Tell the Board of Public Works to Delay Vote on the First Contract for Toll Lanes

Shouldn’t we know the environmental, fiscal and social risks of adding toll lanes to I-495/I-270 before the State signs any contract for the project? Yes of course we should. That’s the normal process.

Unfortunately, the General Assembly’s failure to act puts the pressure to protect the public from another P3 blowup squarely on the shoulders of the Board of Public Works.

But MDOT isn’t waiting for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) before asking the Board of Public Works to approve the predevelopment agreement, the design contract for Phase 1 of the project. They plan to submit the contract to the Board of Public Works as early as May, months before the FEIS is to be issued.

MDOT is not waiting to show us:

  • The amount of subsidies taxpayers will be forced to pay the developer;
  • The harm it will cause to our parks;
  • How the project will contribute to global warming;
  • The disparate impact it may have on low-income communities and communities of color;
  • The damage it will do to our streams, the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.

Join us in urging the Board of Public Works to get all the facts before voting on the predevelopment agreement.

Sponsored by