That’s Settled: Federal Government NOT Paying for Moore-Hogan Toll Lanes

Governor Moore asked the US Department of Transportation for federal grant dollars to build Hogan-era toll lanes. USDOT wisely chose to put its dollars elsewhere this year.

That leaves the Moore administration with three options:

  • Option 1 (the second worst): Wait and reapply for next year’s grants. Here’s what will happen during the wait: MDOT will continue wasting scarce taxpayer dollars (over $76 million in 2024-25 alone) on toll lane planning (p. 300); the lawsuit challenging the project will likely be decided; opposition to the toll lanes will grow.

  • Option 2 (the worst): Switch to the for-profit P3 model Hogan championed. Pressure for this will surely come from Virginia, whose I-495 NEXT toll lanes have no MD construction to connect to. Fault VDOT for demolishing their highway tree canopy, tearing down sound walls, and pouring concrete before MD's plans were set. To see what makes this option the worst, read “Wiedefeld Explains”, below.

  • Option 3 (the clear best): Treat the USDOT grant decision as a fortuitous second chance to cancel Hogan’s plan. Then take a fresh look at the public’s real transportation needs and the smart, equitable alternatives already on the table.

Credit: Maryland Matters, 1/27/24

Action Item: Register for Feb. 6 Zoom Town Hall

 To hear the latest toll lane developments, sign up for the virtual Town Hall sponsored by Citizens Against Beltway Expansion (CABE) and DontWiden270.org. The Town Hall is on Tuesday, February 6, at 7:30 p.m. Register now to join us!

A highlight of the meeting will be a discussion with State Delegate Marc Korman (D16). Maryland Matters recently said about Del. Korman: “The new chair of the House Environment and Transportation Committee has been ‘Mr. Transportation’ throughout his legislative career and will be at the center of the fight to push back on the Moore administration’s proposed spending cuts…” You won’t want to miss this. Zoom Town Hall, Feb. 6 at 7:30. 

Secretary Wiedefeld explains what’s wrong with a P3

MDOT Secretary Wiedefeld had a most informative conversation with State Senator Cheryl Kagan (D17) on the Senator’s podcast, “Kibbitzing with Kagan”. Responding to her questions about the toll lane plan, the Secretary gave a clear and convincing argument against public-private partnership financing for the toll lane project (minutes 22:12 to 23:27).

Here (very slightly edited for clarity and conciseness) is what he said about the P3 venture:

  • “Financially that was probably going to dig us a bigger and bigger hole because we had very limited control over that. There is a time and a place for public private partnerships. I just think the more complicated some of these projects are, it's a little bit more difficult. Because you give up a lot of the ability to control the future.”

  • “And you're doing it at a cost. The reality is the taxpayers are still going to pay for it in some fashion… [The private partners] basically need to deliver the same project. They need to make margin…Now they have dollars to do that. There are ways they can do that. But at the end of the day the customer's going to pay.”

  • “They're not giving the state money. So I think on these very complex projects, you really have to think through that. And that's really what we did. And the contractor did as well…financially, the numbers were not working any longer without even a larger investment by the state.”

 Thank you for this, Senator Kagan and Secretary Wiedefeld.

Toll-Lane Status/Timeline at End of Moore’s 1st Year

In 2023, Gov. Moore made the unforced error of picking up Larry Hogan’s bogged-down toll lane plan and calling it his own. Unless and until Moore changes his mind, he’ll be pushing and pulling this behemoth along, even though it can’t bear public scrutiny, even though it will do a world of harm.


At this point – 6 years in – the project is a mass of moving parts, unknowns, and challenges. See (below) the status of key examples of each and what to look for next.

  • Where Will Project Funding Come From? MDOT is waiting to hear if its grant application for federal funding is approved, and for how much. MDOT pledged to put in $806.5M of the state’s own money (see “Doomsday Transportation Budget”, below). Grant awards will be announced early in 2024. If the state fails to get the grant, it can reapply for next year, or possibly pursue a public-private partnership (very bad move), or wisely end the project in favor of better alternatives.

     

  • Lawsuit Challenging the Project: The significant lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club, Friends of Moses Hall, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and NRDC is now fully briefed and awaiting a decision from a judge in US District Court. See the Sierra Club and fellow plaintiffs’ powerful reply to MDOT and FHWA, which begins: “Environmental impact statements are not marketing materials.” It’s not known when the judge will issue a decision.

Outside MDOT’s 12/2/23 open house. Credit: Sierra Club Maryland Chapter

  • “Doomsday Transportation Budget”: That’s Maryland Matters’ name for Gov. Moore’s “$3.3 billion gap in the budget for road and transit projects.” MDOT says it will cut commuter bus and MARC rail service, the same public transit features MDOT touts as highlights of the toll lane package. MDOT has not announced cuts to toll lane planning. The Maryland General Assembly will debate and pass a budget in early 2024.

  • Virginia’s Eye on Maryland: Maryland and Virginia have a hazy sort of toll lane “cooperative” partnership going on. Their failure to publicly disclose the details is the subject of a lawsuit by the Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition. Now VDOT’s Southside project looks to extend private toll lanes from VA across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and into Maryland as far as Oxon Hill. The Prince George’s County Council certainly doesn’t want it. Toll lanes anywhere on the Beltway will create new bottlenecks and lead to more toll lanes. See Northern VA’s sorry example. VDOT plans hearings in early 2024.

  • Is the American Legion Bridge Really in Bad Shape? In the press, MDOT officials say, “There are structural issues…Before the end of the decade, we will need to replace” the bridge. But they say something else in the state’s federal grant proposal: “While the bridge is safe, it will require repairs to rehabilitate its deck [surface] within the next decade.” Two stories, big differences in cost, time, disruption, and environmental impact. Watch in coming months for more detailed analyses of the bridge’s condition.

     

  • When, if Ever, Might Construction Start? Given the profound budget and funding issues, broad opposition, and pending lawsuit, the Moore toll lanes may never be built. That said, here’s the proposed Phase 1 schedule in MDOT’s federal grant application (MDOT says lower I-270 would be a later phase). Begin final design and construction from the GW Pkwy to south of Cabin John Pkwy in July 2025. Begin final design and construction from south of Cabin John Pkwy to project terminus north of Westlake Terrace on the I-270 West Spur in April 2026. Open Phase 1 to traffic by summer 2031.

     

  • Grassroots Opposition Keeps Growing: The more the public learns about the negative impact of these toll lanes on commute times, racial and economic equity, taxpayers’ pockets, and the environment, the more the public rejects the plan. MDOT’s final toll lane open house on December 2 was filled with opponents. Our statewide coalition of grassroots groups, advocacy organizations, and elected allies will not let up.

Ongoing Action Item

Tell MDOT what you think of their toll lane plans. Click here to go to MDOT’s project homepage. Scroll to the bottom and write! As always, thank you!

 

The Out-Sized Importance of Being at MDOT’s 12/2 Rockville Open House

MDOT’s final open house is a not-to-be-missed in-person opportunity to urge MDOT to end the toll lane plan and take a fresh look at regional transportation needs. The Moore Administration says they want our input. Come and make your voice heard. Bring others with you. Show MDOT that opposition to the toll lanes is strong, determined, and growing.

MDOT Open House 
Saturday, December 2, 10:00 am to 12 noon
Wootton High School, Cafeteria
2100 Wootton Parkway, Rockville

Know before you go:

  • Despite shiny repackaging, what the Moore Administration is pushing is Larry Hogan’s toll lane plan. MDOT’s federal grant application makes that clear.

  • Those good-idea public transit displays you’ll see in the Wootton cafeteria? They amount to unfunded distractions, since only 3% of the project’s budget is for public transit. Per a new Maryland Matters article, “…bus rapid transit on parallel routes or expanded commuter train service would come later, if at all.”

  • The toll lane plan would not relieve congestion except for the wealthiest few. The vast majority of us would experience increased bottlenecks, increased congestion and decreased safety.

  • The toll lane plan would “deepen racial and economic disparities” and cause great and lasting environmental and human health harm. 

MDOT Open House. Maryland Matters, 11/21/23

Message to MDOT:  Don’t impose this project on an unwilling public

The more the public learns about the toll lane plan, the more the public rejects it. A Washington Post poll showed majorities in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties oppose the project. An October 2023 letter to MDOT’s Secretary from the Prince George’s County Council rejected the toll lanes in favor of a multi-modal transportation network. The Frederick News-Post reported this month that State Delegate Kris Fair, “who sits on the Transportation Planning Board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, said he’s heard a lot of ‘discomfort’ from constituents about the idea of managed lanes that would provide traffic relief for people who could afford them, but not for others.”

 

Tell MDOT what you think, then submit written comments

You’ll find MDOT questionnaires at the Wootton open house. Fill them out in whatever way best expresses your true opposition to the toll lanes. You can also provide comments online. Click here for the open house questionnaire. To submit free-form comments, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page for the form.