The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) released its six-year draft budget Tuesday.
The $13.4 billion budget – the Draft FY 20210-FY 2026 Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) – includes a $2.9 billion reduction when compared to the $16.3 billion Final FY 2020-FY 2025 CTP the department released in January.
The reduction, officials said, reflects a drop in revenue associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also reflects changes in cash flow and completions following increased investments in transportation over the last several years.
MDOT said it would also be decreasing its operating budget by $98 million as a response to the revenue decline.
“From day one, our focus has been to keep Maryland’s transportation network moving in a safe way for both the customers and employees,” said Transportation Secretary Gregory Slater. “Despite the challenges of operating during a pandemic health crisis, more than 10,000 MDOT employees and our private sector partners continued to deliver outstanding customer service in every business unit across the department. As the state’s economy and transportation network begins to recover, this budget focuses on preserving our critical infrastructure and essential connections, continuing all active construction, planning for future projects, and building what we can to further support Maryland’s economic recovery.”
The department said that at the peak of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, the second week of April, transportation volumes were down across the state when compared to the same time in 2019. Highway traffic volumes were down 52 percent, while truck volumes were down 27 percent. Toll transactions were also down 52 percent. At Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, passenger traffic was down 95 percent. And across the Maryland Transit Administration, passenger traffic was down 70 percent with the Maryland Rail Commuter service down 97 percent, commuter bus traffic down 95 percent, and COR local bus use down 60 percent.
The department said traffic levels were coming back up, but that they were still lower than the same time last year.
Because of that, the department estimates it will lose an estimated $1.4 billion in revenue over the next six years, and a decrease of $1.5 billion in bond sales for a total loss of $2.9 billion in losses for the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.