Budget outlook ‘bleak’ for region’s bridge, bypass projects

Crucial legislative committee pays visit to Southern Md.

Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by GARY SMITH Del. Peter F. Murphy, left, Ways and Means Committee staffers Linda Earnest and Jacqueline Smith, and Del. Susan W. Krebs take a tour of North Point High School with Principal Kim Hill, at right. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Despite a clear need for improvements to the Gov. Thomas Johnson Memorial Bridge linking Calvert and St. Mary’s counties and the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge connecting Charles County and King George County, Va., members of the House Ways and Means Committee who toured the region last week said money for big-ticket transportation projects is extremely scarce.

‘‘It’s bleak, there’s no question,” said Chairwoman Sheila E. Hixson (D-Montgomery).

And there appears to be little light at the end of the tunnel. With the economy in a rut, lawmakers will likely be staring at a grim fiscal picture when they return to Annapolis in January. There are some projections that the state could face up to a $1 billion revenue shortfall for fiscal 2010, which begins next July.

The General Assembly approved an additional $400 million for transportation projects during last year’s special session — it stripped $50 million of that in April to repeal the unpopular sales tax on computer services — but much of that money has already been claimed.

Even so, Del. Ann Marie Doory (D-Baltimore) has first-hand knowledge of the need for infrastructure upgrades in the fast-growing region. She grew up in Leonardtown and still visits family who live there, traversing the Thomas Johnson Bridge each time she makes the trip.

‘‘With the volume of traffic in the area, you know there’s a real need for additional capacity,” she said.

Doory also recently watched the traffic hazard at the Nice Bridge when she was caught in congestion just short of the span as 18-wheelers rumbled across the aging span, causing it to shake and sway.

‘‘You can’t put a price on public safety,” she said. ‘‘We’re going to have to make some investments.”

‘‘With the area growing the way it is, there is no doubt, they will need a new bridge,” echoed Del. J.B. Jennings (R-Baltimore County).

Last week’s fatal crash on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge highlighted the danger of two-way bridges and the traffic havoc that can ensue when an accident occurs. Both Southern Maryland crossings are narrow, two-lane spans that have no shoulder and no divider.

‘‘If that were to happen on the Thomas Johnson Bridge, they would have to shut it down for days,” said James W. Gilchrist (D-Montgomery)

State transportation officials said any future crossings would include more safety features.

Still, the fiscal reality is a major hurdle. As the cost of building roads increases and more people choose public transit to reduce their gas usage, government is sinking more dollars into mass transit projects, despite the vast highway needs, said Del. Susan W. Krebs (R-Carroll).

One option is building more toll roads, in which a private developer pays much of the up-front cost and is reimbursed through user fees. Krebs believes motorists would pay for toll roads if it helped ease congestion.

The two bridge projects, along with the long-proposed Waldorf bypass, are the region’s top transportation priorities. The state has invested $5.5 million in planning funds for a new Thomas Johnson Bridge. The placement of a new or additional span at the Nice Bridge is delaying any progress from taking place there.

Both crossings are considered important to national security. The Thomas Johnson Bridge sits between Patuxent River Naval Air Station and Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, while the Nice Bridge is next to the Morgantown Generating Station and would be a major evacuation route in case of a terrorist attack in Washington, D.C.

And while lawmakers agree that both growth and security justify the need for upgrades, the money simply isn’t there — for the Southern Maryland projects and others similarly in need statewide.

‘‘I do think they’re going to get done,” said Del. Peter F. Murphy (D-Charles). ‘‘Are they going to get done when people want them to get done? Probably not, it’s a slow process.”

Transportation wasn’t the only topic of the Southern Maryland tour. Delegates also visited North Point High School, where they learned about the unique career-focused curriculum and toured the building’s living classrooms. Principal Kim Hill explained the high interest in attending North Point — 840 students applied for 280 available seats last year, she said — and discussed the benefits of block scheduling that enables teachers to delve into their subjects.

‘‘We wanted to slow things down and change the way teachers teach,” she said. ‘‘In a 90 minute block, teachers can’t wing it.”