Widening I-270, Beltway: Hogan Delays Part Of Traffic Relief Plan

SILVER SPRING, MD — Gov. Larry Hogan's controversial plan to create toll lanes to ease congestion on the Capital Beltway will be put on hold, state officials decided Wednesday, while they prioritize making improvements on I-270.

The Maryland Board of Public Works voted 2-to-1 in favor of Hogan's ambitious plan after he decided to flip the order of which toll lanes would be added first. The three members of the public works board are Hogan, Treasurer Nancy Kopp, and Comptroller Peter Franchot. Kopp voted against the privatization toll plan.

Hogan's ambitious transportation plan relies on a public-private partnership model — which puts private developers in charge of building, financing, and maintaining the toll lanes. Now that the vote has passed, developers can submit bids on the project to the Maryland Department of Transportation.

The plan involves widening the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270 for toll lanes. Widening the two major interstates is part of a long-term project that aims to alleviate traffic jams, according to Hogan. The plan is divided into three phases.

"This thing has always been thought of as three different phases. One phase would alleviate the traffic congestion on 495 — the Capital Beltway from the Potomac River all the way through Montgomery County, through I-95, and northern Prince George's County," Hogan said.

"Another phase is the congestion relief and increased capacity of improvements to I-270. And a third phase would be the improvement to the Beltway in Prince George's County — south all the way to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

"All of the numerous studies to date, and all of the data, have clearly shown that all three of these phases are critically needed. And our intention is to eventually complete all three of these phases," Hogan said.

However, making room for these toll lanes, according to local officials and multiple media outlets, would call for demolishing possibly dozens of homes and several businesses. The estimated cost for the project: up to $11 billion.

In an effort to delay the project, local lawmakers, including Montgomery County councilmember Tom Hucker and County Executive Marc Elrich, testified before the board in Annapolis.

At Wednesday's meeting, Hucker urged the Board of Public Works to reject the highway widening plan, saying that the state should work with affected local governments before making any long-term decisions.

"We want to be engaged in the process, not shut out of it," Hucker, who also chairs the County Council's Transportation and Environment Committee, said.

Hucker, who called the plan "well-intentioned," said he cannot support the project if the affected parties aren't brought to the table for discussion.

"The managed lanes proposal is well-intentioned and has many strong elements, but we're asking you to defer approval today and direct MDOT to include the amendments we sent you earlier this week and win the support of local officials — as has always been done in large transportation projects like the ICC, the Purple Line and the Wilson Bridge," Hucker said.

Some recommendations that local lawmakers have sent to Hogan in the past include widening the American Legion Bridge over the Potomac River and on Interstate 270 and adding reversible lanes between Gaithersburg and Frederick, according to Bethesda Beat.

"No one is more affected by congestion on I-495 and I-270 than we and our constituents are," Hucker said at Wednesday's meeting. "We know how it wastes our time, how it degrades the quality of life in our counties, how it impedes our economic development. And that's why, more than most, we also have the expertise — and motivation — to solve it."

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich also spoke in opposition of the plan, saying Montgomery officials have been left in the dark.

"We were not a part of this process. You did a press conference and announced what you were going do before you talked to anybody," Elrich said.

Hogan then said that the press conference was two years ago, while Isiah Leggett was the county executive.

"I didn't know who you were," Hogan said.

Before issuing the decision to make improvements on I-270 a priority, Hogan said phase one of the transportation plan, which originally involved I-495, has gotten the most pushback.

"This phase has generated the most concerns from citizens and the strongest opposition from local Montgomery County elected officials who have asked us to delay these much needed improvements," Hogan said.

"Reluctantly," Hogan continued, "we will agree to that delay, and we will instead move forward with the improvement to I-270 as phase one. This will allow even more time for us to work together with local leaders in Montgomery County to get more input from citizens and have more collaboration, more study, and more debate. In fact, it might give us a couple of years more as we move forward with phase one."