A Montgomery County judge said Thursday that he will wait to decide whether Maryland transportation officials properly awarded the first contract in a state toll lanes project until an appeals court rules on whether a bid protest was filed in time.
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Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Kevin G. Hessler issued an order saying he would hold off on a decision because an appellate ruling on the bid protest’s timeliness “may render moot” a ruling on its merits.
Hessler heard arguments Nov. 22 from lawyers for a team of companies led by Spanish firm Cintra. It has alleged that the state violated its own bid rules by improperly awarding a contract to develop toll lanes for Interstate 270 and part of the Capital Beltway to a team led by Australian toll road operator Transurban. The Maryland Department of Transportation has defended the contract award and said Cintra filed its bid protest too late.
The contract, known as a “predevelopment agreement,” is significant because it gave the Transurban team the right of first refusal for a 50-year contract worth billions of dollars to build the lanes, finance their construction and keep most of the toll revenue.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Katherine Shaver over at The Washington Post
