As prepared
Good afternoon!
I am happy to be here today, on one of the hottest days of the year so far, to celebrate the beginning of construction of the I-270 Interchange at Watkins Mill Road.
I would like to thank Governor Larry Hogan, MDOT Secretary Pete Rahn, and SHA Administrator Greg Slater, along with all their dedicated employees for their commitment to building this project.
Relieving congestion and improving access are high priorities for me; and I am happy to see such an important project moving forward.
This interchange has been planned for many years to improve access to Montgomery Village, the City of Gaithersburg, and major employment centers like the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The interchange will also help relieve congestion that affects our businesses and residents, particularly those that travel through the intersection of Montgomery Village Avenue and 355, often identified as one of the most congested in the County.
Not only will this interchange improve access to and from I-270 and reduce local traffic congestion, but it will also enable improved access to the MARC Commuter Rail at Metropolitan Grove today, and to the Corridor Cities Transitway in the - hopefully not too distant - future.
With improved access from I-270 to transit, we can continue our efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our transportation system while improving the performance of our
highway system.
In the early years of this project, Montgomery County provided about $5 million so that MDOT could begin preliminary engineering of this project.
Today, I am grateful to see that our early investment has enabled this groundbreaking of a $130-million project in our community. This is a great example of how the County and State can work together to meet our common needs.
This project, coupled with the I-270 Innovative Congestion Management project kicked off earlier this year, represents more than $200 million of investment in the I-270 Corridor.
I-270 is a critical link for the Maryland economy to the broader National Capital Region; and investments in this corridor benefit the entire the State.
Personally, I hope that these investments by the State in I-270 represent the beginning of a larger commitment to addressing transportation needs on this corridor and throughout our County.
Once again, I would like to thank the Governor, the Secretary, and the Administrator for their leadership of this project; and I look forward to working with each of them to address our transportation needs on this corridor and throughout the County.
Thank you!
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Release ID: 17-076