MOORE ADMINISTRATION
CONTINUES TO PLAN TOLL LANES

 

Over the last several years, the Maryland Department of Transportation has worked on two projects to add toll lanes to the Beltway — one in Prince George’s County and one in Montgomery County. While these projects would be inequitable, would fail to resolve
congestion and would impose substantial damage to our communities and environment, the Moore administration has not announced plans to cancel either one.

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Beltway in Prince George’s County

In 2022, MDOT began cooperating with the Virginia Dept. of Transportation (VDOT) on a plan to add private toll lanes to the Beltway from Springfield, VA, over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge up to Oxon Hill, MD. VDOT is leading the effort and VDOT, not MDOT, would manage the construction in Maryland. VDOT is not conducting a full environmental review of the project and will not study alternatives to toll lanes that would provide more sustainable and equitable ways to address transportation challenges. Find more details here.

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Beltway in Montgomery County

At a recent public meeting, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller stated that the administration would not study alternatives to toll lanes, such as transit, incentives for telework and other options. While MDOT’s own study of the toll lanes demonstrated that they would not ease congestion and would cause substantial environmental damage, it appears that the Moore administration plans to proceed with constructing toll lanes on the Beltway from the American Legion Bridge past the Old Georgetown exit and on the I-270 spur. It is less clear whether they plan to add toll lanes up I-270 to Gaithersburg.

 

The Maryland Sierra Club and others filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s approval of the I-495/I-270 toll lanes plan. A federal judge could rule this fall whether MDOT must redo its environmental review of the Montgomery County project. Even the flawed environmental review showed that the I-495/I-270 toll lanes would not work and would harm our wallets, communities and environment.​