MDOT officials talk project updates, bus rapid transit
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Secretary Pete Rahn, along with other state transportation representatives, met with Charles County commissioners Tuesday in La Plata as part of MDOT’s annual statewide tour to discuss transportation priorities, which included key project updates, local grants and the state’s draft Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) for 2019 through 2024.
According to an MDOT press release, state transportation officials announced funding for Charles County’s local priorities including $16.5 million in highway
user revenues for 20192024, and highway safety grants funded through the MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) which includes $92,000 for the county’s sheriff’s office.
Last spring, MDOT State Highway Administration (SHA) administrator Greg Slater said the agency not only completed a $6.3 million replacement of the Route 234 bridge over Gilbert Swamp Run, but also began a $17 million replacement of the Route 254 bridge over Neale Sound connecting to Cobb Island. MDOT SHA will maintain traffic during construction as crews will build the new bridge next to the existing bridge, which is expected to be completed by late 2020.
In addition, Slater said MDOT SHA completed a $3.4 million project to rehabilitate the Route 6 bridge over Zekiah Swamp near La Plata, where landscaping will continue throughout the fall. Smart signal construction will be completed this winter along U.S. 301, from Chadds Ford Drive in Brandywine to Route 227; Route 5 Business from Post Office Road to U.S. 301; and Route 228 from Western Parkway to U.S. 301, according to the press release.
“Under the Hogan administration, we’re making great progress here in Charles County,” Slater said. “In the next two years, we will be completing about $10 million in roadway resurfacing projects, another $450,000 in guardrail improvements and [$100,000] for pedestrian mobility and safety improvements.”
MDOT Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) administrator Kevin Quinn said the agency is making a significant investment in Charles County transit through the operation of five commuter bus routes, and by providing $3.72 million in operating and capital grants to support the local VanGo. Phase II, which includes final site selection, cost estimates and preliminary NEPA and Title VI analysis, is nearing completion. The design and engineering phase is set to begin in 2020, according to the press release.
Local transit funding, according to Quinn, includes five medium-duty bus replacements, ongoing preventive maintenance and the Maryland Rideshare program. MTA is also providing more than $219,000 during fiscal year 20182019 for nonprofits in Charles County that serve the transportation needs of seniors and people with disabilities.
In addition, Quinn said MTA continues to invest in technology improvements. The agency deployed mobile ticketing in September for commuter bus routes to provide more fare options to riders. A Statewide Transit Innovation Grant, worth $177,000, will fund the installation of security camera systems at the Waldorf and La Plata Park and Ride facilities.
“We continue to invest in some fantastic customer facing technology improvements,” Quinn said. “Just about a month ago, we launched CharmPass, which is our new mobile ticketing app that all commuter bus riders [in Charles County] can use to purchase their fares on MARC, commuter buses as well as local buses, Metro and light rail in the Baltimore region.”
Rahn outlined key updates on transportation investments. Statewide, there are 816 airport, highway, transit, port, bicycle and Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) construction projects underway with a value of $8.8 billion.
“We’re addressing safety and congestion across the state from adding lanes on roadways like Route 404 on the Eastern Shore to [Interstate] 81 in Western Maryland, and adding smart traffic signals on congested corridors from Southern Maryland to our northern border,” Rahn said. “Everything we are doing is a statewide approach to relieve congestion.”
Transportation officials commended the Charles County government for taking the first steps toward creating a highway safety plan.
“Charles County is in the initial stages of creating its own highway safety plan and we encourage you to do so,” MDOT MVA district manager Paul Taylor said.
Speaking of encouraging, Del. Edith Patterson (D-Charles) asked and voiced her concern about the need for a light rail transit system in Southern Maryland, which supporters believe would alleviate traffic congestion and improve commute times for residents along Route 5 and U.S. 301. The proposed alignment would stretch nearly 19 miles south from the Branch Avenue Metro station in Prince George’s County to White Plains in Charles County.
Rahn said the state has decided to move forward with a less expensive option — and that is bus rapid transit.
“We completed the study of the corridor [last year] and looked at two options. The option that it boiled down to was whether it would be bus rapid transit or whether it would be light rail,” Rahn said. “The decision was made that it would be bus rapid transit, with the belief that certainly it can provide as good a service and it’s half a billion dollars less expensive. Costs are obviously a major factor in big investments like this. Our decision has been we are moving forward with bus rapid transit and not light rail.”
Commissioner Debra Davis (D) reiterated the issue of traffic congestion and long commute times for residents using Route 5 and U.S. 301 to get to work and back home.
“It is a big issue in the Southern Maryland region, especially in Charles County,” she said. “If you look at the numbers, you will see that per capita, Charles County is one of the top in fatalities on the roads. I want to implore upon you that this is a quality of life issue. This is a health and welfare issue for residents in not only Charles County, but in Southern Maryland.”
“Our experts have said that we simply need $27 million, in this budget, so that we can move forward with the NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] studies,” Davis continued. “We want help with that. It would take three years — by that time we will definitely need a light rail for sure. We are one of the top growing counties in the state. If you walk away now and say there’s no hopes of getting $27 million any time soon, then you are stalling our plans to at least take baby steps toward light rail as a solution for our residents. … We’re commuting more and paying a higher proportion of that gas tax. We want some of it back in our county and we don’t think $27 million is a lot.”
MTA recommends bus rapid transit on a dedicated transitway as the most appropriate technology for Southern Maryland Rapid Transit (SMRT), based upon several key factors. Bus rapid transit and light rail transit are both projected to have comparable ridership; travel times for bus rapid transit are approximately one minute faster over the length of the corridor; and capital cost for bus rapid transit is estimated to be at least $500 million less than light rail transit, according to MTA’s 2017 SMRT Alternatives Final Report.
When it comes to accommodating travel demand within the corridor, Charles County Planning Director Jason Groth said the SMRT project is an integral part of an interconnected regional transit system that
will support widespread job growth.
“The light rail project is imperative to our future,” Groth said. “We feel that for the contribution that Charles County citizens make through the gas tax and other means, [$27 million] is a small drop in the bucket for our future. The days of building bypasses and new roads are fleeting. As we move into the future and moving people around, not only getting people to jobs out of the county but bringing jobs into the county, is incredibly important.”
For the SMRT alignment, MTA recommended Alternative 4 which runs along the east side of Route 5 and U.S. 301 in Prince George’s County and along the west side of the Pope’s Creek Railroad in Charles County. The recommended Capital Beltway crossing is Beltway Option 8A which departs from Route 5 and runs on the south side of Allentown Road, past the relocated pedestrian access to Joint Base Andrews, then crosses the Beltway to enter the Branch Avenue Metro station in the existing maintenance yard vicinity.
The SMRT report also noted that “securing a significant portion of the right-of-way, identifying the facility owner and developing a strategy for secure funding are fundamental to achieving the long-term goal of reliable rapid transit service in the Route 5 and U.S. 301 corridor.”
“We’re very appreciative of the smart signals and I look forward to their implementation, but I see them as an interim step. We need to work for the long-term future and I think the way to do that is to invest in the project planning study,” Groth added. “Prince George’s County even passed a resolution in 2011 to support the project and do everything they could to promote transit-oriented development around the corridor. Charles County is doing everything we can to promote transit-oriented development around the corridor. We greatly appreciate everything that’s been done for us. There’s a lot of money being invested in Charles County. But I wholeheartedly ask you to fund project planning and to reconsider light rail. The [bus rapid transit] was shown to not be able to keep up with the demand when the system opens.”
MDOT presents its draft six-year capital program each fall to every county and Baltimore City for review and comment. Following input from the 24 local jurisdictions, MDOT prepares a final budget to present to the General Assembly in January.
To view the state’s draft CTP, go to www.ctp. maryland.gov.