May 12, 2021
Maryland Sierra Club Statement
Today the Federal Highway Administration and Maryland State Highway Administration announced that the environmental review process would focus on expanding and building toll lanes on a new American Legion Bridge and I-270 to I-370 but take no action on expanding I-495 east of the I-270 eastern spur.
In response, Josh Tulkin, Maryland Sierra Club Director, issued the following statement:
"This project is fundamentally flawed and has been from the start. Now it is a smaller flawed proposal.
MDOT's move today shows that the environmental impacts of its former plan were too great compared to the benefits. The new plan still fails to address many of the significant concerns raised by Maryland Sierra Club and partners. All the major problems identified with Phase 1 still remain. The planned toll lanes will still harm communities, increase rather than decrease traffic congestion, and will not solve the environmental justice problems with this project.
We remain deeply concerned over the plan's anti-transit bias and expenditure of scarce transportation dollars for a project that will primarily benefit the affluent and not be affordable for economically disadvantaged environmental justice populations."
For Further Reading:
- MDOT's May 12, 2021 Announcement
- Sierra Club Statement originally posted on Facebook
- MDOT Removes Large Stretch of Capital Beltway From Toll-Lane Plan, Maryland Matters
- Maryland Shrinks Plan To Add More Lanes To The Beltway, DCist
- Toll Lane Pullback Shows Power of Public Protest But Newest MDOT Scheme Promises Massive Traffic Jams at I-270/I-495 Merge, MTOC
- Maryland scales back most controversial part of Beltway toll lanes plan east of I-270, Washington Post