New environmental bill could delay highway expansion project

Maryland House Bill 91 is a recent bill introduced to the Maryland state legislature that may delay Larry Hogan’s proposal to expand highways I-495 and I-270. The bill, which would measure environmental impacts of the project, would require public-private partnerships to be delayed until an Environmental Impact Statement is finished.

“The EIS process would provide a lot of information about cost, timeline, land needs, environmental mitigation and other factors about the project so we can understand what it is we’re doing,” Delegate Marc Korman of Montgomery County said.

The current expansion project, which is projected to cost around $9 billion, would add two additional lanes in both directions for I-495, I-270 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. P3 legislation, the standard method of crafting legislation for public-private partnerships, was established in 2013 to allow the state to partner with private corporations to share the costs on public infrastructure projects. Private corporations are willing to fund this expansion project in exchange for control over enforcing tolls. This plan would significantly ease traffic in the Washington and Baltimore areas.

This proposal is vital because there is a serious crisis for transportation. “By 2040, most of the beltway [drivers] are going to be in gridlock for many hours more than what they currently are,” Peter Rahn, Maryland’s transportation secretary, said.

Though there have been discussions and research for the past 25 years about the potential expansion, many delegates expressed concerns about the inadequate data available to the public about the project and lack of information about the expected tolls. However, state transportation officials have stated they will expand community outreach on this project in the near future.

Nonetheless, environmental activists argue the money put in the proposal should be used instead to fund mass public transport systems to encourage people to drive less.

“It’s a really expensive project with a lot of unknowns,” Marc Korman, a Bethesda representative, said.  “We need more information … This is not a question of whether or not you want to reduce traffic. We just need a lot more information before we enter a lease worth … nine to 11 billion dollars.”

However, if the plan is further delayed, the cost of construction could increase by around $270 to $300 million. This cost would fall on private sectors and could scare away potential bidders.

“We want to reduce congestion, but it also has to be a solution that pays for itself,” Rahn said.

Article by MoCo Student staff writer Emily Zhang of Winston Churchill High School.