On Thursday, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) went big.
After 2 ½ years of small but politically potent triumphs – like toll reductions and starting school after Labor Day – along with brilliant marketing and occasional well-chosen skirmishes, the governor offered a bold transportation plan Thursday that was far more expansive than even the most enthusiastic road advocates might have imagined.
At a news conference in Gaithersburg, Hogan unveiled a $9 billion proposal to widen the Capital Beltway, Interstate 270 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway using a combination of public and private funds. The plan would bring express toll lanes to the highways, similar to those on the Beltway in Northern Virginia and north of Baltimore city along I-95. It also, audaciously, calls for the federal government to sell the B-W Parkway, which is maintained by the National Park Service, to the state.
“These three massive, unprecedented projects to widen I-495, I-270, and MD 295 will be absolutely transformative, and they will help Maryland citizens go about their daily lives in a more efficient and safer manner,” Hogan said. “Today, we are turning Maryland’s celebrated innovation into real action.”
