A local writer compares the plan to expand I-270 and the Capital Beltway to an earlier era of transportation planning.
Joe Allen reports on an underappreciated consequence of Maryland's plans to expand and add express lanes along I-270 and the Capital Beltway.
"The transportation merits of this project, the public/private construction, and bid process have been controversial, but a tremendous impact that has not received attention is the potential significant displacement of low-income residents along its path," writes Allen.
"Similar to highway projects in the era of Robert Moses, this proposal would displace hundreds of low-income families and knock down affordable homes closest to the region’s job centers. At the same time, even those who don’t lose their house will lack access to the Express Toll Lanes (ETLs), as many of the interchanges in Montgomery County do not have right of way to build separate entrances to the ETL.
Allen digs into the specifics of the difficult-to-acquire 2009 Environmental Impact Study (which he found through public meeting records, not the Maryland Department of Transportation's US15/I270 Multimodal Study website). This is in depth reporting and critiquing of very consequential highway planning project.
Planetizen reported on Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's relatively recent push to widen add express lanes to the Capital Beltway and I-270 in September 2017 and January 2018.
FULL STORY: Widening I-270 could demolish hundreds of homes and affordable homes
Maryland's $9 Billion Project Would Be the Nation's Largest P3 for Highways
Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.) announced last week plans for the largest highway contract awarded to a public-private partnership: adding four express toll lanes to the Capital Beltway and I-270. A third highway widening will be completed internally.
Maryland's Controversial Highway Widening Proposal Scaled Back
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Maryland's Highway Expansion Project Out to Bid
Vocal opposition hasn't slowed the Maryland Department of Transportation's progress of the I-495/I-270 Managed Lanes Project.
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