Posted on 10/10/2016 1:55:39 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has postponed funding a busway in the heavily congested Interstate 270 corridor for at least six years, significantly delaying a transit project that Montgomery County is relying on to develop the upcounty without making traffic worse.
Hogan’s proposed six-year transportation budget includes no money for the Corridor Cities Transitway, which has been planned since at least 2000 to connect the Shady Grove Metro station at the end of the Red Line with the upcounty. The first nine-mile segment would run between Shady Grove and the Metropolitan Branch MARC commuter rail station in Gaithersburg. Delaying the project would save the state about $78 million over the next six years, according to the budget.
I-270, which runs parallel to the Red Line, links upper Montgomery, Frederick County and points beyond with the Capital Beltway. The highway has almost daily traffic jams during rush hours and has grown more congested as Washington-area workers seek more affordable housing in fast-growing outer suburbs.
Montgomery officials say the I-270 corridor is critical to the county’s continued economic development as a hub for biotechnology companies. Much of the growth planned for west Gaithersburg can’t proceed without the transitway’s construction being funded. Moreover, county economic development officials say it’s difficult to attract companies to the area without transit-friendly office sites.
Erin Henson, spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Transportation, said the state had to delay some projects because revenue from the state gas tax recently came in $746 million below projections, which had been based on higher gas prices. She said the state reexamines that revenue twice a year.
“If gas prices go back up and the revenues change, we can reevaluate the budget and it could be added back,” Henson said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The Democrap Legisl00ture frowns upon Hogan’s shenanigans. :-)
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
After we abolish the Departments of Education and Energy, and the EPA, maybe I-270 won’t be so crowded.
Hogan knows that buses suck.
Hogan's Zeros.
O’Malley, the prior Democrat governor, stiffed all the Republican areas of Maryland (West & Eastern Shore) and threw taxpayer money at his pals in Baltimore, PG County, and Montgomery County. So turn-about is fair play. Hogan is looking at all the Democrat boondoggles and cutting them out of the budget.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.