Transportation

Roads, Traffic, Transit, Biking and Walking

I-495/I-270 Expansion

Issue: Should I-495 and I-270 be expanded to accommodate the current and anticipated [as of 2040] traffic.  If so, at what financial cost and at what cost to the environment?

Latest Updates.

2023

January 2023. The decision on whether and how to proceed with the solution to congestion on I-495 and I-270 proposed by former Governor Hogan, i.e., by adding toll lanes, now rests with Governor Moore and his administration, which is reported to be considering various options. See Bethesda Beat, December 28, 2022

Last year, the Maryland Department of Transportation announced that the first phase had been scaled back, and now only includes the replacement of the American Legion Bridge, the portion of I-270 that runs to the I-370 interchange and the westernmost section of I-495 that leads to I-270.  The cost of this work is estimated to be between $3.75 billion and $4.25 billion.

Moore said on the campaign trail earlier this year that the project needed another look, and said at a campaign event “Are we going to deal with the issue of the American Legion Bridge over the next decade? Absolutely, we will. … Are we going to deal with the issue of [Interstate] 270 and the Beltway? Absolutely, we will. But the current plan that is in place right now is not the way we are going to do it.”

He told Bethesda Beat in a brief interview after that event that he was willing to look at reversible lanes to solve traffic congestion — a solution long championed by County Executive Marc Elrich (D), who opposes Hogan’s plan to use toll lanes. Updated January 15, 2023

2022

  • In August, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved the environmental study for the toll lanes project prepared by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT).  See its Record of Decision (ROD). Additional requirements before final approval include: 1) permits for the project from both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Maryland Department of the Environment 2) resolution of the lawsuit by one of the losing bidders, expected this fall and 3) approval of the contract by the Maryland Board of Public Works [BPW: the Governor, the Comptroller General and the State Treasurer].  The project will need to get the proposed 50-year contract approved by the BPW before term-limited Governor Hogan leaves office in January. Otherwise, a new governor could block, change or slow the toll lanes plan. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wes Moore and Republican nominee Dan Cox have said they would consider major changes to the plan.
  • In September, Transurban, the MDOT’s current awardee chose as a lead construction contractor a team of companies led by Los Angeles-based Tutor Perini Corp. to design and build the first 14-mile segment of toll lanes. It would include the western part of Maryland’s Beltway, a new and wider American Legion Bridge, and I-270 between the Beltway and I-370.  As reported by the Washington Post, Tutor Perini has had delays and cost overruns on other projects.
  • n June, MDOT is expected to release a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the toll lanes.  The US Dept. of Transportation will take 30 or more days to decide whether to approve the project.  County Executive Marc Elrich, the Mayor and Council of Rockville and 88 members of the General Assembly have sent letters to the Federal Highway Administration raising concerns that the environmental review does not meet federal requirements.  Specifically, they are urging that MDOT be required to provide the public with a greenhouse gas emissions analysis and an analysis showing whether harmful impacts of the toll lanes would fall more heavily on low-income communities and communities of color. 
  • Following a February order by a judge to reconsider bids on a contract to design the toll lanes, the Maryland Dept. of Transportation confirmed on May 22 that it would not change its award of the contract to Transurban.  The judge had ordered MDOT to reevaluate a bid submitted by Capital Express Mobility Partners (CEMP), which had argued that Transurban had deliberately underestimated the cost of the project and that it would lead to cost overruns and delays.  According to The Washington Post, CEMP is expected to appeal MDOT’s decision to the Montgomery County Circuit Court.
  • 02/17/2022: A Maryland Circuit Court judge has ruled that the challenge to MDOT’s selection of Transurban for the toll lanes design (or predevelopment) contract is valid and that MDOT must reconsider it. According to Maryland Matters, the order has made it significantly more likely that lame-duck state leaders — or the next governor — will determine the fate of Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan’s plans to add toll lanes to two Montgomery County highways.The full impact of the judge’s ruling likely won’t be known for months, in large part because the agency must spend the next several weeks — and perhaps longer — re-evaluating the bids it received.
  • 02/16/2022: On February 16 a hearing is scheduled in the Circuit Court of Maryland in Montgomery County over a challenge to MDOT’s selection of Transurban for the toll lanes design (or predevelopment) contract. One of the losing bidders for the project, Capital Express Mobility Partners (CEMP), is challenging the award of the design contract to Transurban, which also gives Transurban the right to negotiate the final contracts for the project. CEMP has argued that Transurban’s bid was financially unrealistic and that Transurban is not qualified to do the design work because it does not yet have a design-and-build construction firm as a partner in the project.
  • 1/10/2022: The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) has issued a revised timeline for the toll lanes project. According to the updated schedule, MDOT will issue the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) in the summer of 2022, rather than in the spring. Thirty or more days after the FEIS is issued, the federal government will decide whether it will allow the project to go forward. Federal approval could hinge on the project’s impact on global warming and whether harmful impacts would fall disproportionately on low-income communities and communities of color (referred to as environmental justice communities).
  • 1/10/2022: the Maryland Sierra Club sent a letter to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) urging the agency to require MDOT to issue a revised Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) on the toll lanes. The revised SDEIS is needed to share analyses and information that MDOT failed to include in the SDEIS as required by federal law and to address flaws in the traffic modeling. The Sierra Club letter also urges that MDOT be required to hold a 90-day public comment period after the FEIS is issued and before the FHWA makes a final decision on the project.

2021

  • 11/01/2021: As reported in the Bethesda Beat, different opinions about the expansion of I-495 were expressed at this meeting held by the MDOT. The Citizens Against Beltway Expansion prepared this analysis, entitled Selected Findings and Deficiencies in the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS)
  • 10/01/2021: A new study projects heavier traffic in 2045 — but less congestion — under Gov. Larry Hogan’s proposal to add toll lanes to portions of interstates 495 and 270 in Montgomery County.
  • 09/17/2021: According to the Washington Post, a losing bidder on a Maryland contract to design billions of dollars worth of toll lanes for the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270 has asked that a Montgomery County judge review the state’s decision to award the project to another team. Capital Express Mobility Partners, a consortium led by Spanish firm Cintra, filed in court Monday asking that a judge review the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Sept. 9 decision. That ruling, by MDOT Deputy Secretary R. Earl Lewis Jr., dismissed the team’s appeal of the agency’s earlier decision to deny the bid protest. It’s unclear how the court filing might affect that design work or the project’s overall timeline. 
  • 09/2021: MDOT has anounced that the public-private-partnership (P3) program to expand 495 and 270 will now be known as Op Lanes Maryland. 
  • In early August the Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW) approved the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) and the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDOT MDTA) to move forward with Phase 1 of the Public-Private Partnership (P3) Agreement with Accelerate Maryland Partners LLC (AM Partners) for predevelopment work on the New American Legion Bridge I-270 to I-70 Traffic Relief Plan.  See more on this MDOT website page.

Updated September 28, 2022

See earlier updates below after Background section.

Background.  According to the Maryland Department of Transportation [MDOT], the I-495 & I-270 P3 Program is a historic effort to reduce congestion for millions of travelers in the National Capital Region by seeking input from the private sector to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain improvements on both I-495 and I-270.  See MDOT Overview.  The project has been estimated to cost as much as $11B.

The plan is currently divided into three phases. The first phase or segment, called Phase 1 South, covers I-495 from south of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, includes improvements to the American Legion Bridge, and continues to the west of MD 5 and along I-270 from I-495 to north of I-370, including the east and west I-270 spurs.  The other segments cover the area north of I-370 to I-70 and east along I-495.

MDOT has selected Accelerate Maryland Partners to conduct the “pre-development” work, which is intended to produce a design developed in collaboration with stakeholders, the construction price, and MDTA’s final approval of the toll rate range.  The contract with Accelerate must be approved by the Maryland Transportation Authority and then be approved by the Maryland Board of Public Works [BPW].  However, award of the contract to Accelerate has been delayed because of a suit filed by one of the unsuccessful bidders.  Therefore, the pre-development contract is not expected to go to the BPW until sometime this summer.  Once the pre-development work is completed, MDOT anticipates presenting a final contract to begin implementation of the approved design to the BPW in the summer of 2022, with construction anticipated to begin in the Fall of 2022.

In parallel, MDOT SHA and the Federal Highway Administration [FHWA] are conducting the Managed Lanes environmental study in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. [NEPA]. MDOT and MDOT SHA are working with federal, state and county partner agencies on reaching concurrence on a recommended preferred alternative.  According to the Deputy General Counsel of the National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, the Commission objects to MDOT’s insistence on completing the required NEPA study for the all three segments or phases of the project before starting on phase, arguing that phases 2 and 3 are several years away and conditions and circumstances could have changed by then.

Earlier Updates.

  • 05/21/2021: The proposed expansion of American Legion Bridge to Old Georgetown Road, and then on I-270 from the spur to I-370 [aka Phase 1 South] will include two toll lanes on each side of the highway. The toll rates for these new lanes are under the purview of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA).  Tolls will vary depending on the volume and the speed of traffic. The MDTA is now accepting public comments as part of its process for setting the toll rate range, i.e., the low and high ranges of the tolls. Written comments and call-in testimony through voicemail will be accepted for the official record through Thursday, August 12, at 5 p.m.  See this MDTA webpage for information about how to submit comments. The MDTA will provide dates and details in future announcements for virtual and in-person public hearings to be held during the comment period. See the MDTA Virtual Information Room for more about how the toll rates will be applied and for all public hearing materials.
  • 05/2021: Because Phase 1 South is, in effect a new proposal, MDOT will prepare a supplemental draft environmental impact statement (DEIS).  The previous DEIS has been criticized for failing to adequately detail the potential environmental damage.  MDOT plans to issue the supplemental DEIS in September/October.  After reviewing public comments, the final environmental impact statement will be issued next spring.  However, MDOT has said that they plan to ask the Board of Public Works to approve the design contract with Transurban this summer. Many are urging the Board of Public Works to delay approving the contract until the final environmental impact statement is issued.
  • 05/2021: The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced for now it is setting aside plans to add toll lanes on segments of the Beltway east of Old Georgetown Road, through Silver Spring and Prince George’s County. Instead, MDOT will attempt to move forward with toll lanes on the Beltway between the American Legion Bridge and Old Georgetown Road, and on I-270 from the spur to Shady Grove Road. 
  • 04/22/2021: MDOT’s award of the pre-development contract for Phase 1 with Accelerate is on hold pending resolution of a suit by one of the unsuccessful bidders. Once resolved, the contract must be approved first by the MD Transportation Authority and then by the Board of Public Works.
  • 02/25/2021 Maryland Transit Authority released it preliminary estimate of toll rates on an expanded I-495
  • MDOT has selected a developer for Phase I. See press announcement and more details here
  • MDOT SHA recommends that Alternative 9 be identified as the Preferred Alternative in the FEIS for the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Study (MLS). MDOT SHA and FHWA concluded the extended public comment period for the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Study Draft Environmental Impact Study [DEIS] which was open for 123 days from July 10, 2020 until November 9, 2020.  See links to the executive summary, the full report, and the public hearings and associated materials here.
  • The Maryland National Park and Planning Commission has announced its opposition to the plan
  • A number of senators and delegates to the Maryland General Assembly, including Senator Jeff Waldstreicher, and Delegates Al Carr, Emily Shetty, and Jared Solomon, all of whom represent Parkwood, have written to MDOT “…to express our frustration and extreme concern with the Draft Environmental Impact Statement of the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Study.” Their full letter can be seen here.
  • The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission has voted unanimously to reject the proposed expansion for now, particularly because of the potential impact on parkland.
  • The WSSC has reported that the expansion may require alteration in pipelines that could cost as much as $2B. 
  • MDOT announced that it has received ” three very competitive proposals from highly qualified private sector teams to become the developer responsible for overseeing predevelopment work on Phase 1″, which will begin with the expansion of the American Legion Bridge. See MDOT Press Release below under More Information.
  • The selected developer is expected to address and resolve the issues raised during the public comment period.

More Information.

Updated 1/10/2022

Purple Line

from https://www.purplelinemd.com/about-the-project/project-maps

Issue: Work on the Purple Line halted because of a dispute between the state and the private contractor over who should pay for cost overruns. The MD Board of Public Works then selected a new contractor to resume construction. Questions remain, however: Will it be completed by the new estimated date (2026), at what cost, and what will the impact be on businesses and residents. See the MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) Purple Line website for more information.

Latest Updates.

2023

01/30/2023. Construction is facing another seven months of delay, related to moving utility lines, which could push back the light-rail line’s opening to mid-2027.

01/18/2023. According to the Washington Post, the Capital Crescent Trail tunnel could be delayed because the estimated cost of rebuilding a tunnel to carry the trail beneath Wisconsin Avenue — part of the Purple Line project — has grown by up to $27 million. County officials say the latest estimated cost increase of up to $27.5 million — a jump from a total $55 million to $82.5 million — has left the project unaffordable for the county’s six-year budget. Richard Madaleno, Montgomery’s chief administrative officer, said Elrich wants to take advantage of new state school construction funds available only for the next two years and prioritize the county’s funds for building and improving schools. The tunnel’s latest cost increase, based on escalating construction costs overall, would pay for a new middle school, he said.

01/15/2023. At the end of the 2022 General Assembly’s legislative session, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and House Appropriations Committee required the Maryland Department of Transportation [MDOT]/Maryland Transit Administration [MTA] to submit five bimonthly reports on the status of the Purple line.

The reports must include: 1) the percent completion for the project as a whole and for each major category of work; 2) the running total amount expended for construction; and 3) an explanation of any material change to the total construction cost estimate or construction schedule as set forth in the revised P3 Agreement as amended to add Maryland Transit Solutions as the replacement design-build contractor for the project.

At end of 2022, the MTA submitted the following information in its latest status report:

“1. The percent completion for the project as a whole and for each major category of work.

As of January 1, 2023, the following completion percentages have been achieved:

  • Overall project status: 49% complete
  • Utility relocation: 64% complete
  • Civil Design: 98% complete
  • Systems Design: 88% complete
  • Property acquisition: 100% complete
  • Rail installation: 0% complete
  • Glendale Operations and Maintenance Facility and Yard/Storage Track: 73% complete Vehicles Ready to Ship: 88.5% complete

2. The running total amount expended for construction

Since the execution of the new design-build contract on April 15, 2022 through October 31, 2022, $354.1 million has been expended on the design-build contract.

3. An explanation of any material change to the total construction cost estimate or construction schedule as set forth in the revised P3 Agreement, as amended to add Maryland Transit Solutions as the replacement design-build contractor for the project.

There are no material changes to the cost estimate or construction schedule.”

Updated January 15, 2023

2022

  • In January 2022 the Maryland Board of Public Works approved a new contractor to complete the long-delayed Purple Line for an additional $1.46 billion — an almost 75 percent cost increase to revive the stalled light-rail project. Full construction resumed in the spring. State officials say the 16-mile line will begin carrying passengers between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in fall 2026, more than four years behind schedule. The Purple Line was previously estimated to cost $1.97 billion to build and was initially scheduled to begin carrying passengers in March.

Updated September 28, 2022

 2021

03/05/2021: County Executive Elrich has asked the Maryland Transit Administration to explore whether the Purple Line could be single-tracked inside the Bethesda station to allow enough room for the county to rebuild the Capital Crescent Trail there.  Several Councilmembers have opposed this action. See Washington Post article.

01-09-2021: The Purple Line Transit Partners [PLTP] announced that they expect to select and reach financial closure with a new design-build contractor to complete the project in September 2021.

Updated 01/30/2022

More Information.  See the Purple Line website and this report in Wikipedia.

Bicycle Master Plan

As reported by Bethesda Beat, the recently painted lime-green bike lanes at the intersection of Woodmont and Bethesda avenues in downtown Bethesda are part of the County’s Bicycle Master Plan, approved by the County Council in 2018. The plan aims to transform the county into a world-class bicycling community, according to the planning department’s website. David Anspacher, the county’s transportation master planning supervisor, said the plan contains recommendations for creating about 1,000 miles of bikeways, and about a quarter of those miles have been constructed so far. Master plans typically take between 20 to 30 years to fully implement, he said.  However, with a focus on urban areas, Anspacher, expects that within the next five years many of our most urban areas or downtowns have been fully built out.

Old Georgetown Road Bike Lanes

In 2022, the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) constructed new dedicated bike lanes on Old Georgetown Road.  SHA will complete remaining improvements of the project and will coordinate closely with MCDOT traffic engineering staff to improve operations through signal timing adjustments and other engineering enhancements. MDOT SHA will then assess traffic operations throughout January and February to examine corridor performance and travel time impacts. The assessment will examine travel times using field collected travel time run data and vehicle probe data, speed using field collected data, lane utilization using traffic counts, origin-destination patterns, Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress (BLTS), Pedestrian Level of Comfort (PLOC), safety, and mobility (vehicular and multimodal)

Some residents have criticized the lanes claiming that they extended their commutes by upwards of 20 or 30 minutes and said the changes were poorly designed, leading to confusion among motorists. An online petition opposing the new bike lanes had reportedly garnered almost 6,600 signatures, as of January 8, 2023.  A rival petition supporting the bike lanes has reportedly collected about 1,500 signatures, as of the same date.  According to SHA studies, the estimated delay via car at various points in the corridor were around five minutes or less, depending on the direction and time of day. Critics of the bike lanes have disputed that, saying it’s adding 20 to 30 minutes or more to their commute. Shantee Felix, a spokesperson for SHA, stated by email that SHA hopes to complete its post-installation study of the improvements by the summer. Updated January 10, 2023

Pedestrian Master Plan

As reported by Bethesda Beat, in July the county’s Planning Department introduced part of a draft Pedestrian Master plan. The plan’s four main goals include:

  • Goal 1: Increase Walking Rates and Walking Satisfaction in Montgomery County: Address issues pedestrians with disabilities encounter, improve pedestrian satisfaction along streets, and improve pedestrian satisfaction at crossings.
  • Goal 2: Create a Comfortable, Connected, Convenient Pedestrian Network in Montgomery County: Fill sidewalk gaps, prioritize buffers on high-speed streets, provide pedestrian refuges, focus on crossing improvements, improve comfortable access to elementary schools, and prioritize safer crossings to parks.
  • Goal 3: Enhance Pedestrian Safety: Reduce high-speed pedestrian crashes, address safety disparities, improve lighting, and communicate permitted pedestrian activity.
  • Goal 4: Build an Equitable and Just Pedestrian Network: Address the above findings in a way that meets the needs of the entire community.

It could, if implemented, change the parking rate structure for residents county-wide, implement infrastructure like raised crosswalks at intersections, or lead to new laws to help ensure more snow is cleared, among others.  Eli Glazier, the planning department’s project manager for the plan, reported the process for drafting a pedestrian master plan began in September 2019. The department heard from community members who talked about systemic issues in various communities across the county regarding pedestrian infrastructure and safety.

County planning officials also collected data, ranging from pedestrian traffic levels at certain intersections and how wide sidewalks are in various neighborhoods to vehicle crash data involving pedestrians from 2015 to 2020. Glazier said county planning officials will continue to solicit feedback on the recommendations, and that they will brief the county’s Planning Board in September.

A final vote on the entire plan — which will include more information about the plan’s overall goals, data collection and other information — won’t occur at the Planning Board until 2023.

Town of Kensington Pedestrian Plan

The Town of Kensington and the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) finalized a pedestrian and bicycling access and safety study for a portion of Connecticut Avenue.  The study provides three alternative layouts for Connecticut Avenue and identifies additional safety and connectivity improvements for the surrounding area. The study will be used in the creation of the Town’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Priority Area (BPPA) Plan. The study specifically focused on Connecticut Avenue (MD 185) between Knowles Avenue and University Blvd (MD 193). Secondary study areas included Knowles Avenue (MD 547), Plyers Mill Road, Howard Avenue and University Blvd. (MD 193), which have significant connections between Connecticut Avenue (MD 185) and popular Town destinations and neighborhoods. The full press release can be seen here. Updated January 10, 2023

information added 09/09/21