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WSSC Water, the utility that provides water and sewer service to Prince George鈥檚 and Montgomery counties, made headlines in March when it disclosed that the state鈥檚 plan to widen two highways would likely result in as much as $1 billion in new expenses, to move numerous large pipes.
Members of WSSC Water鈥檚 governing board said they would have no choice but to At the time, they estimated the average customer would pay an extra $2,250 per household over the next 20 years.
WSSC Water, it turns out, is just one of many companies with underground assets that could be impacted by the Maryland Department of Transportation鈥檚 plan to widen the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) and I-270.
The agency has been meeting regularly with 21 utilities and private companies about the project, according to the state.
The companies provide services that Maryland residents and businesses rely on every waking hour 鈥� including water and sewer, electricity, gas, internet and cable television. There are state-of-the-art fiber-optic lines, installed relatively recently, and massive decades-old pipelines that carry oil through the Washington, D.C., region for multinational firms based in Canada.
Because the state is still in the process of considering which of several potential options it will choose for the highway project, there are no blueprints that companies can consult to determine whether they have buried assets that need moving. Nor can they can calculate a cost or negotiate with the State Highway Administration or its private-sector road-builders to determine who picks up the tab.
But the consequences of interrupting these utility services could be far-reaching and disruptive 鈥� to commuters, to residents, to ratepayers, and to the companies鈥� own operations. And the sheer number of entities with crucial infrastructure buried under the roads, disclosed here for the first time, has alarmed local leaders and members of the General Assembly, many of whom are already skeptical of the highway widening project.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 even talk about a contract with [a potential concessionaire] until I knew every damn thing that was underground. And they don鈥檛,鈥� said Montgomery County Executive Marc B. Elrich (D) of state transportation officials. 鈥淎nd they don鈥檛 know the cost of moving everything underground 鈥� and that is not built into this.鈥�
MDOT officials have said it is too early to know what it will cost to move power lines, pipes and fiber. Because the state is in the middle of the mandated public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the highway proposal, they are particularly constrained now, they said. The comment period closes Nov. 9.
But WSSC Water鈥檚 willingness to call attention to the issue 鈥� combined with the list of companies with buried assets obtained by Maryland Matters 鈥� is deepening concern for state and local officials who worry that their constituents will see their monthly bills rise, including those who are low-income, don鈥檛 drive, or won鈥檛 ever be able to afford Maryland鈥檚 new 鈥渆xpress toll lanes鈥� that are envisioned to help pay for the highway expansion.
鈥淚t鈥檚 another bait-and-switch,鈥� said Del. Jared Solomon (D-Montgomery). 鈥淲e鈥檙e being told that this won鈥檛 cost anybody anything 鈥� that it鈥檚 all going to be paid for by private companies and by tolls 鈥� and that鈥檚 nonsense. This is another way to pass the buck, hide the true cost and put it onto people who are being told they鈥檙e not going to have to spend anything.鈥�
After six months of refusing to provide the list of companies with whom they have been meeting, MDOT officials furnished the list to Maryland Matters in September.
They fall into four categories:
- Water and sewer: WSSC Water, City of Rockville, DC Water and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, operators of the Washington Aqueduct.
- Electricity: PEPCO and BG&E.
- Gas: Washington Gas, Williams Companies (operators of the Transco pipeline), TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) and Colonial Pipeline
- Telecom: AT&T, CenturyLink, Comcast, Crown Castle, Fiber Light, RCN, Verizon and Zayo
A U.S. Department of Transportation website shows just a few of the major pipelines that run under Interstate 270 and the Capital Beltway. The red lines depict gas transmission pipelines. The blue lines show 鈥渉azardous liquid pipelines.鈥�
Maryland Matters reached out to all of the companies whose engineers have been meeting with SHA quarterly since 2018. Only WSSC Water provided a detailed response.
Most others indicated it was too early in the process to determine whether their assets would be in path of the project, what their costs would be or whether the state鈥檚 private funding and construction partner would pick up the expense.
Several firms refused to comment, either for competitive reasons or to avoid impacting their relationship with a key state agency.
A representative of one firm, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the project candidly, said the utility expects it will have to eat any costs related to the project.
鈥淲e are generally not reimbursed on relocation projects,鈥� the representative said. 鈥淢y construction lead鈥� doesn鈥檛 have any more detail at this stage.鈥�
City of Rockville spokeswoman Marylou Berg said the city has five utility lines that run under I-270. The largest is 24 inches in diameter.
鈥淩ockville鈥檚 buried utilities within the I-270 right-of-way are sanitary sewer and water system assets and it has yet to be determined what needs to be moved or protected during the P3 project,鈥� she said. 鈥淩ockville has not developed cost estimates for this work. Costs associated with relocating or protecting Rockville鈥檚 buried assets has not been discussed with SHA.鈥�
In pushing the project over the last three years, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) has said that no homes or businesses will be taken to expand the two highways and that the project 鈥� a public-private partnership, or P3 鈥� can be built 鈥渁t no net cost to the state.鈥�
Officials, particularly in Montgomery and Prince George鈥檚 counties, where criticism of the project has been intense, now wonder if either of those promises will be borne out.
鈥淲hy should any of our ratepayers pay for it, especially when you said on TV it wouldn鈥檛 cost us anything,鈥� said Montgomery Councilmember Tom Hucker (D). 鈥淧eople that will never be able to afford your managed lanes 鈥� or who can鈥檛 even afford a car, much less drive it on managed lanes 鈥� will be stuck with the bill.鈥�
Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission staff, who have been critical both of MDOT鈥檚 plan and the agency鈥檚 level of cooperation with local officials, also flagged the issue of utility relocation.
鈥淭he revenue model as presented in the [Draft Environmental Impact Statement] demonstrates that toll roads, much like transit, can鈥檛 be paid for without some level of government subsidy,鈥� they wrote in a report.
鈥淣ot only are the financial assumptions on which MDOT SHA relies too speculative, but the basic project costs are omitted, such as a lack of consideration to relocate utilities and water and sewer lines, likely project delays due to litigation, design difficulties and land acquisition challenges 鈥� similar to what has happened with the Purple Line.鈥�
Elrich has said he is eager for the state to develop a plan to ease some Montgomery鈥檚 notorious traffic problems, but he wants the state to start with the American Legion Bridge, a chronic chokepoint. He is also pressing for two reversible lanes on I-270, not two new lanes in each direction.
In an interview, he said big unanswered questions about utility costs could impact the eventual concessionaire鈥檚 ability to borrow to finance the project.
Montgomery County Executive Marc B. Elrich (D). Photo by Danielle E. Gaines.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not something that the bond is going to pay for and that the owner of the bond is going to want to take on,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese are all state liabilities. And the idea that we would expose ourselves to that without fully understanding the liabilities, costs and potential risks does not make sense.鈥�
Wide-ranging impact
Maryland鈥檚 road widening project could also impact residents of the District of Columbia.
DC Water spokesman John Lisle said the Potomac Interceptor (PI), a 78-inch reinforced concrete pipe with approximate average flow of 45 million gallons per day, 鈥渋s a sewer line that carries flow from Dulles Airport, across the Potomac, and then down the Maryland/DC shoreline to Blue Plains [wastewater plant] for treatment.鈥�
鈥淲e have not developed a cost estimate for relocating the PI,鈥� he added. 鈥淗owever, sections of the pipe were already included in DC Water鈥檚 [Capital Improvements Program] as part of a project that would rehabilitate the PI segment under I-495 as well as three other segments.鈥�
鈥淭his is the subject of ongoing discussions,鈥� Lisle said. 鈥淭he schedule for DC Water鈥檚 CIP, based on other more pressing priorities for the Authority, may not overlap with MDOT鈥檚 schedule. There is no agreement in place at this time.鈥�
MDOT officials refused to be interviewed for this report but did provide a statement from spokeswoman Erin Henson, saying 鈥渋t is too early to determine what the cost would be to relocate any utilities.鈥� She said the project plans provide incentives to the developer 鈥渢o work with the community to reduce impacts to the community or utilities from this critical project.鈥�
The state, Henson added, 鈥渋s focused on finding the right partner to collaborate with all the stakeholders, including other agencies, communities and the utility companies.鈥�
None of the elected officials contacted by Maryland Matters said they were aware that so many companies have costly assets in the potential path of the project.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a lack of transparency. It鈥檚 a lack of full disclosure,鈥� said Solomon. 鈥淭his is a pretty sizable number.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to touch a lot of people,鈥� he added. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 going to potentially mean a lot of money that a lot people are going to have to shell out on their monthly bills. Again, this is why trying to rush this through is the wrong way to go about it.鈥�
Samantha Hawkins contributed to this report.
