The cuts — totaling $1.3 billion from the roughly $20 billion, six-year transportation plan — would defer some maintenance projects like sidewalk repairs and traffic improvements, slow down the transition to fully electric state-run buses and pause the development stage of other initiatives.
They would not directly impact major projects like planning the Red Line light rail in Baltimore, completing the Purple Line route outside Washington, D.C., rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge or improving the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
But the changes, released in a draft Tuesday, could still shift before being finalized in early 2025.
They're also a sign of rising pressure on the state's outdated transportation funding system. Lawmakers are considering a variety of ways to boost revenue and remake the transportation funding system while at the same time facing multibillion-dollar deficits in other aspects of Maryland's finances.
"We're just going to have to work through it," said Del. Courtney Watson, a Howard County Democrat who chairs a House Appropriations subcommittee focused on transportation. "It's going to take a lot of effort, a lot of blood, sweat and tears to come to a conclusion for this."
The latest proposed cuts come a year after Maryland Department of Transportation officials first trimmed the same six-year plan by $3.3 billion, a move that led to pausing projects where construction had not started and making 8 percent across-the-board cuts to transportation agencies' operating budgets.
Some of the initial cuts were later restored when Moore tapped $150 million from the state's "rainy day" fund and the Maryland General Assembly approved fee increases for vehicle registration and other rate hikes to raise up to $328 million more per year.
Those actions were not enough to cover the shortfall, which has increased partly because operating costs and spending continue to outpace incoming revenue, Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld told reporters ahead of the announcement Tuesday.
"That has been a historical issue, a structural issue that we've had in the department for decades," Wiedefeld said. "It was obviously exacerbated with some of the growth of inflation and things of that sort, and also the construction costs and the supply-side issues."
The list of projects deferred as part of the new round of cuts includes bus and train station maintenance — everything from lighting and cell service at metro stations to replacing old elevators and escalators — and reducing the scope of bridge and road repairs along the Interstate 695 Baltimore Beltway.
Not all the projects were outlined in the document released Tuesday. For instance, routine road resurfacing and rehabilitation would be deferred to the tune of $411 million, and bridge replacement and rehabilitation to $386 million.
Wiedefeld said thousands of those kinds of projects in the "system preservation program" — which, at $7.4 billion, accounts for the largest portion of MDOT's plans — were being evaluated to determine which ones are at a "logical point" to defer until more money is available.
The final version of what's known as the Consolidated Transportation Program from last year called reduced funding for system preservation "a last resort."
Del. Marc Korman, a Montgomery County Democrat who focuses on transportation policy in the House, said "not advancing any capital project — whichever one you like — to the next stage is extremely troubling."
"How are you going to do any of the big projects people dream about like the Red Line or the American Legion Bridge if you cannot move anything already further along in the pipeline to the next phase?" he said.
Sen. Cory McCray, a Baltimore Democrat who has also worked extensively on transportation funding issues, said he was still reviewing the details of the changes, which "require careful consideration to ensure that no single region, particularly Baltimore, bears a disproportionate burden."
"Baltimore, which has historically faced significant challenges in public transportation, must not be sidelined during this process," McCray said.
Another targeted area is the "development and evaluation program," which includes projects for planning studies, preparation for environmental studies and preliminary design. Priority will go toward projects where any planning efforts would otherwise be lost if they're deferred, Wiedefeld said.
The slower transition to electric buses, meanwhile, is both to save money on new bus purchases and because of the unavailability of electric bus manufacturing, the secretary said. A 2021 state law has required the Maryland Transit Administration to purchase only zero-emission buses since 2022, but the process also was delayed by last year's budget cuts.
Wiedefeld said each electric bus costs roughly $1.4 million, about twice the amount of a diesel bus, though there are plans to purchase more this fall.
Another fund that elicited significant concerns from lawmakers earlier this year was not scheduled to be cut.
Many local leaders, including several in Baltimore, had pushed back against proposed cuts to local governments' share of highway user revenues. Mayor Brandon Scott, for one, said the resurfacing of several major city thoroughfares would be in jeopardy and lobbied in Annapolis to restore the money.
Wiedefeld said lawmakers' decision to fully fund that program and another known as the Local Operating Transit Systems was the reason for about $400 million of the new reductions elsewhere.
Among the rest of the $1.3 billion in cuts, about $350 million is because of declining or slower-growing revenues than expected — primarily the gas tax — and about $300 million is due to growing operating costs. Also contributing to the need for cuts was the lower-than-anticipated matching revenue for projects that qualify for federal assistance, Wiedefeld said.
Meanwhile, federal funding will remain critical to the fate of major projects that are not already part of the six-year plan but are expected to be costly.
The Red Line, for example, is expected to cost up to $7.2 billion. When Moore picked light rail as the mode over the less costly rapid bus option in June, he offered few details on how the state would pick up the tab, which Wiedefeld said at the time could be about 50 percent from each the state and the federal government. The state is planning on applying for those funds next year.
"If those federal dollars do not come through, then we would have to assess, 'Do we have enough state dollars to deliver them?'" Wiedefeld said, when asked about projects including the Red Line.
The transportation department will now travel across the state to solicit feedback on the proposal before releasing a final plan at the end of the year. Public meetings in Baltimore City and Baltimore County are scheduled for Oct. 21.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are expected to release a final report report on recommendations to raise new transportation revenue, ahead of the annual 90-day session in Annapolis starting in January.
Korman and his House Democratic colleagues have led the charge on raising new transportation revenue more quickly. But he did not say Tuesday when asked about specific proposals that could be on the table. Some that were offered but not advanced earlier this year included increasing tolls and implementing a 50-cent "retail delivery" fee on transactions for goods that are delivered in the state, like purchases through Amazon.
"Had the General Assembly not taken actions to stabilize the transportation budget last year, this would have been even worse," Korman said. "But this draft budget raises major red flags about the state's ability to deliver the transportation infrastructure Marylanders want and expect."
(c)2024 the Catonsville Times (Ellicott City, Md.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
