The Maryland Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) $9 billion Traffic Relief Plan is receiving significant interest from the public-private partnership (P3) industry for the Capital Beltway (I-495) and I-270 projects.
Both projects will add additional lanes to the interstates and cost $7.6 billion. They would be the nation’s largest P3 projects. The P3 would design, build, finance, operate and/or maintain express toll lanes on the interstates.
The state also will be adding lanes to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD 295).
The additional lanes will reduce congestion by improving traffic flow.
“Our administration is committed to helping Maryland citizens go about their daily lives in a more efficient and safer manner,” Gov. Larry Hogan said. “The significant interest from the P3 industry is yet another step in this transformative process to turn innovation into action. Once complete, these projects will dramatically improve our highway system and traffic in the region for years to come.”
In September, MDOT’s State Highway Administration released a request for information from the public-private partnership industry, asking for congestion-relief solutions. The administration received 27 responses.
In December, the state hosted a forum on the traffic relief plan. It was attended by more than 350 transportation professionals from around the world.