AASHTO Journal, 13 April 2012
Maryland will need to make numerous improvements to its surface transportation system in order to support economic growth as well as the state’s overall quality of life, concludes a report issued last Wednesday by the nonprofit transportation research organization TRIP.
“The newly released TRIP economic report is further proof of the need for additional funding to appropriately address Maryland’s transportation needs,” said Allyson Black, vice president of government affairs at the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, in a statement. “Investing in our transportation infrastructure will create jobs, help keep Maryland competitive, and enhance mobility and quality of life in the state.”
The report identifies and ranks those initiatives most needed to sustain the increased movement of people and goods throughout Maryland. Those projects most urgently needed, according to the report, include widening Interstates 95 and 495 in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties; replacing the Governor Nice Bridge in Charles County; widening Interstate 695 in the Baltimore region and replacing or rehabilitating deficient bridges along that route; constructing the Purple Line of the Metro transit system between Bethesda and New Carrollton in the Washington, D.C., area; widening part of Maryland Route 5 and adding interchanges there; and expanding Maryland Route 295, the Baltimore-Washington, Parkway, from four to six lanes.
In making its selections, TRIP ranked each project based on such factors as short-term economic benefits, the level of improvement in the condition and safety of the transportation infrastructure involved, the potential upgrades in access and mobility, and the long-range enhancements for regional or statewide economic performance and competitiveness.
“The detailed priority list of projects further serves to underscore the fiscal crisis Maryland currently faces in funding transportation infrastructure,” said Donald C. Fry, president and CEO of the regional business organization Greater Baltimore Committee. “Nothing on this list will get accomplished until our state’s lawmakers find a way to increase revenue to Maryland’s stagnant Transportation Trust Fund.”
The 22-page report, “The Top 40 Transportation Projects to Support Economic Growth and Quality of Life in Maryland,” is available at bit.ly/MD-TRIP-REPORT.