A planned $3.4 billion highway widening project for Interstate 270 has been approved, despite protests from environmental and smart-growth advocates who say the project will discourage mass transit use. The project extends the highway’s car pool lanes north, widening the road between the Shady Grove exit in Gaithersburg and Frederick where much of the road now is a four-lane highway. The interstate’s car pool lanes now run from the Capital Beltway interchange to just north of Germantown.
On Wednesday the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board approved its 2010 long-range plan for the region, which included amending the Interstate 270 project to extend seven miles past Interstate 70 in Frederick.
But opponents of the expansion said widening the highway not only encourages more drivers, but it is more expensive than investing in public transportation.
“Roads create sprawl; transit projects create true, dense development,” said Ethan Goffman, transportation chairman of the Montgomery County Sierra Club.
Others took issue with the approval process.
“The local community members and advocates were ignored in approving this,” said Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
David Alpert, founder of the transportation and development blog Greater Greater Washington, noted the Maryland Department of Transportation’s public sessions on the expansion were held during the day when many people were working and could not attend.
“I urge you to remove the project or make sure other transit projects move forward [equally],” he said.
But staff reminded the planning board that the proposed widening has been part of the regional plan since 2003. In addition, Maryland also is investing in public transit for the highway corridor like the Corridor Cities Transitway, which will be light rail or rapid bus.
The I-270 project’s proposed completion year is 2030, and is budgeted to use projected revenue for much of the funding.
But after the planning board’s vote, Chairman David Snyder said he was doubtful about the likelihood of that money being available.
“We’re doing what we have to do,” he said. “But resources aren’t there to do what actually needs to be done.”
