During his successful campaign last year, Gov. Hogan claimed that funding two mass transit projects in the works for Maryland wouldn't be feasible. Despite years of engineering, planning and community involvement, progress on these two projects was iffy when he came into office. And now, one is advancing and the other is mostly likely dead.
Gov. Hogan just announced his administration will be backing initial construction of the Purple Line around the northeast of Washington DC, linking up outer portions of the metro there.
So enjoy that new rail line DC, what with all the jobs it'll bring, less congestion on the road and cleaner air.
This comes at the cost of the Red Line, an east-west line going through most of Baltimore. The Red Line was in the planning stages and was granted federal approval to enter the preliminary engineering phase. The line's construction was estimated to begin in late 2015-early 2016, subject to funding, with a completion date set for late 2021-early 2022.
Gov. Hogan says that while he revisited both projects after initially doubting them, the price tag for the Red Line's tunnel in downtown Baltimore was too high:
The governor's decision comes after years of environmental studies and public meetings and tens of millions of dollars in state spending on design and engineering.
Rahn said Thursday the "fatal flaw" of the Red Line project was the plan to rely on a $1 billion tunnel under downtown, Harbor East and Fells Point. He said the administration would try to provide transportation assistance to Baltimore in others ways, but he offered no specifics.
His decision may have been political. During the campaign, he lamented often how people in the suburbs and rural portions of the state get little benefit from mass transit projects for Baltimore and DC.
But Todd Eberly, chair of the political science department at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, said Hogan also knows that rural voters were key to his November victory over Democrat Anthony G. Brown. In parts of Southern and Western Maryland, Eberly said, Hogan clinched as much as 80 percent of the vote. Beyond wanting to win reelection with those same voters, Eberly said, Hogan will eye their support for Republican legislative candidates.
“Those are just astronomical margins in an election, and those are the folks who want road and bridge money,” Eberly said. “For folks on the Eastern Shore and in Western Maryland looking at light rail — they often see that as money that won’t help them in any way, shape or form.”
Add that to the recent developments of
rolling back bridge and road tolls while
increasing fares for MARC trains and buses, and one can see where Gov. Hogan's priorities are.
Oh, and rather than using money for mass transit projects, Gov. Hogan:
also announced almost $2 billion in spending for road and bridge projects on state highways. Asked if any of that money would go to state roadways within the Baltimore city limits, Hogan said, "Not that I know of."
Cuz hey, its not like Baltimore needs any repair work.