We all sit in what we feel is intolerable traffic on both Beltways and the spine interstate systems in both the Maryland and Washington DC Metro areas. The State of Maryland has proposed a P3 Managed Lane system along I-270 and the Beltway to help reduce delays.
Many of those who are not in favor of building additional road capacity believe the only solution should be an increase in transit. In my opinion, we need to be realistic about what is and is not going to occur in the foreseeable future in Maryland.
Transit is far too expensive at a cost of $150 million to $250 million per mile. No one is willing to increase taxes (or revenue – as elected officials call taxes) to build new roads or new transit. Maryland’s P3 Managed Lane system is going to cost the State of Maryland very little money because it will be a Public Private Partnership between the State and private concessionaires.
Those against the P3 system are missing the point that buses, or rapid transit buses, will be able to utilize the Managed Lane system for “free.” This means those who still choose to use transit can ride in a transit vehicle, travelling at 55 MPH, while the general purpose, or free, lanes move at a much lower speed. Transit will be part of the P3 Managed Lane system, just not on rails – it will be on rubber tires.
Also vital to remember, I-270 feeds the Beltway which feeds the American Legion Bridge, they all need to work together to help reduce the congestion. Just fixing the American Legion Bridge will not solve the problem.
Congestion relief in the Washington, DC area is not a choice between P3 or transit. It boils down to either providing some congestion relief using P3 or nothing will occur, and traffic will not be improved.