State Transportation Budget Faces Cuts
September 5, 2024
The Maryland Department of Transportation released its draft Consolidated Transportation Plan on September 3. This is a budget for capital expenditures covering the 6 years from 2025 to 2030. Full text of the CTP is this very large pdf.
In response to a revenue shortfall and rising costs, numerous budget cuts are proposed. Key takeaways from the CTP for MTOC issues are as follows:
Baltimore Red Line - No cuts.
Purple Line - No cuts.
Southern Maryland Rapid Transit - $2 million is budgeted for the next two years for a pre-NEPA planning and environmental linkages study, then no additional funding is budgeted until after 2030. (This, despite an understanding that projects with federal funding commitments would be held harmless from budget cuts. Congress has appropriated two $5 million earmarks for SMRT, with a third pending House approval.)
I-270/I-495 toll lanes - Funding for engineering work in FY2026 and FY2027 reduced from $10 million per year to $2 million per year. Total of $62 million budgeted for engineering and land acquisition in FYs 2028, 2029, and 2030, with federal grants expected to cover 90% of engineering and construction costs.
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