Smoke and Mirrors and Toll Lanes

You might have seen a reasonable looking petition online recently: “We are tired of sitting in traffic,” it says. “Sign our petition to support Traffic Relief NOW!”

It’s sleight of hand. The sponsoring organization is led by a former spokesman for Larry Hogan and backed by big corporations, contracting companies, and lobbyists pushing the I-495/I-270 P3.

It’s like so many things connected to the toll-lane project – what we’re told and what’s actually happening are not the same. A few examples (you can read more about them after the Action Item):

• MDOT insists safety is a toll-lane project priority, but our story, “Four Feet of Pavement and Plastic Stalks” offers evidence to the contrary.

• In the name of faux “congestion relief”, MDOT plans to destroy the real congestion relief it’s already brought to lower I-270.

• The winning bidder for the I-495/I-270 P3 contract provided unrealistically low construction cost estimates, according to claims made in court by a failed bidder. The judge ruled against MDOT, must review the substance of the challenger’s claims.

Action Item

 The fate of the toll-lane project is tied to whoever wins the gubernatorial primaries on June 28th and the general election on November 8th. We want a new governor who will reject the harmful P3 and champion transportation that meets real needs.

According to a smart new Baltimore Sun editorial, the election should “be the final word on whether Marylanders support or oppose” the toll lane project. “Given the project’s various controversies including strong opposition in Montgomery County (including from the majority of its General Assembly delegation)…it really ought to be put to referendum, which is exactly what the governor’s race represents.”

To help clarify your voting choices, jump on the opportunity to hear most of the gubernatorial candidates answer critically important questions – likely including one on the toll-lane project – at back-to-back Climate Forums on Tuesday, March 8 and Wednesday, March 9, 7-8:30 p.m. The events will be streamed on Facebook. Find details, links and candidate line-ups here in Maryland Matters.

Even Comptroller Peter Franchot, the decider who decided to vote for the boondoggle, says he’ll be at the Wednesday forum.

It’s 4 feet of pavement + plastic stalks. MDOT calls this safe??

 You know from our last newsletter that MDOT’s proposed toll-lane design takes away the inside shoulder from the free lanes. Unsafe!

Now look at another source of danger in MDOT’s proposal. All that will separate the free lanes from the toll lanes is 4 feet of pavement and a row of plastic stalks (called candlestick posts). The stalks are already deployed on I-495 in Northern Virginia (see the pic and caption below, both from this Federal Highway Administration Report, Sec. 5.3). MDOT is proposing the same “barrier” design for I-270/I-495 and using the same contractor.

The really bad news: the Federal Highway Administration Report says, “Plastic posts will not stop an errant vehicle from crashing through the barrier” (Sec. 1.3).

Figure 48. Photo. The I-495 Express Lanes are operated by a private firm and are separated from the publicly owned and heavily congested general purpose lanes by a 4 foot buffer with a plastic post barrier.

Imagine this configuration on MD’s I-270 and I-495. At rush hour, the free lanes will fill with cars, trucks, and big rigs. Just 4 ft. away, in the sparsely occupied toll lanes, drivers who paid sky-high tolls will be moving faster. Vehicles from either side could plow across the 4 ft. divide because of avoidance maneuvers, inattention, going too fast for conditions, and more (ATSSA: Guardrails and Barriers).

MDOT solved congestion on lower I-270; now it wants to “un-solve” it

MDOT’s P3 program will tear down the highly successful Innovative Congestion Management Project (ICMP) on lower I-270 and replace it with a toll-lane design that removes lanes and is guaranteed to worsen congestion (pp. 18-40).

Since 2017, MDOT’s $132,000,000 ICMP has used roadway and safety improvements and innovative technology to nearly eliminate congestion on I-270 below the northern bottleneck at I-370.

Instead of touting the achievement, MDOT falsely claims lower I-270 is still in dire need of congestion relief. Seven months worth of compelling evidence says otherwise.

Since July 2021, independent daily traffic recording – using screenshots of the traffic overlay on the Google Traffic App during a.m. and p.m. rush hours – shows how well ICMP is working.

Barring accidents, storms, or roadwork, I-270 below I-370 consistently moves at or above the speed limit (shown as “green” in the image).
	I-270 north of the I-370 bottleneck consistently shows moderate or severe congestion (shown as "orange" or "red" in the image).
And I-495 and I-95, including the locations of Virginia’s toll lanes, consistently show moderate or severe congestion.

There’s no clearer example of the waste and futility of the toll-lane P3 than this planned destruction of a successful program to make room for one that won’t work.

You can read more about the thousands of daily traffic-recording images, and find additional information and links about ICMP here (p. 63-68).

Toll-lane project faces new source of delay

A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge recently ruled against MDOT in an appeal of the toll-lane contract award by a losing bidder. MDOT must now go back and consider the challenge on its merits, not simply on its timing. A headline captures the impact: “Blockbuster Ruling Imperils Hogan’s I-495/I-270 Toll Lanes Timeline.”

Per the Washington Post, the losing bidder claims the Transurban team’s winning proposal “assumed unrealistically low construction costs that could result in massive delays and cost overruns…” If the challenger is right, we know that the money to cover those delays and overruns will come out of taxpayers’ pockets.

Here's the info MDOT doesn't want you to see

The Toll-Lane Scheme/Scam Keeps Growing…and Getting Exposed

Absurd! MDOT and Transurban are racing to get a construction contract signed before Governor Hogan leaves office.

They’re keeping critical information from the public, taking shortcuts through federally-mandated reviews, and making goofy attempts to convince us that what we’re seeing isn’t really what we’re seeing. Examples:

• Hiding info. Remember that 2019, so-called “historic” Capital Beltway Accord between the governors of MD and VA? Documentation of the Accord — if it even exists — has never been made public. We don’t know what Maryland agreed to do, or what taxpayers will have to subsidize. But we know more than we did because a 2/8/22 MDOT/VDOT community presentation revealed chilling new info. Read about it below.

• Taking shortcuts. The public, elected officials, and a wide range of organizations submitted 5,000 comments about the toll-lane project during the 2020 and 2021 environmental reviews. MDOT has not publicly released or publicly responded to any.

• Repeatedly telling us not to believe our own eyes. Just this past Friday, MDOT sent a public message via its Op Lanes (MDOT’s silly name for toll lanes) e-mail distribution list. The message offered us a link to one of MDOT’s 2019 marketing videos and reassurance that toll lanes will reduce congestion in Maryland. Hah. What they don’t want us to know, including pics, is below.

Start with the Action Item. Then see the toll-lane scheme/scam exposed, followed by excellent news about elected officials and advocates reaching out on the public’s behalf.

Action Item

For a practical, cumulative impact: Send the pictures and evidence in this newsletter to people (including elected officials and candidates) who need to know that if MDOT and Transurban get their way, congestion will be worse, accident rates will soar, and taxpayer money will go to subsidize an Australian toll giant.

What MDOT and Transurban have planned is a mega-billion-dollar, generation-spanning boondoggle that will do a world of harm. That conclusion is based on documented evidence, including all of this. Pass it on, please.

MDOT reveals its design for massive toll interchange in…VA?

At last week’s meeting of the McLean Citizen’s Organization, MDOT — there to address the local community’s concerns — made clear some disturbing news that was not very clear before.

Maryland, through its contract with Transurban, will be responsible for designing and building a massive I-495 toll-lane interchange at the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia as part of Maryland’s Phase 1 South toll lane project.

MDOT’s spaghetti-like design for the GW Parkway interchange is below (and here, slide 6). No wonder the community is concerned. MDOT will build the lanes and flyover ramps shown in brown in the illustration. Virginia will build the lanes shown in blue.

MDOT’s proposed design for the GW Parkway interchange

Is this effort related to the Capital Beltway Accord the public has never seen? The Accord is referred to as a work in progress here (see Sec. 7.0), here (see Sec. 1.5), and in the footnote here. But there’s no public evidence the Accord has been finalized or even written down yet.

This certainly raises questions:

• Is MDOT starting work on a multi-billion dollar construction project based on a handshake with the VA governor?

• If MD and VA have nothing to hide, why aren’t they sharing their Accord with the public?

• Why are Maryland state employees working on designs for VA, anyway?

• And what financial risk does this pose for MD taxpayers?

And there’s more. This is about Maryland’s contract with Transurban. Back in 2019, Virginia signed a contract with Transurban to build VA toll lanes north to the American Legion Bridge. Key elements of the contract have not been made public (see the highly redacted agreement here).

Then in 2021, Maryland also selected Transurban as the winning bidder to design and build toll lanes, including from the George Washington Parkway in VA north into MD. Did Transurban’s contract with VA influence MD’s selection process?

It’s all head-spinning.

And FYI, this coming Wednesday, one of the losing bidders for the MD contract will be in Montgomery County Circuit Court re: appeal of MDOT’s award to AMP/Transurban for Phase 1 of the I-495/I-270 contract.

How the toll lanes REALLY look and operate

A recent pic of a Transurban-designed and built segment of I-495 in Northern Virginia shows what MDOT intends for our Maryland highways (the proof is in the next section).

You’re looking at northbound traffic on I-495 between Tysons and Route 50 at peak congestion.

Peak congestion, I-95 northbound

The toll lanes in the center are nearly empty; drivers chose not to pay the sky-high tolls. The general lanes are packed. Huge trucks, small trucks, family vehicles jammed together — a recipe for accidents.

There is no inside shoulder for the general lanes. Nowhere to pull off, no place to go in an emergency.

VDOT’s numbers show the awful consequences of this design. Since the toll lanes were added, “The crash rate for northbound I-495 [general purpose] lanes from Route 7 to the [American Legion Memorial Bridge] is approximately 100 percent higher than the statewide crash rate. The injury crash rate is 25 percent higher than the statewide injury crash rate” (emphasis added; citation found here, p. 83).

I-270/I-495 will have the same dangerous, congested setup

A schematic for MDOT's preferred alternative shows Maryland can expect the same dynamic we see in Northern Virginia: virtually empty toll lanes; maximally congested general lanes; decreased safety; increased accidents. Note that the five general purpose lanes on I-270 will have no inside shoulder. Frightening.

You can find a simulated view (see slide 10) from inside the proposed toll lanes in MDOT’s 2/8/22 presentation to the McLean Citizen’s Association. You’ll see two toll lanes with their own dedicated shoulder, and all the general lanes with no inside shoulder. Remember, these are MDOT’s own images.

Outstanding action by the Sierra Club and the City of Rockville

Two exceptionally strong letters went out to the Federal Highway Administration recently, identifying significant deficiencies in the toll-lane project’s Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement and calling for additional analyses and discussion of mitigation measures.

Read the Sierra Club’s letter here and the letter from Rockville Mayor Bridget Newton and Rockville Councilmembers Monique Ashton, Beryl Feinberg, David Myles, and Mark Pierzchala here. Both letters are powerful and compelling.

Double Warnings About the Toll Lanes! New Vulnerabilities for MDOT’s Plan

A Gift Wrapped in a Warning

The dynamite new editorial from the President of the Northern Virginia Citizens Association shows exactly what we’ll get if MDOT is allowed to duplicate VA’s toll-lane debacle.

“VDOT/Transurban’s I-495 express [toll] lanes opened in 2012 after five long years of construction and a loss of 300 acres of highway tree buffer. We were promised no net cost to taxpayers, reduced congestion, better safety and a predictable commute if we chose to pay a toll.” Sound familiar?

All those promises were broken.

The actual results in VA? “…new choke points where the toll lanes end, longer travel times and increased congestion…” Exactly what expert analysis shows will happen in MD.

• “VDOT keeps expanding the express lanes on I-95 to ‘fix’ the problem of congestion caused by merge-area chokepoints.”

• “VDOT admits that: 1) The state invested a significant amount of state taxpayer dollars in the project… 2) Drivers were not using the toll lanes as projected; 3) The project actually caused rather than reduced congestion; and 4) Accidents at the merge point are far above the average rate.”

From Maryland Matters (1/14/22): “Use Caution. I-495 Toll Lanes Not as Advertised”

 We’ve had many warnings about the dangers of Hogan’s P3, but never one so grounded in lived experience. See below for the Action Item connected to it.

Then read about a closer-to-home warning based on the skyrocketing costs of another P3: the Purple Line. You’ll also find welcome new signs that the toll-lanes are not a done deal, and a quick note about the 2022 gubernatorial race.

ACTION ITEM

Two steps. Read the editorial from the Northern VA Citizens Association. It will take you just three minutes and clarify everything—what Hogan and Transurban are trying to pull off, what their scheme will do to your life, and why we need to stop it now so we can pivot to real transportation solutions.                                                                                                      

The goal here is to arm yourself with a clear, simple way to talk about the disastrous P3 project. 2022 is the make-or-break year for the toll lanes, and we’ll increasingly be reaching out to people we know and wavering elected officials. Many of them are stuck in MDOT’s opaque morass of misinformation. They need to hear the real story from well-informed people they trust, like you. 

So use this editorial to refine your own retelling of MDOT’s plans. All the supporting evidence of sky-high tolls, increased congestion, worsening safety, and so much more is right here when you need it.

Huge New Costs for Purple Line P3 = Clear Warning for Toll-Lane P3

The Board of Public Works on January 26 will vote on new contracts for the Purple Line P3. Per the Washington Post, “The state’s cost…would climb from $5.6 billion to $9.3 billion” (“Purple Line will open 4½ years late and cost $1.4 billion more to complete, state says”).

 The Purple Line P3 was once seen as a model for how governments “could partner with the private sector to build expensive infrastructure…with fewer financial risks.” Now it’s a preview of the enormous financial risks also ahead for the toll-lane P3.

 MDOT cites cost increases that it “and the transportation industry as a whole —are facing in the post-pandemic world”, including from rising materials costs, supply chain issues across the construction industry, labor shortages, workforce challenges, and inflation (BPW meeting materials, p. 98).

 These factors will surely apply to the toll-lane project as well, leaving taxpayers on the hook for astronomical amounts. Hogan’s promise of toll-lanes at no taxpayer expense? Meaningless.

More Reasons Why the Toll Lane Project is Far from a Done Deal

• Our December “vulnerabilities roundup” cited possible delays in MDOT’s mad rush to finalize the project. Sure enough, some key federally mandated milestones have slipped from Spring 2022 to Summer 2022. More delays expected.

• With the still unexplained departure of MDOT Secretary Greg Slater, the P3 project lost its most reassuring champion. Slater’s replacement will have a much harder time side-stepping tough questions.

• The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission posted its compelling comments on the P3’s Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The comments carry real-life consequences if MDOT doesn’t/won’t mitigate the identified harms.

• The enormous leap in Purple Line costs described above is sure to bring more scrutiny of the toll-lane P3’s hidden finances.

• Snow disaster pics from I-95 in VA clearly showed empty Transurban toll lanes. The promised VA investigation needs to look at the reasons -- whether toll-lane design, agreement with VDOT, sky-high tolls, or other -- why lanes built on the public right-of-way and subsidized by taxpayers were not used in the public interest during that emergency. The answer could create more opposition to MDOT’s plan.

I-95 at Lorton and Newington the afternoon of 1/3/22.

If you see Peter Franchot, please ask him this

Gubernatorial candidate Peter Franchot—the decider who green-lighted Hogan’s toll-lane plan—has been skipping many public forums attended by his fellow candidates.

If you should spot him at a fundraiser (or anywhere, really) please ask him why he, our state’s Comptroller/Chief Financial Officer/Fiscal Watchdog, voted to approve the mega-billion-dollar, 60-year P3 deal without first insisting on an independent financial and legal review.

Is that how he’d govern the state? Let us know what he says.