A lawsuit has challenged Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's plans, first proposed in 2017 and granted federal approval earlier this year, to widen Interstate 270 and part of the Capital Beltway.
"The Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club and three other groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against a state plan to widen Interstate 270 and part of the Capital Beltway with toll lanes, saying the proposal’s environmental analysis was 'deficient,'" reports Katherine Shaver for the Washington Post.
If the lawsuit proves successful, the Maryland Department of Transportation would be forced to vacate the environmental approval for the I-495/I-270 Managed LanesProject, ending work on the project until it conforms with the National Environmental Protection Act.
The Federal Highway Administration approved the project in August 2022 after years of controversy. An earlier approval for the project, by the Maryland Public Works Board in June 2019, required Maryland Department of Transportation to study a monorail project along the interstate as a conditional of approval. The project, first proposed in 2017, gained notoriety as the largest public-private partnership highway project in the nation—and for its potential to displace low-income communities and destroy affordable housing.
FULL STORY: Opponents sue over Maryland plan to add toll lanes to Beltway, I-270
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
