Board of Public Works’ Vote on First Contract Likely Delayed Until July

Publicly, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is still saying that the Board of Public Works (BPW) will vote on the first contract, or predevelopment agreement, for the I-495/I-270 tollway expansion boondoggle in late spring or early summer. But now it appears that a vote may not occur before early July. The delay is due to a protest filed by one of the developers that bid unsuccessfully for the project. It is not clear whether MDOT will attempt to move forward with a BPW vote on the predevelopment agreement with Transurban before the protest is resolved. But if it doesn’t move ahead, this will be one more delay Transurban and others can’t blame on citizens exercising their Constitutional right to protest a bad deal.

Rockville Officials Urge Comptroller Franchot to Vote No on Predevelopment Agreement

Last week, Rockville Mayor Bridget Newton and the City Council sent a letter to Comptroller Peter Franchot, urging him, as a member of the Board of Public Works, to reject the predevelopment agreement. The letter highlights the damage that expanding I-270 would impose on Rockville residents and calls the project “tone-deaf to environmental justice concerns” and states that it “ignores social justice concerns.”

Planning Commission Rebuffs MDOT

Earlier this year, MDOT asked the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) to concur with its decision to add toll lanes to I-495 and I-270. In a letter to MDOT last week, the MNCPPC informed the agency that it “does not concur” with the decision. The letter criticized MDOT for failing to consider congestion-easing alternatives that would avoid impacts to parkland and for failing to consider other solutions including transit. The letter also criticizes MDOT for underestimating the impact of the construction on parkland and for not assessing and accounting for the increase in stormwater. With more than 500 acres of new impervious surface, the new lanes will create a substantial challenge for local governments and communities near the highways.

The action taken by the Commission does not block MDOT from pressing ahead with its plan. But it is an important signal to federal regulators who ultimately must approve the project.

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