A key vote to add toll lanes to the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270 will be delayed by the now that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has agreed to the delay.
Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, who sits on the three-member board with Hogan and Maryland Treasurer Nancy Kopp, asked for the delay. Kopp had already agreed to it. The issue was to come before the board Wednesday.
Franchot said amended plans for the $9 billion public-private partnership project need to be further analyzed. that because the agenda item for Wednesday would 鈥渟ubstantially accelerate and broaden鈥� the existing agreement, the vote should be delayed. It will be considered Dec. 18.
Hogan has been backing the plan for toll lanes as a way to alleviate gridlock around the region.
The amended plans call for the Maryland Department of Transportation to seek permission to start purchasing property along the highways before an environmental impact study by the federal government is completed.
MDOT also wanted to solicit proposals for both the Beltway and I-270 at the same time, rather than starting with I-270, as the Board of Public Works approved in June.
The changes also would alter promises about how a share of toll revenue would support transit options and would extend plans for Beltway toll lanes in Prince George鈥檚 County all the way to the Wilson Bridge.
The Board of Public Works is responsible for approving expenditures for all state capital appropriations and all state-funded public works projects.听
91欧美激情’s Kate Ryan and Max Smith contributed to this story.
