Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – As drivers continue to get flat tires navigating around potholes on a stretch of the Baltimore Washington-Parkway in Laurel, lawmakers are looking to the roadway’s future. This week members of Maryland’s Congressional delegation will meet with Gov. Larry Hogan to talk about his proposal to transfer control of the parkway from the National Park Service to the state.
“As public outrage has grown, NPS has increasingly demonstrated it is simply not up to the task of maintaining MD-295,” Hogan wrote in a letter to the congressional delegation last week.
The stretch of road between Maryland routes 197 and 32 is so broken up that the NPS lowered the speed limit from 55 to 40 mph earlier this month to keep people safe. Despite the change, people are still popping tires and getting into accidents.
“There’s absolutely no dispute that the portion of the road that right now is under the control of the National Park Service is in disrepair and is unacceptable,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen told WMAL.
But Van Hollen said Hogan’s request goes beyond just transferring control of the road for repairs. The governor has also talked about adding lanes and using the parkway for a maglev train between Baltimore and Washington.
“I think there are lots of questions involved with exactly what the state of Maryland envisions, what the governor’s plans are,” Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen is willing to listen to the governor’s proposal and discuss it but believes the public should have a chance to weigh in on it too.
Congress would need to approve a transfer of control of the parkway.
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