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A powerful committee chairwoman whose district is at the center of a tug-of-war over transportation policy has strong feelings when it comes to a key plank of the Hogan administration鈥檚 plan to widen two crowded interstate highways.
Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery), chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, broadly supports the governor鈥檚 push to have a public-private partnership steward the widening of Interstate 270 and the Capital Beltway (I-495).
But she insists that local firms be in the driver鈥檚 seat.
鈥淚鈥檓 very concerned about companies from outside of our region coming in to do these roads,鈥� she said in an interview with聽Maryland Matters聽on Tuesday. 鈥淥ur businesses need to flourish with any kind of growth that we have.
鈥淣ot using our people and our companies to build the roads 鈥� I just think that鈥檚 a bit of a deal breaker for me.鈥�
In 2017, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) announced plans to widen I-270 and the Beltway two lanes in each direction. The new lanes would be funded and built by private-sector firms in exchange for the right to charge tolls on them for 50 years or more.
The companies also would agree to maintain the new and the existing lanes at their own expense.
Hogan also hopes to widen the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, which is owned by the federal government, two lanes in each direction. Negotiations to win control of that road appear to be moving slowly.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn said the governor鈥檚 proposal is borne of twin necessities 鈥� the crush of commuter traffic, which is expected to grow worse with time, and the state鈥檚 inability to fund improvements because of fiscal constraints and past borrowing.
He has also said that firms that have done complex highway projects all over the globe are eager to bring their experience and expertise to Maryland, to help the state find innovative solutions to its worst-in-the-nation traffic.
But in a statement Rahn appeared to accept King鈥檚 preference for locally based concessionaires.
鈥淭he design-build piece of these P3 projects is so large that it almost always goes to local firms,鈥� he said.
State transportation officials are involved in something of a public feud with Montgomery鈥檚 elected leaders over the Hogan plan.
In recent days the Montgomery County Council and County Executive Marc B. Elrich (D) have requested that the county鈥檚 planning board not turn over any land to the state that it would need to widen the two roads or build new interchanges unless additional environmental and financial studies are done.
The Prince George鈥檚 County Council has adopted similar resolutions unanimously.
In a聽听飞颈迟丑听Maryland Matters, Rahn accused critics of the state鈥檚 plan of 鈥渉iding from the facts鈥� and 鈥減utting your head in the sand.鈥�
King, who represents much of upper Montgomery, said many of her constituents are eager to see Maryland鈥檚 road network improved, particularly 270.
鈥淚 understand where the county council and the county executive are coming from because in their mind they want to get everybody out of their cars and onto mass transit,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a laudable goal, but I just don鈥檛 see it in our area. Everybody doesn鈥檛 have Metro access.
鈥淧eople are desperate for a change because they鈥檙e so tired of sitting on roads.鈥�
King said she is 鈥渞eally concerned鈥� that the recent tug-of-war between local and state leaders could make it difficult to reach a consensus.
鈥淭here鈥檚 such a philosophical difference 鈥� a glaring difference 鈥� that I see out there,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just think we have to do something. I think we鈥檝e got to have some pretty open minds and come up with a plan. And if we need to sit down and knock heads with the [Maryland] Department of Transportation, we have to find a way to do that.鈥�
础听聽released Sunday found that 61 percent of Washington, D.C.-area residents support Hogan鈥檚 plan. Support is strong across the region, but it dips in Prince George鈥檚 County, where concern is great that middle- and lower-income workers won鈥檛 be able to afford what critics call 鈥淟exus lanes.鈥�
In addition, the majority of those surveyed expressed fear that the addition of express-toll lanes will result in the taking of private homes, be too expensive to use and will not ease congestion long term.
King thinks the state is over-reliant on the P3 process and that some relief could be found at less cost than the $9 billion to $11 billion plan Hogan announced two years ago.
鈥淭here are so many things that can be done. [Maryland Route] 355 goes down to one lane going up towards Clarksburg, which is a major bottleneck. 270 going north goes down to two lanes; that鈥檚 another bottleneck. There are some things that I think could be done sooner that could bring a whole lot of relief,鈥� she said.
King also said she understands why local leaders feel stymied in their interactions with state planners.
鈥淚鈥檝e talked to so many people that have tried to sit and talk with the DOT people, and they really just want to come and say, 鈥楾his is how we鈥檙e going to do it.鈥� I think things could go a little easier if we had [a better] relationship, but we don鈥檛,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 know how this turns out.鈥�
