Maryland, Interior Department Step Closer to Transferring Highway to State Control

Maryland and the U.S. Department of the Interior signed a general agreement to evaluate transferring the portion of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway from federal to state control, Gov. Larry Hogan’s office reported Monday.

The office called the agreement a “significant step” in the $9 billion Traffic Relief Plan that Hogan unveiled in September.

Hogan and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed the agreement, which commits Interior and the state to working together to explore potential legislative solutions to bring about a transfer or exchange of the portion of the highway that runs through Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties, which is currently administered by the National Park Service.

Maryland has the second-longest commuting times in the country, and the National Capital Region is the most congested region in the nation, based on annual delay and congestion cost per auto-commuter. The statewide cost of congestion based on auto delay, truck delay, and wasted fuel and emissions was estimated at $2 billion in 2015.

The Hogan administration’s $9 billion Traffic Relief Plan envisions a public-private partnership, with a private company designing, building and maintaining extra lanes on I-270, the Capital Beltway and on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

It would be the largest highway P3 in North America, the Hogan administration says.

Here’s our story from the September announcement:

Hogan Project Would Widen I-270, Beltway, Md. 295 and Add Tolls (VIDEO)

Here’s the agreement that Hogan and Zinke signed:

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