Project Details
| Description | Transportation Emerging Technology Tolls & Managed Lanes Program Management Public-Private Partnerships |
| Location | Southern Maryland (Washington D.C. area) |
| Client/Owner | Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Authority (MDOT SHA) |
| Size | 70 Miles |
| Delivery Method | Public Private Partnership (P3) |
| Construction Value | $9 to $11 Billion |
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) I-495 and I-270 Public-Private Partnership (P3) Program Owner’s Representative
RS&H serves as the owner’s representative for the P3 Program, which is a part of Governor Larry Hogan’s $11 billion Traffic Relief Plan. The P3 Program is a historical effort led by the MDOT SHA to relieve traffic congestion in the nation’s Capital Region. Environmental and engineering studies are underway in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which include a range of alternatives for a regional managed lanes network over the 70 miles of roadway that consist of the P3 Program area. The solicitation has been designated as a P3 by Maryland’s Board of Public Works, allowing the P3 Program to be implemented utilizing a competitive solicitation method for a phased approach for the solicitation, including private development agreements and design-build-finance-operate-maintain models.
As the lead JV partner and owner’s representative, RS&H provides program management, concept development, evaluation of solicitation methods and segmentation of the improvements, communications initiatives, performance-based technical requirements development, risk-based capital and O&M cost estimating, and extensive community outreach. RS&H is also responsible for the planning and execution of the design and construction oversight that will be necessary to ensure a successful implementation of the proposed improvements and agreements.
From the technical side, RS&H leads all toll-related activities and deliverables through direct coordination with stakeholders, which includes the Maryland Transportation Authority. This particular effort includes:
- The development of performance-based technical provisions
- The development of a comprehensive tolling services agreement
- The development of business rules for tolling operations
- The development of tolling technical requirements to support new toll operations for the state
In addition, we provide strategic technical consulting reviews and inputs to candidate technology and operational solutions put forth by proposed vendors, clarifying the unique requirements, constraints, and opportunities for modernization of roadway operations through the implementation of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication, deployment of advanced sensor systems, and the use of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) applications to improve revenue collection, traffic operations, and safety along the corridors.
The overall complexity of the P3 Program combined with the need to achieve each of the program goals to improve traffic flow, address budget requirements, promote innovative concepts to reduce the environmental and residential impacts, and facilitate the ongoing NEPA process, will help define the scope of the improvements and determine how the P3 Program may be properly phased to achieve the Maryland’s P3 Program goals.
