Under Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) new administration, the Interstate 270 and Capital Beltway expansion project, dubbed Op Lanes Maryland, will continue to be planned for the region. The project, a priority of former Gov. Larry Hogan (R), focuses on improving traffic congestion and delivering a new American Legion Bridge.
This comes as environmental and historic preservation groups–the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Friends of Moses Hall and the National Trust for Historic Preservation–continue to challenge the expansion of I-270 and Beltway with a lawsuit originally filed in October 2022.
On June 16, the groups filed a motion for summary judgement, which asks the judge to decide the case in their favor without going to trial.
The lawsuit argues that the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) failed to adequately assess and disclose the expansion project’s impact on the environment, the biological research hub Plummers Island and a historic African American burial ground in Cabin John, adjacent to the Beltway.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Elia Griffin over at MOCO360
