Diverse Coalition of 62 Organizations Voice Strong Support for Maryland Highway Project
Diverse Coalition of 62 Organizations Voice Strong Support for Maryland Highway Project
The Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance has joined a diverse coalition of more than 60 business and community organizations in signing a letter to the Maryland Board of Public Works expressing strong support for Phase 1 of the Maryland Traffic Relief Plan, which includes replacing the aging American Legion Bridge and improving the heavily congested I-270 corridor.
The letter includes prominent regional business and community organizations including the AAA Mid-Atlantic, the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and the Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce, among many others. These organizations represent thousands of members.
This project is critical to the future economic success of the State of Maryland,” said Edgar Gonzalez, executive director of the Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance. “It will substantially reduce congestion and delays for both free and toll lane users, improve regional transit service, increase carpooling, add new bike and pedestrian connections, strengthen our economy, and create thousands of good-paying jobs. Now that the Maryland Department of Transportation’s proposal matches the 2019 plan put forward by Montgomery County, it is time to stop the costly, unnecessary delays and move forward.”
In addition to highlighting the multimodal transportation benefits of the project, the letter also points to the advantages of using an innovative P3 approach including no net cost to taxpayers and more money for transit, trail, technology, and community improvements.
“The project will also benefit our entire region,” added Jason Stanford, president of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance. “It will create a seamless managed lane network between Maryland and Virginia, which will move more people through this important corridor including via a new express bus service between Bethesda and Tysons. This project is a gamechanger for those who are tired of being stuck in soul crushing traffic on the American Legion Bridge.”
Finally, the letter urges Maryland officials to refrain from efforts to further delay the project, which will make it more costly and could jeopardize the many community benefits they have fought so hard to get.
“Time is money on big transportation projects like this one and improvements to this corridor have been studied for more than 30 years,” added Gonzalez, a former deputy director of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation. “It would be a shame for the zealous obstruction of a few elected officials to completely derail traffic relief and multimodal transportation improvements for all of Montgomery County and the entire region. Marylanders and Montgomery County residents and employers deserve better.”