on Route 175 near Fort Meade.

Local officials and business leaders have pushed for the road widening since thousands of new jobs were added to Fort Meade as a result of base realignment and closure (BRAC) activities and other expansion.

O'Malley made the blog post one day after announcing he would on to gasoline in order to pay for transportation upgrades in Maryland. O'Malley said his plan would result in more than $600 million for transportation annually.

O'Malley's plan recommendation differed from that of a Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding, which called for a flat 15-cent increase in the gas tax phased in over three years.

"I understand that a modern economy requires modern investments, and if we are going to protect our recent progress and move our state forward, we have to be honest about the choices we face," O'Malley wrote.