Recently, the County Council and the City of Frederick had a briefing from the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration on these two vital projects. The Governor and the Board of Public Works voted to make the expansion of the Route 270 all the way to Frederick as part of the first phase of the public - private partnership that will eventually extend all along the Washington Beltway. At the same time, there is a separate project that would expand Route 15 through the City of Frederick by adding a lane toward the median of the existing lanes.

This is tremendous news for Frederick County and opens up a world of economic opportunity. One key factor for business expansion and relocation is transportation. The stifling gridlock in our region is a major factor inhibiting our ability to attract employers. Once traffic can move more freely, it allows for more opportunity for individuals, families, and employers to live their lives without having to plan around the increasingly long periods of congestion. Free traffic flow has the ability to end the vicious cycle of businesses not wanting to locate where the traffic is impassable. More businesses can locate in Frederick, which will reduce the need to travel down the road for employment.

Route 15 was planned and built at a time when we had far fewer people and vehicles in Frederick County. The two lanes north and two lanes south have served Frederick well. But as many have said, Route 15 has become the main street of Frederick running through the center of the county and carrying much more traffic than it was designed for. In fact, the county population has tripled since Route 15 and Route 270 were substantially changed in Frederick County.

Route 15 is one of the few highways in the region that receives a failing grade for traffic flow in both the north bound and the south bound directions during both the morning and the evening commute times. It doesn’t matter which way you are going, traffic is not flowing as it should be.

Route 270 in Frederick County is even worse. Today, on average, severe congestion lasts for 7 hours each day on 270 and it is continuing to get worse. Having to plan your life around the congestion can leave you feeling trapped in your own home. Many people do not have a choice but to be on the roads during the most congested times. Often this forces people off the highway and onto neighborhood streets and other roads that were not designed to handle such a heavy volume of traffic. These alternative routes being strained can cause dangerous situations on the local roads. In general, highways are much more safe for drivers and reduce risks for vehicle collisions and pedestrian crashes.

We have heard vocal arguments against. There are those that believe transit is the answer, better planning is the answer, and some who believe that traffic congestion is a proper deterrent to growth -- as if those who want to live in Frederick County should be punished with long commutes. Transit and appropriate planning have a role. But the hard truth is that congestion is here already; it is real right now. Transit does not significantly reduce vehicular traffic. Look at Washington DC where hundreds of millions of Maryland tax dollars go annually to subsidize the Metro. The Metro moves people, but not enough to make the traffic on the highways flow, and at a great taxpayer expense requiring heavy annual subsidies forever.

I believe that these projects represent the only realistic solution to traffic relief for Frederick County for the next generation. It is going to be a long time and a transportation revolution away to reduce vehicle miles that are traveled in automobiles. This is a once in a generation opportunity; these projects represent the biggest infrastructure investment in Frederick County history. We need to act now to build this additional capacity and get Frederick County residents moving again, or we will be dooming another generation to ever worsening traffic gridlock.