The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is forging ahead to approve a $50 million predevelopment design contract (the Phase 1 P3 Agreement) with Transurban. The MDTA Board voted on June 8 to advance the predevelopment agreement. This contract is a first step in the process to approve the flawed toll lane widening project. Following legislative and public review, the Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW) will vote on whether to give final approval, which would allow the contract to take effect.
MDOT SHA and the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) share responsibility for the P3 project and will both be party to P3 agreements. MDOT SHA is the state entity responsible for program development, solicitations, and program management. MDTA is an independent agency under MDOT and is responsible for setting toll rates and managing toll collections. The MDTA Board will establish the toll rate ranges. The P3 Developer will create the algorithm for setting specific toll rates within the range.
Action Items
Participate in Public Hearings for Proposed HOT Lane Toll Rate Ranges
As required by law, the public must have the opportunity to comment on the proposed Phase 1 P3 Agreement for the official record. Participate in one of these hearings:
In-person testimony: July 12 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hilton Washington D.C./Rockville Hotel & Executive Meeting Center. Click here to register or call 888-725-0174. Members of the public will be allotted three minutes.
Call-in testimony: July 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. To provide one-on-one testimony during the call-in hearing sessions, call 855-701-1977 and leave a single voicemail message limited to three minutes.
The hearings relate to the tolls and your presentation should address the high tolls and how these will be unaffordable for most people. The following bullets are some suggested discussion points. Refer to the more detailed descriptions of each of the points here or go to the Resources tab on our website. Use these and other concerns about the toll rates but state them in your own words and stay within the 3 minute time frame. Be sure to include your name and city of residence.
Privatizing roadways can lead to significant control of regional transportation by private companies accountable to their shareholders rather than the public.
Toll rates will be too high for average drivers on a daily basis. The toll from the bridge to I-370 could be over $40 at peak times!
The toll rate ranges will continue to escalate every year for the 50 years of the contract to account for inflation and other escalation factors.
High price toll roads are inequitable. Maximum toll rates should be accessible to working class families.
The proposed project is financially risky and does not show good stewardship of Maryland’s financial well-being.
Write and Call Comptroller Peter Franchot
Comptroller Franchot is the deciding vote when the BPW votes on contracts associated with the P3 project and it is critical to continue telling him to vote against the Phase 1 P3 Agreement. Write him care of Emily Gontrum at egontrum@marylandtaxes.gov and/or call him at 301-332-1961 and leave a voice mail or text. Tell him that no P3 agreement should be voted on until the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is completed.
Recent Events
May 20: MDOT Reveals Toll Setting Process and Toll Rate Structure
The Phase 1 South toll rate range setting process was presented to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Board on May 20. Toll rates will be via dynamic congestion pricing (fluctuating depending on traffic conditions to keep traffic moving at 45 mph or faster). The rates are dependent on the type of vehicle, segment of highway, and how the toll is collected and will increase annually over the 50-year course of the project. The final rates are scheduled to be approved in late October.
Read more at: The MDTA press release; What Will it Cost To Use New I-495/I-270 Toll Lanes? That Depends; Maryland board approves proposed toll rate ranges for new lanes on Capital Beltway, I-270.
June 8: MDTA Votes to Move Forward with the Contract
With less than 4 days notice, MDOT called an emergency session of the MDTA Board on June 8 to vote on approving a contract for private toll lanes on I-270 and the Beltway under a P3. The 391 page proposal plus hundreds more pages of attachments was only posted to the MDTA website just before the meeting. The MDTA Board granted contingent approval to the amended project and voted to move forward with the process for the tolling proposal, including holding public hearings. The approval was only for preconstruction activities and not for the actual construction.
Read more at: Vote passed to expand Maryland Capital Beltway; advocates rally against recent decision; Maryland’s Transit Authority Grants Preliminary Approval To Amended Beltway Project.
June 8: Rally to Stop the Highway P3 Boondoggle
Approximately 200 residents and community leaders held a rally against the P3 highway expansion plan on the same day that the MDTA voted to approve the toll lane plan. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich called the plans “irresponsible, and flat out wrong.” Rockville Mayor Bridget Newton stated that it “... destroys existing neighborhoods that have been here 50 years, impacts our environment, and yours and my children’s future.” Other speakers who slammed the project included Montgomery County Council President Tom Hucker, Maryland Senator Will Smith, and members of organizations that oppose the plan.
Watch a video of the rally.
Read more at: More than 100 gather to oppose I-270/I-495 widening plan, As I-495/I-270 Widening Clears Hurdle; Montgomery Leaders Slam ‘Insane’ Project; Vote passed to expand Maryland Capital Beltway -- advocates rally against recent decision.
June 16: A Key Vote by the Transportation Planning Board
The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) is the federally designated metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the Washington, D.C. region. The creation of MPOs was mandated by an act of Congress, the Federal-Aid Highway Act in 1962, to make sure regional transportation plans, programs, and projects are coordinated by local and state governments. The TPB brings together elected and appointed decision-makers to engage in a cooperative transportation planning process for the region.
The coordinating role of the MPO for the National Capital Region is unusually important because it covers two states and the District of Columbia, and the interstate dimension of the highway and transit network.
The TPB must produce a long-range transportation plan for the next 20-plus years. Visualize 2045 is the long-range transportation plan, or LRTP, for metropolitan Washington. The TPB is now updating the LRTP to produce a final plan in 2022, including the required Air Quality Conformity Analysis to ensure that the projects in the plan, when considered collectively, contribute to the air quality improvement goals embodied in the federal Clean Air Act. Growing concern about climate change has resulted in greater emphasis on this analysis, and the long-term impact that proposed new highway projects could have on this problem, and on public health.
At its June 16th meeting, the TPB added new climate change commitments and removed the I-495/I-270 P3 project from the long-range plan (and the Air Quality Conformity Analysis) on a motion by Montgomery County, which was approved by a majority vote of the TPB. This was a significant setback for the P3 project since a project must be part of a region’s long-range plan and conformity analysis before it can secure the federal environmental approval. If the TPB’s decision to remove the project from the long-range plan is not reversed, the project cannot move forward.
The Maryland and Virginia Departments of Transportation expressed alarm at the vote. Project backers scrambled to salvage the P3 project with a possible motion to reconsider at the next TPB meeting on July 21. MDOT Deputy Secretary Earl Lewis is trying to persuade TPB members who voted against the P3, or who abstained, to change their votes by offering more favorable consideration of projects in their cities and counties, or by threatening to cancel other transit and highway projects that are already in the LRTP, unless the 495-270 project is restored.
According to an expert on the TPB, “Act 2 of this drama could unfold on July 21 at the next TPB meeting.”
Video of the meeting: https://www.mwcog.org/events/2021/6/16/transportation-planning-board/
Read more at: Maryland toll lanes plan removed from key environmental analysis, jeopardizing federal approval; MDOT: Vote to Remove Highway Widening Imperils Other Transportation Projects; Supporters of Maryland plan for toll lanes on the Beltway and I-270 push for another vote after regional board rejects it.
June 24: Townhall: Next Steps to Stop the Toll Lanes Expansion
This virtual townhall was convened by the Sierra Club, Dontwiden270.org, CABE, and others to emphasize the need to continue challenging the highway project. Per the townhall organizers, one of the most impactful ways to voice opposition to the project is to call Comptroller Peter Franchot at (410) 260-7801 and urge him to delay a vote on the I-495/I-270 initial (predevelopment) contract until the FEIS is complete and we know the facts.
Details were also provided on financial support for legal strategy. The Maryland Sierra Club is launching a Legal Defense Fund to support ongoing legal work on the I-495/I-270 expansion plan; contribute here: https://www.sierraclub.org/md-smart-growth-defense-fund.
June 29: Legislative Briefing on the MDOT I-495 I-270 P3 Project
This was a special joint hearing of House and Senate Transportation and Environment Subcommittees of the Maryland General Assembly to review the MDOT contract for predevelopment work on the P3 Project. The hearing was intended for information gathering, not for legislating.
Speakers included an expert on P3 deals, who elaborated on how the P3 mechanism is different from traditional procurements. A budget analyst from the Maryland Department of Legislative Services (DLS) explained that the private sector is not funding any part of this project but would finance the project and be fully repaid via toll collections. Other speaker comments emphasized that the public sector must know upfront what they expect from the private sector and that the project will require continued attention from the State throughout the 50-year contract term.
The legislators addressed MDOT about financial issues, the lack of other funding mechanism evaluations, and concerns that there is no certainty in the project’s costs. MDOT responded that they are currently working with the developer on the scope of the work and that a price will be put in the agreement. The developer will need to oversee costs with the subcontractors and stay within the budget.
There was considerable discussion about a Value for Money Analysis (VFM) that MDOT promised in February 2019 but is not yet available. The VFM is a comparison of overall costs of public versus private financing of a road project. MDOT said a VFM will be delivered at the time of the phase development agreement. Legislators questioned the timing of the report, saying that such a review is only valuable before the state begins entering long-term contracts.
Remaining unanswered is what transit relief is really necessary for the future and, if actually needed, the best design and financing arrangements.
Click on the video camera icon here to listen to the briefing.
Read more at: Legislative Hearing on I-495/I-270 Contract Set; Legislators Accuse MDOT of Withholding Highway-Financing Study; Maryland lawmakers question why state needs private financing for Beltway, I-270 toll lanes.
Must-Read Statements
Letter from State District 17 legislators (Sen. Kagan, Delegates: Barve, Gilchrist, and Palakovich Carr) to Comptroller Peter Franchot: https://cherylkagan.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/franchot-letter.png.
U.S. Public Interest Research Group: “Private Roads, Public Costs: The Facts About Toll Road Privatization and How to Protect the Public.” https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/Private-Roads-Public-Costs-Updated_1.pdf
Comments on a Transurban Prospectus: https://www.facebook.com/kaihagen/posts/10222424835984291
Yard Signs
Dontwiden270.org has more yard signs. Consider posting a yard sign in front of your house or business, especially if the sign would be visible to people driving by. Signs are $10 each. To order a yard sign, send an email to sallystolz@aol.com and include your name, phone number, and address. Sally will call you to set up a time for pick up/delivery.