Councilmembers React to Gov. Hogan’s Deferment of CCT Funding (VIDEOS)
UPDATED Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has deferred funding for the County’s Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) project for at least six years, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) website.
“Because of falling gas prices, the Maryland Department of Transportations had $746 million less in the transportation trust fund. For that reason MDOT had to defer some projects,” Erin Henson, director of public affairs for MDOT, said. “The goal was to keep all construction projects moving forward. We brought the CCT up to 30 percent design. While there was no funding for construction already programmed for the CCT, the final design and right-of way acquisition was deferred to FY 2023,” Henson said.
Local officials are now worried that the postponement will impact the County’s smart growth plans.
“It’s terrible, it’s a really irresponsible move by Governor Hogan,” Montgomery County Councilmember Tom Hucker said.
The project would implement a nine-mile Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor from the Metropolitan Grove MARC station to Shady Grove Metro Station, in effort to expand mass transit and relieve congestion along I-270.
“I’m very disappointed that the Governor has really downgraded this project and left it limbo, we don’t know when it’s going to happen now” Councilmember George Leventhal said. “We’ve got a staging plan for the Great Seneca Science Corridor where we can get a lot of highly desirable, high-tech, high-wage, future oriented jobs, but the master plan won’t allow them to occur unless we have the mass transit to serve it. So, really by deferring this project, Gov. Hogan is deferring our high-tech economy,” Leventhal said.
For more information on the project, visit the Maryland Transit Administration’s CCT page.
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