Toll Lane Proposal Progresses, First Design Contract Approved

MARYLAND — The Board of Public Works voted 2-1 to approve the first "pre-development agreement" for companies to begin designing the Beltway expansion project.

Gov. Larry Hogan’s proposal will add two toll lanes in each direction, with fees dependent on road congestion, to I-270, leaving the rest of the existing lanes without toll fares. Hogan and Comptroller Peter Franchot voted yes on Wednesday, while Secretary Nancy Kopp voted no.

The proposal hit a speed bump in June when the Planning Board removed it from a federal study that was required to start construction. The board voted it back into the study last month, frustrating some of Montgomery County's politicians and residents.

The project has caused tension between county and state leaders, with Hogan touting the benefits of the expansion while opponents criticized the potential environmental impact and social inequality it could create. The Board of Public Works addressed the environmental concerns at their vote, and said more studies will be conducted throughout the process of planning and designing the expansion.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has said only people who are able to pay high tolls will get any traffic relief, while everyone else sits in the same congestion as before. He wrote a letter to the Board of Public Works earlier this week with his reservations on the project:

1. The State has not released the basic analysis of project benefits and impacts for the new Recommended Preferred Alternative needed to inform your decision.
2. The State has not conducted project financial analysis to conclude that a decades- long obligation of public right-of-way for private commercial activity is necessary or appropriate to serve the public interest.
3. Despite four years of work, the State has failed to adequately engage with the community, local elected officials, federal agencies, state agencies, and other stakeholders to develop consensus around this project.
4. This project should not advance without a comprehensive plan for I-270. The P3 agreement provides no traffic relief north of I-370, leaving Frederick County, Washington County, Carroll County, and northern Montgomery County commuters stranded in congestion, shown in MDOT's studies to be worse than it is now. This project does nothing to eliminate the northbound bottlenecks along I-270 and compounds them by adding a convergence of toll lanes, general purpose lanes and ramps from I-370 all in the same location.

Some County Council members came out in support of the project being added back into the air study — releasing a statement shortly before the Planning Board voted the project back in — including Hans Riemer, Gabriel Albornoz, Andrew Friedman, Nancy Navarro and Craig Rice.

The Council wrote a letter Monday, however, asking the Board of Public Works to delay its vote until the contract could be reviewed by outside experts.

" ... regardless of one's view of the policy merits of any project, the State should not enter into an agreement of this magnitude without due diligence to fully understand the contractual obligations we are assuming," the letter reads. "Careful study of the contract by the Bond Counsel and Financial Advisor is a necessary part of that due diligence."