COG Transportation Board Removes I-270/I-495 Toll Lanes from Project List

The Washington Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board in June removed Gov. Larry Hogan’s toll lane plans for I-495 and I-270 from a list of projects to be included in the required air quality analysis of the region’s long-range transportation improvement plan.

The removal leaves the plan for toll lanes at greater risk of not receiving federal environmental approval.

Rockville Mayor Bridget Newton, a member and former chairperson of the TPB, has, along with the Rockville City Council, opposed the project.

Newton expressed serious concerns about the impact the I-270 project would have on adjacent city neighborhoods.

“This is not ready for prime time,” Newton said, according to a TPB press release. “This project does nothing to move our region forward — not in social justice, not in environmental justice, and it’s not the way we should be going.”

Read more about the June 16 TPB meeting at www.mwcog.org/newsroom/2021/06/22/tpb-moves-plan-update-forward-removes-md-toll-lanes.

For more on the Mayor and Council’s advocacy against the state project to add toll lanes to interstates 270 and 495 between the American Legion Bridge and Frederick, visit www.rockvillemd.gov and search “I-270.”