Federal Highway Administration Delays Beltway Expansion

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has delayed action on Maryland’s plan to build private toll lanes on I-270 on the Capital Beltway, siting the need for more time to review the Final Environmental Impact Assessment.

Maryland PIRG and U.S. PIRG identified the Capital Beltway project as one of the country’s most wasteful highway expansions in the 2018 Highway Boondoggles report. Maryland PIRG has opposed the project, calling it “a waste of taxpayer dollars that will make traffic worse, not better. It’s bad for public health and the environment.”

In 2021 the proposal was dramatically scaled back before being approved by Maryland’s Board of Public Works by a 2-1 vote.