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Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1971[1] |
Jurisdiction | Maryland |
Headquarters | 2310 Broening Highway, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. 21224 |
Employees | 1,700 [2] |
Agency executives |
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Parent agency | Maryland Department of Transportation |
Website | mdta |
The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) is an independent state agency responsible for financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining eight transportation facilities, currently consisting of two toll roads, two tunnels, and four bridges in Maryland. [1] [3] It also provides the Maryland Department of Transportation with financing for other revenue producing transportation projects. [2]
The MDTA was established in 1971 to take over functions previously performed by the former State Roads Commission. [1] Financially independent from Maryland's general fund and transportation trust fund, the Authority operates as a purely enterprise agency, providing services on a user charge basis similar to the operation of a commercial enterprise. Its capital projects and operations are funded by tolls, concessions, investment income, and revenue bonds. [3] [4]
In addition to its own toll facilities, the Authority finances construction of other revenue-producing transportation facilities for the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). These projects have included improvements at the Port of Baltimore and the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. To provide construction funding, the Authority issues revenue bonds, which will be paid off over a period of years by tolls and other user fees generated by the facilities. [2]
The MDTA can issue either taxable or exempt bonds to finance large scale projects. As of June 30, 2010, the Authority had outstanding revenue bonds totaling $2.7 billion. Most of this debt was in the form of transportation facility revenue bonds valued at $1.6 billion, for MDTA toll facilities. Grant and Revenue Anticipation (GARVEE) bonds, secured by federal grants and revenue pledged from individual projects, comprised $651 million of the debt. Conduit revenue bonds, for the construction of transportation parking and airport passenger facilities, also secured by federal grants and the future revenue of specific facilities, comprised the rest of the debt. Unlike the transportation facility bonds, the conduit and GARVEE bonds are pledged to revenue sources managed by other agencies, external to the MDTA. [5]
The Maryland Secretary of Transportation serves as chairperson of the Authority's governing board. Eight other board members are appointed to four year terms by the Governor, with confirmation by the Maryland Senate. Term expirations are staggered. Board members can be reappointed to additional terms, but a limit of three consecutive terms was established in 2007. [1] [2] [6]
Daily operations of the Authority are overseen by the Executive Director who serves as the chief executive officer for the agency and is hired by the MDTA Board. [2] [7]
Members of the board are:
The chairman is always the Maryland Secretary of Transportation. The chair has an absolute veto on all decisions, that is, no policy can be adopted or action carried out without the "concurrence" of the chair. However, it seems this is rarely needed; meeting minutes show the board usually votes unanimously. The Capital Committee members include Ensor III, Cox, Jr., Gangemi and Gaines, Jr. The Finance Committee members are Penny-Ardinger, Carroll, Rosen and Von Paris. There are other standing committees which do not hold public meetings: Human Resources and Audit. Their status as "public bodies" under state law is uncertain.
The MDTA Board and its two active standing committees (Capital Committee and Finance Committee) have been found in violation of the Maryland Open Meetings Act a number of times between 2009 and 2012. In response to one of the complaints, the MDTA began notifying the public of Finance and Capital committee meetings; allowing the public to attend them; and began putting meeting schedules and minutes of the two committees and the Board online. The MDTA maintains tape recordings of meetings at its offices on Broening Highway, Baltimore. Meeting audio or video is not available through their website.
The Maryland Transportation Authority Police were established in 1971 as part of the MDTA. Their mission is protection of the Authority's facilities as well as several other transportation facilities including the Port of Baltimore and BWI Airport. [1] [8]
The MDTA operates eight toll facilities: [1]
Although the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway is referred to as a toll road, tolls are only collected at a gantry located a mile north of the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge over the Susquehanna River, for northbound traffic only. Vehicles that do not traverse this section, and all southbound vehicles, do not pay a toll. [9]
In September 2017, Governor Larry Hogan announced a plan to widen the Baltimore-Washington Parkway by four lanes, adding express toll lanes to the median, as part of a $9 billion proposal to widen roads in Maryland. The project would be a public-private partnership with private companies responsible for constructing, operating, and maintaining the lanes. As part of the proposal, the portion of the parkway owned by the National Park Service would be transferred to the Maryland Transportation Authority.[ citation needed ]
Maryland Route 200, the Intercounty Connector (ICC), links existing and proposed development areas of Montgomery County and Prince George's County between Interstate 370 at Shady Grove and Interstate 95 in Laurel with an 18 mi (29.0 km) east–west limited-access highway. [10] The $2.4 billion project is being financed by MDTA, with the Maryland State Highway Administration serving as the project manager for engineering and construction.
When the first segment of the ICC opened on February 23, 2011, it became the first toll facility in Maryland with fully automated toll collection. Connecting Interstate 370 with Maryland Route 97, the first segment is 5.65 miles (9.09 km) long. [10]
The MDTA began construction of the I-95 express toll lanes on a congested portion of Interstate 95, north of Downtown Baltimore, in May 2005. Now completed, the new toll system extends for 8 mi (12.9 km), from the east side of Baltimore City, at the I-895 split, into Baltimore County, north of Maryland Route 43 in White Marsh. This segment of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (Interstate 95) has two Express Toll and four general purpose lanes in each direction. Tolls for using the Express Toll lanes vary, depending on traffic conditions, to reduce congestion. The general purpose lanes continue to operate toll-free. [11]
The MDTA has owned the Canton Railroad, which operates as a for-profit enterprise, since 1987. [12]
M-TAG refers to the first generation of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system used in the state of Maryland by MDTA from 1999 to 2001. The request for proposal for the system was issued by the authority in 1995. The contractor awarded the contract for the state of Maryland that developed the M-TAG software was Lockheed Martin IMS Division.
M-TAG / E-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system available at all MDTA Toll facilities: the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, the Fort McHenry Tunnel, and the Francis Scott Key Bridge. When it came on line in 1999, the system was known as M-TAG. As of October 2001 the system became reciprocal with the other E-ZPass Toll agencies and Maryland then renamed its system to E-ZPass. At that time the JFK Memorial Highway joined, followed by the William Preston Lane Memorial (Bay) Bridge and the Harry W. Nice Bridge, and the Thomas J. Hatem Bridge was the last to come up in April 2002. E-ZPass allows a customer to drive from North Carolina to Maine and Illinois without stopping to pay tolls. A driver receives a small radio frequency transponder to place on the inside of a vehicle's windshield. Equipment in the toll lanes records the transactions, and trips are automatically deducted from the customer's account.
A two-part toll increase became effective at all Maryland toll facilities on October 1, 2011, and July 1, 2013. The toll increase was proposed by the Authority's board on June 2, 2011. The changes were expected to raise an additional $77 million during the first fiscal year after their implementation. Additional revenue was considered necessary by the board to expand highway capacity and rehabilitate aging infrastructure. [13]
The previous toll increase was in 2009, but only affected vehicles with three or more axles. The previous increase for passenger vehicles was in 2003.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a controlled-access toll road that is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs for 360 miles (580 km) across the state, connecting Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania with Philadelphia in eastern Pennsylvania, and passes through four tunnels as it crosses the Appalachian Mountains in central Pennsylvania.
E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agencies in several states, which use the same technology and allow travelers to use the same transponder on toll roads throughout the network.
Interstate 895 (I-895) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Maryland. Known as the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, the highway runs 11.44 miles (18.41 km) between one junction with I-95 in Elkridge and another interchange with I-95 on the east side of Baltimore. I-895 is a toll road that crosses the Patapsco River estuary via the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, connecting U.S. Route 1 (US 1), I-695, and the Baltimore–Washington Parkway in the southwestern suburbs of Baltimore with US 40 on the east side of Baltimore. In conjunction with a pair of spurs, unsigned I-895A and I-895B, I-895 provides access to the tunnel from I-97 and Maryland Route 2 (MD 2) in Glen Burnie. The highway is designed for through traffic by having partial interchanges that require vehicles from almost all starting points to pass through the tunnel and the tunnel toll plaza, where a $1.40-$6.00 toll is charged to passenger vehicles, before exiting the facility.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is a major dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore region with the urban Western Shore, spanning between Stevensville and Sandy Point State Park near the capital city of Annapolis. The original span, opened in 1952 and with a length of 4 miles (6.4 km), was the world's longest continuous over-water steel structure. The parallel span was added in 1973. The bridge is officially named the Gov. William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge after William Preston Lane Jr. who, as the 52nd Governor of Maryland, initiated its construction in the late 1940s finally after decades of political indecision and public controversy.
The Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge, also known as the Potomac River Bridge, is a 1.7-mile (2.7 km), four-lane continuous truss bridge that spans the Potomac River between Newburg in Charles County, Maryland and Dahlgren in King George County, Virginia, United States. It is one of eight toll facilities operated by the Maryland Transportation Authority, and is one of two toll bridges over the Potomac River. The other, the privately owned Oldtown Low Water Toll Bridge, connects Maryland and West Virginia, far upstream. The new Nice Bridge opened to traffic in October 2022. Demolition of the original bridge began on March 21, 2023.
Interstate 695 (I-695) is a 51.46-mile-long (82.82 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway that constitutes a beltway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, United States. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway but is colloquially referred to as either the Baltimore Beltway or 695. The route is an auxiliary route of I-95, intersecting that route southwest of Baltimore near Arbutus and northeast of the city near White Marsh. It also intersects other major roads radiating from the Baltimore area, including I-97 near Glen Burnie, the Baltimore–Washington Parkway near Linthicum, I-70 near Woodlawn, I-795 near Pikesville, and I-83 in the Timonium area. The 19.37-mile (31.17 km) portion of the Baltimore Beltway between I-95 northeast of Baltimore and I-97 south of Baltimore is officially Maryland Route 695 (MD 695) and is not part of the Interstate Highway System but is signed as I-695. The Francis Scott Key Bridge that crossed over the Patapsco River was included in this section of the route before the bridge's collapse on March 26, 2024. The bridge and its approaches were maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), while the remainder of the Baltimore Beltway is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).
The Fort McHenry Tunnel is a four-tube, bi-directional tunnel that carries traffic on Interstate 95 (I-95) underneath the Baltimore Harbor. The lowest point in the Interstate System under water, the tunnel is named for nearby Fort McHenry.
The Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge is a road bridge in northeast Maryland that crosses the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville via Garrett Island. It carries U.S. Route 40. It is the oldest of the eight toll facilities operated and maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority, and the southernmost automotive bridge across the Susquehanna.
Maryland Route 200, also known as the Intercounty Connector or ICC, is an 18.8-mile (30.3 km) controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Maryland. It connects Gaithersburg in Montgomery County and Laurel in Prince George's County, both of which are suburbs of Washington, D.C. The ICC was one of the most controversial Maryland road projects; opposition to the highway stalled the project for decades, and construction did not begin until 60 years after the highway's initial approval.
The Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge carries Interstate 95 (I-95) over the Susquehanna River between Cecil County and Harford County, Maryland. The toll bridge carries 29 million vehicles annually. It is upstream from the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge, which carries the parallel U.S. Route 40 (US 40).
State Route 895, also known as the Pocahontas Parkway and Pocahontas 895, is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Virginia. It connects the junction of Interstate 95 and State Route 150 in Chesterfield County with Interstate 295 near Richmond International Airport in Henrico County, forming part of a southeastern bypass of Richmond. Due to a quirk in the evolution of the road, the long-planned designation of Interstate 895 could not be used.
Interstate 476 (I-476) is a 132.1-mile (212.6 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania. It consists of both the 20-mile (32 km) Mid-County Expressway, locally referred to as the "Blue Route", through Delaware and Montgomery counties in the suburban Philadelphia area, and the tolled, 110.6-mile (178.0 km) Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which connects the Delaware Valley with the Lehigh Valley, the Pocono Mountains, and the Wyoming Valley to the north.
Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow down to pay the toll. In some installations, ORT may also reduce congestion at the plazas by allowing more vehicles per hour/per lane.
The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) is a not-for-profit government organization that maintains and operates toll roads, bridges, and tunnels in the North Texas area. Functioning as a political subdivision of the State of Texas under Chapter 366 of the Transportation Code, the NTTA is empowered to acquire, construct, maintain, repair and operate turnpike projects; to raise capital for construction projects through the issuance of turnpike revenue bonds; and to collect tolls to operate, maintain and pay debt service on those projects.
Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canada–United States border at Houlton, Maine. In Maryland, the route is a major highway that runs 110.01 miles (177.04 km) diagonally from southwest to northeast, entering from the District of Columbia and Virginia at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River, northeast to Maryland's border with Delaware near Elkton. It is the longest Interstate Highway within Maryland and is one of the most traveled Interstate Highways in the state, especially between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., despite alternate routes along the corridor, such as the Baltimore–Washington Parkway, U.S. Route 1 (US 1), and US 29. I-95 also has eight auxiliary routes in the state, the most of any state along the I-95 corridor. Portions of the highway, including the Fort McHenry Tunnel and the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, are tolled.
The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel is a pair of two-lane road tunnels carrying I-895 under the Patapsco River southeast of downtown Baltimore, Maryland.
There are many toll roads in the United States; as of 2006, toll roads exist in 35 states, with the majority of states without any toll roads being in the West and South. In 2015, there were 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of toll roads in the country.
The Maryland Transportation Authority Police is the eighth-largest law enforcement agency in the U.S. state of Maryland and is charged with providing law enforcement services on Maryland Transportation Authority highways and facilities throughout the Maryland, in addition to contractual services that are provided at Baltimore–Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, and the Port of Baltimore.
There are approximately 25 current toll roads in the state of Texas. Toll roads are more common in Texas than in many other U.S. states, since the relatively low revenues from the state's gasoline tax limits highway planners' means to fund the construction and operation of highways.