Since 2017, with your help, Sierra Club and our allies have fought resolutely to oppose the plan put forward by then Governor Hogan to widen the I-495 (the Capital Beltway) and I-270 with four new toll lanes (two toll lanes per direction).
Over the last two years, we raised over $100,000 in funds needed to hire lawyers and technical experts to review and critique important environmental documents.
On August 25, 2022 the Maryland Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration announced the approval of the environmental review process for the project known as a “Record of Decision." While the scope of environmental review was limited to added toll lanes on the American Legion Bridge, Western portion of the Beltway, and lower I-270, there are many signs pointing to the fact that this is a plan for the whole Beltway.
Thanks to your support of the Smart Growth Defense Fund, on October 11, 2022, the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Friends of Moses Hall, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The lawsuit seeks to compel MDOT and FHWA to fix the errors in their environmental review and reconsider this project in light of the full range of damage it would cause to communities and ecosystems.
On March 10, 2023, in news no one expected, the Transurban-led consortium working on the contract to add two private toll lanes per direction on I-495 and I-270, announced its withdrawal from the project.
Unfortunately, the Moore Administration is continuing to pursue the project. While the Moore Administration modified the timing of the phases and re-marketed the project as a multimodal plan with transit elements, the same underlying toll lane highway expansion project remains that was put forward under the Hogan Administration. So advocacy and community groups need to keep engaged and take action.
In March 2024, the judge for the Beltway/I-270 toll lanes case issued a 68-page decision ruling in favor of the agencies. Sierra Club, National Trust, and NRDC filed an appeal in May 2024.
Additionally, for the last few years, the Sierra Club and our partners have been actively opposing the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)’s plans to widen the Southern Beltway (“I-495 Southside”) from Springfield, Virginia to Oxon Hill, Maryland with toll lanes. The project would increase air, water, and climate pollution, put the future of Metrorail expansion at risk, shift traffic bottlenecks into Prince George's County, and undervalue public transit in the region. We have been mobilizing opposition to the project as well as encouraging a thorough study and action plan to improve transit and land use strategies to address our transportation challenges in the region.
During October 2015, we had a major win in this effort. During a meeting at the Transportation Planning Board, leaders from DC, Maryland, and Virginia, voted to exclude the controversial Southside Express Lanes project from the regional plan Visualize 2050. The project cannot proceed to construction unless it is included in the plan.
We will be staying vigilant in case the project resurfaces while advocating for a new sustainable plan to address congestion and improve mobility. This sustainable plan includes shoulder and HOV lanes, expanded carpool and transit incentives, transit-oriented development, transportation demand management, and future metrorail expansion
For further details on the journey fighting the expansion of the Beltway/I-270 and what we and our partners have accomplished, read this short background report.
Take Action
Interested in volunteering? Send an email to Lindsey at transportation@mdiserra.org
Position Statements & Comments
Sierra Club Comments on I-495 Southside Project April 2025
Environmental review Comments: New Expert Review Exposes Critical Errors and Omissions in Governor Hogan’s I-495 and I-270 Toll Lane Expansion Plan | Sierra Club
Section 106 Comments on Historic Places and Environmental Justice Issues (2022)
Written Testimony on the Phase 1 P3 Agreement, I-495 & I-270
Click here for a full list of statements
Historical Media on the project
Maryland Sierra Club is a proud member of the MAST Coalition that is working to oppose the highway plan.
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