Officials Outline Six-Year Draft Budget and Provide Key Project Updates
HANOVER, MD (October 21, 2024) – Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld met today with officials in Baltimore City and Baltimore County to discuss the Department’s Draft Consolidated Transportation Program for Fiscal Years 2025 to 2030. The $18.9 billion, six-year spending plan invests in projects and programs that help advance Maryland’s goals to be a safer, more affordable, more competitive and more sustainable State that leaves no one behind.
“We are making strategic investments to further enhance the safety of our system and maintain operations," said Secretary Wiedefeld. “This draft budget is balanced but we had to make tough decisions and reductions to live within our means. We will continue to follow the data and make investments that support Maryland families in a fiscally responsible manner.”
The safety of all Marylanders is the top priority of the Department, and that is reflected in the Draft CTP, with projects that prioritize maintaining the current system and seek to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries on Maryland’s roads. To view the full Draft FY 2025-2030 Consolidated Transportation Program, go to
www.ctp.maryland.gov.
At Monday’s meetings, transportation officials offered details and updates on several projects and programs affecting Baltimore City and Baltimore County. In addition to Secretary Wiedefeld, officials attending included State Highway Administrator William Pines; Motor Vehicle Administrator Chrissy Nizer; Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold; Maryland Transportation Authority Executive Director Bruce Gartner; Maryland Aviation Administration Deputy Chief of Airport Finance Dan Favarulo; and Maryland Port Administration Deputy Executive Director of Administration Bob Munroe.
Administrator Pines highlighted the agency’s commitment to move forward with multimodal projects that improve safety, accessibility and mobility statewide and said State Highway has worked in the past year to streamline its process to grant highway access permits, which supports commercial, industrial and residential development.
Administrator Pines noted this year’s completion of the replacement of three 70-year-old bridges at Sparrows Point, a $34.3 million project that improved safety and accessibility for local traffic, commercial vehicles and MTA buses serving Tradepoint Atlantic. The State Highway Administration also is partnering with Baltimore County on a $9.6 million project to improve Charles Street in Towson. The project is expected to be complete in 2026.
Administrator Arnold highlighted major investments in transit operations in the Baltimore region, including $150 million in project development funding for the Red Line. In fiscal year 2024, the Maryland Transit Administration’s $1.3 billion in spending had an economic impact of $2.9 billion the state. The agency supports more than 24,000 jobs across Maryland, including many in the Baltimore region.
Among other important local investments in the Draft Consolidated Transportation Program:
- Funding to support the new Frederick Douglass Tunnel which will provide significant safety, reliability and speed improvements for MARC and Amtrak customers in addition to a new, ADA accessible West Baltimore station.
- Major rehabilitation work and new train car testing on MTA’s Metro Subway system.
- A new and more equitable funding allocation formula for Locally Operated Transit Systems. The new formula benefits Baltimore City with an increase of more than $960,000 and Baltimore County an increase of more than $636,000 in operating funds.
- Phase II of the I-695 Sparrows Point System Preservation Project to address the settlement of the interstate.
The meetings are part of the Maryland Department of Transportation’s engagement process in all 23 Maryland counties and Baltimore City to discuss the funding plan and receive input from local officials and the public. The tour concludes this week. Dates and locations for upcoming sessions can be found
here. The schedule is subject to change and will be updated as needed throughout the process.
The six-year Draft CTP outlines capital investments in each mode funded by the Transportation Trust Fund: Maryland Aviation Administration, Maryland Port Administration, Maryland Transit Administration, Motor Vehicle Administration, State Highway Administration and The Secretary's Office, as well as Maryland's investment in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The Maryland Transportation Authority's toll facilities are financed, constructed, operated and maintained with toll revenues paid by customers using those facilities.
Following the tour, the Maryland Department of Transportation will finalize the Draft CTP and submit the Final Fiscal Year 2025-2030 CTP to the Legislature in January for consideration during the 2025 General Assembly session.