The Maryland Department of Transportation has removed a large stretch of the Capital Beltway from its plan for new toll lanes, acquiescing to pushback from local officials, property owners and environmentalists who criticized the plan.
Under the new proposal, the expansion project will now focus only on building a new American Legion Bridge and adding two high-occupancy toll lanes in each direction from Interstate 270 to I-370.
The announcement Wednesday cut controversial plans for lane expansions on a 27-mile section of the eastern portion of the Beltway from the I-270 spur in Montgomery County to Route 5 in Prince George’s County. Critics have said the widening of the Beltway along this stretch promotes more auto-centric sprawl, which runs against goals in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties of more mass transit.
