Let the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) know you oppose adding four luxury lanes to I-270 and I-495. This webpage has the details on how speak out to stop this mess. You’ll find guidance on writing a good comment about the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), and who to contact in the state legislature and state government.
Your words matter!
This toll-lane project is one of the largest of its type ever proposed and is expected to cost $11 billion or more. Submitting comments now on the DEIS and this flawed project is one of the most important actions you can take to stop the threat to our environment, our communities, and our pocketbooks.
The toll lanes will cause 4-5 years of construction misery at any given location, especially where interchanges and bridges have to be rebuilt – without, in the end, solving congestion.
ACTION ALERT
Act Now! Written comments must be submitted by November 9 to be included in the public record.
Be sure to say “I oppose the I-495 and I-270 project. I support the no-build option.” Your comments must include these sentences to ensure MDOT counts you as opposed to expanding the highways. Some topics for discussion can be found by scrolling down here.
Send your comments directly to MDOT at DEIS Public Comment Form: Comments can be entered into the on-line comment box or by clicking on the link on the form to upload a file; or
Email: MLS-NEPA-P3@mdot.maryland.gov.
To increase your impact, also send a copy of your comments to the following officials and include your home address:
Comptroller Peter Franchot, who has the deciding vote when the Board of Public Works (BPW) considers the P3 project; e-mail his BPW point person: aklase@marylandtaxes.gov.
Delegate Kumar Barve if you live in District 17: kumar.barve@house.state.md.us.
Senator Cheryl Kagan if you live in District 17: Cheryl.Kagan@senate.state.md.us. Also check out Senator Kagan’s comments on the project at the annual MDOT Road Show. She displayed the CABE and Dontwiden270.org door hanger. Great publicity! Watch it.
Senator Nancy King if you live in District 39: nancy.king@senate.state.md.us.
Toll on I-270 Luxury Lanes in Morning Rush Hour: $49.63
The tolls will be sky high. Traffic experts at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) estimate that drivers will pay $49.63 to go one way from Frederick to Shady Grove in the morning rush hour if toll lanes are built on I-270.
The MWCOG calculation is buried on page 883 of Appendix C of the DEIS. It says the morning rush-hour toll from MD Route 85 in Frederick to I-370 in Shady Grove will be $2.26 per mile. Multiplying that by the 21.96 mile length of the trip gives a total of $49.63.
The cost of the return trip in the afternoon is not given, but it is likely to be even higher because congestion is worse in the afternoon rush hour due to upper I-270 bottlenecks where six lanes reduce to two lanes.
Don’t Miss this Webinar about P3 Programs
Experts Jeremy Mohler and Shar Habibi from the national think-tank "In the Public Interest" will discuss the public-private-partnership (P3) process and concerns about MDOT’s proposed P3 program. A P3 is a complex and detailed form of privatization that gives control of a public good or service to a private entity. P3s are often risky, expensive, and secretive. Learn more:
When: October 28 6 -7:30 pm
Click here to register for the webinar. (You must register in advance.) An e-mail with a link to the presentation will be sent to everyone who registers. There will be a time for questions following the formal presentation.
Background: MDOT’s toll-lane project includes more than 70 miles of interstate highway. The P3 program would give the responsibility of designing, financing, constructing, and maintaining the toll lanes to a private contractor who would be able to set prices and collect tolls for the next 50 years. MDOT says this is necessary because there are insufficient funds in the Transportation Trust Fund to finance this infrastructure. But it’s now clear the toll-lane project would require taxpayer subsidy.
Critical issues must be carefully considered before MDOT goes forward with this project:
Is this infrastructure actually needed?
How much will Maryland taxpayers have to pay to support this P3?
Are P3s actually successful in transferring the risk of the project to the private entity?
Compared to the traditional route of issuing municipal bonds for capital projects, P3s are often cited as a less expensive way to leverage private capital to achieve public construction goals.
But are they? What are the costs and what are the risks?
With Gov. Hogan proposing a P3 for the addition of toll lanes on I-270 and I-495, the more we understand about P3 projects, the better we can advocate for our tax dollars.
Check out the Tabs on Dontwiden270.org
“Media Archives” contains links to current and past key news articles. Recent postings have more information on the cost of the toll road. “On the Record” has links to reports and correspondence from area politicians, “En Español” has information in Spanish, and “CABE Connection” has information from Citizens Against Beltway Expansion (CABE), a coalition of individuals and organizations that collaborates with Dontwiden270.org to oppose widening the Beltway and I-270.