transportation
The Maryland Department of Transportation announced its Traffic Relief Plan in September 2017 to add new lanes on I-495 and I-270. Photo: Maryland Department of Transportation
arteries for the state. Valued at $7.6 billion, the P3 project to add new lanes on I-495 and I-270 is the largest P3 highway project in North America. The P3 seeks private developers to design, build, finance, operate, and/or maintain new express toll lanes on I-495 (Capital Beltway) between American Legion Bridge and Woodrow Wilson Bridge and on I-270 between I-495 and I-70. Formal industry responses to the RFI were due Dec. 20. Responses were received from regional, national, and international firms, which represented seven countries. The responses were received from concessionaires, investors, contractors, engineers, and various other types of firms. Responding to the RFI was not a requirement. Industry can submit response proposals in the later stages of the process. “This is a significant and very positive step in the process,” said MDOT SHA Administrator Greg Slater. “This level of interest indicates that industry is meeting our demand signal for transformative and innovative ideas to address the congestion issue in Maryland with a solution that works for the customers we serve every day and the communities the new solutions will serve.” An international industry forumwas held in December to inform industry professionals about the Traffic Relief Plan and establish expectations and dialogue. More than 350 transportation professionals from around the world attended. The forum presentations included an overview of the P3 plan to add four express lanes (two in each direction) to I-495 and I-270. MDOT SHA is in the process of reviewing the RFI responses.
The Maryland Department of Transportation’s (MDOT’s) Traffic Relief Plan is receiving significant interest from the public-private partnership (P3) industry to add new lanes on I-495 and I-270. This interest follows Governor Larry Hogan’s administration’s recently announced plans to add four new lanes to I-270, the Capital Beltway (I-495), and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD 295). The $9 billion Traffic Relief Plan for these three major state highways will reduce congestion for millions of drivers and mark the beginning of a historic and transformative effort to significantly improve the traffic conditions on some of Maryland’s most traveled roads and highways for years to come, according to MDOT. “Our administration is committed to helping Maryland citizens go about their daily lives in a more efficient and safer manner,” Hogan said. “The significant interest from the P3 industry is yet another step in this transformative process to turn innovation into action. Once complete, these projects will dramatically improve our highway system and traffic in the region for years to come.” MDOT State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) received 27 responses to the initial Request for Information (RFI), which was released in September 2017 when the project was first announced. The RFI solicited the P3 industry for input and solutions to provide major congestion relief improvements to these key transportation Traffic Relief Plan MDOT reports significant interest in $9 billion proposed highway P3.
Information provided by the Maryland Department of Transportation (www.mdot.maryland.gov).
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csengineermag.com
february 2018
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