Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has announced a $229.6 million plan to update the Interstate 270 corridor in an effort to relieve congestion on the highway in addition to secondary roads in Montgomery County.
Officials say the corridor sees 79,400 vehicles each day on the north end and 261,200 vehicles per day on the end near the Capital Beltway. These figures will grow to 107,000 and 290,000 each day, respectively, by 2035.
The plan includes $100 million in new funding for the I-270 Innovative Congestion Management Project and $129.6 million for an interchange at I-270 and Watkins Mill Road to be built by the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration.
“Our administration is committed to finding the best ideas that offer real solutions, and I’m excited to see innovation in action when it comes to solving the problem of congestion on I-270,” Hogan says. “We are calling on the most creative minds in the transportation industry to step forward, as we continue our investment in critical infrastructure projects that will help citizens in Montgomery County, and all across our state.”
The I-270/Watkins Mill interchange project will be advertised in spring 2017 and start construction next summer, officials say, adding that the project is designed to “support economic development and reduce congestion at the nearby I-270/MD 124 interchange and MD 355/MD 124 intersection to the south.” The project also will provide access from I-270 to the Metropolitan Grove MARC station.
