Following several months of intense debate, the dust seems to have finally settled after the TPB voted on July 21 to include Maryland’s I-270/I-495 widening project in its air quality conformity analysis. Inclusion in this analysis is a federal requirement for any regionally-significant project.
The six-billion-dollar megaproject includes replacing the American Legion Bridge and adding two HOT (high-occupancy toll) lanes in each direction on the Beltway (I-495) and I-270 between the Virginia border and the city of Frederick. It will now move forward as part of the update of Visualize 2045, the region’s long-range transportation plan, which is scheduled for final approval next summer.
The HOT lanes resolution was decided by a weighted vote, which allocates five votes each to the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Some of the Maryland and Virginia votes are proportional based on local jurisdictions’ populations. The final weighted vote was 10.6 in favor of adding the HOT lanes back to the air quality analysis project list and 4.3 opposed.
While the board remained divided over the project, many TPB members expressed appreciation for the vigorous exchange of ideas and for the improvements that MDOT made in response to the input received.
Reversal of last month’s decision
The July approval of the HOT lanes project reversed the board’s decision in June to remove it from the air quality analysis project list, which is part of the Visualize 2045 long-range plan update. That June vote received intense media attention because it presented a major roadblock to the widening project, which has been the subject of high-profile planning and development since 2017. For projects to receive final federal approval and move forward, they must be included in the TPB’s air quality analysis and long-range plan. Following the June meeting, several TPB members from Maryland and Virginia asked the board to revisit the decision. At the July meeting, some members explained why they changed their June votes.
New support for the project was based, at least in part, on commitments from MDOT to accelerate the delivery of transit projects associated with the HOT lanes. The resolution approved by the TPB committed MDOT to funding at least $60 million for design and $300 million for construction of a high-priority transit project such as the Corridor Cities Transitway or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on MD 355.
Funding shortfalls were also a consideration. MDOT pointed out that the rejection of the HOT lanes project would mean the loss of about $6 billion in private sector revenues not just for the new lanes and associated construction, but also for the replacement and maintenance of the aging American Legion Bridge. Even without the HOT lanes project, the state argued, the American Legion Bridge would still need to be replaced and essential maintenance on the corridor would still be necessary. MDOT stated that with the private sector funds available to replace and maintain the American Legion Bridge, it was able to use the freed-up state and federal funds for other highway and transit projects.
When the HOT lanes project was initially dropped from the plan, to make up for the anticipated loss in revenue, MDOT had proposed eliminating five Maryland projects from the region’s long-range plan for a total of $1.3 billion. The state said these cuts would be necessary to backfill the portion of $6B in private sector revenue the state had assumed to pay for the replacement and maintenance of the American Legion Bridge and ensure the remaining package of projects in Visualize 2045 would be financially constrained, which is another federal requirement that the TPB is obliged to meet. The TPB was tentatively planning to hold a special August meeting to vote on the elimination of these five projects if the HOT lanes project—and its related private sector funding—was not restored in July.
Discussing the HOT lanes from different policy perspectives
As a federally designated metropolitan planning organization, the TPB is responsible for developing a long-range transportation plan. In our region, that plan, which is called Visualize 2045, is due for an update in 2022. As part of the update process, the TPB must conduct an air quality analysis of all regionally-significant projects in the constrained element of the plan to affirm that projects collectively meet federal air quality standards. The TPB must also ensure that the projects in the constrained element can be expected to have funding for construction, operations, and maintenance.
Although the I-270/I-495 HOT lanes project was one of more than 400 projects submitted earlier this year for inclusion in Visualize 2045, it was clear, almost immediately, that it would be the primary subject of debate and scrutiny. In addition to commenting on project details, discussions about the proposed HOT lanes provided opportunities for TPB members and the public to express concerns about broad public policy issues, such as increased transit services, reduced single occupant travel and miles travelled, climate change, infrastructure funding, and local/state coordination.
Supporters of the project lauded the state’s plan to address congestion on the most traffic-choked highway corridor in Maryland. When introducing the item at the July TPB meeting, Greg Slater, Maryland Transportation Secretary, noted that the project was a prime example of one of the TPB’s Seven Aspirational Initiatives, which calls upon the region to “expand the express highway network.”
The project was also seen as an important means for improving public transit through express bus services in the form of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). According to Glenn Orlin of the Montgomery County Council staff: “These express toll lanes are essentially transit guideways. There’s an opportunity here to provide a very rapid BRT system going from Frederick all the way down to Tysons.”
Neil Harris, Gaithersburg Council Member, highlighted the lack of transportation options in the region’s outer jurisdictions. “We need your help,” he said. “We rely on highways much more than close-in jurisdictions. The additions of funding for long-planned transit improvements, such as the Corridor Cities Transitway and the Route 355 BRT, are vital for us.”
Arlington County Board Member Christian Dorsey said the greater commitment to mass transit showed that MDOT “has made significant improvements, in my mind.” He said he would have preferred a regional consensus among Maryland leaders, but that didn’t appear to be possible. “I want to reward progress,” Dorsey said.
Supporters also noted that the project had been extensively revised since it was first proposed in 2017, and they further said the widening would largely be achieved within existing right-of-way. “Through extensive coordination and input from affected counties and the public and stakeholders, we’ve reduced the scope of the project,” said Slater. “We’re incentivizing people, not cars.”
Opponents expressed concerns about the project’s public-private partnership funding mechanism, saying such systems dish out huge profits for toll companies but pose financial burdens and risks to taxpayers. “The state can borrow for less than Transurban [the firm chosen to lead the project],” said Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Executive, “and more importantly, Transurban is getting a profit by the mere fact that they’re borrowing and that’s driving up the cost of the project.”
Others expressed general opposition to road widenings. “In the 1990s, when they last expanded I-270, MDOT said they would resolve congestion for several decades to come,” said Patrick Wojahn, College Park Mayor. “But I-270 was back at the state that it was before the expansion within about five years. There’s no reason to think that… this time around is any different.”
Elrich criticized the details of the widening plan, saying that congestion relief could be realized with two reversible lanes instead of four new lanes.
Other TPB members said their opposition was rooted in broad environmental concerns, and in particular, they noted that road widenings contribute to climate change. “This project is still moving us backward on climate change,” said Kacy Kostiuk, Takoma Park Council Member. “These lanes mean more driving… I do not believe that this is the 2045 that I want to visualize.”
Finding unity in a new approach to planning
While TPB members may have disagreed about the environmental impacts of the I-270/I-495 HOT lanes project, the board was largely united in directing staff in recent months to accelerate regional planning activities to deal with a host of pressing issues— mobility and accessibility, reducing congestion, climate change, but also equity, safety, and non-motorized travel options.
At the June TPB meeting, in conjunction with the approval of the inputs for the 2022 plan update, the board passed a resolution calling for a new kind of plan update that will be finished in 2024. This new deadline is two years earlier than the normal plan update cycle of four years would require.
The development of this new plan will include the consideration of multiple build scenarios and an analysis of each scenario’s impact on the region’s adopted goals and targets, including reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
It will also begin with a blank slate. The new plan will be based on the concept of “zero-based budgeting” in which all projects, including those currently included in Visualize 2045, must be resubmitted for consideration. Projects will be exempted from this process only if they are currently under construction or currently funded with federal, state, regional, local, or private funds.
Following the development and analysis of these scenarios, the TPB will use the analysis to inform the development of the 2024 long-range transportation plan, along with future updates.
This new direction from the TPB to its staff grew out of a growing concern that the region’s planning process was not addressing climate change and other regional challenges aggressively enough.
While noting the immediate controversies surrounding Maryland HOT lane projects, Falls Church Council Member David Snyder asked the TPB to take a moment to acknowledge the new direction that the board established for the region’s long-range planning. “In our vote last month, we took a fundamentally critical vote… to set this region on a direction to truly meet effective climate change goals with regard to the transportation sector,” he said.