The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have announced the approval of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Study (MLS) in Maryland, USA.

The ROD approval is the final milestone in a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process that lasted for more than 4 years, and included 16 public workshops, 7 public hearings and more than 200 meetings to present study information and hear concerns and feedback from various stakeholders.

The ROD identifies the reasons for selecting Alternative 9 – Phase 1 South as the Selected Alternative (SA), which would replace the 60-year-old American Legion Bridge, address existing traffic and long-term traffic growth, reduce congestion, enhance trip reliability, improve the movement of goods and services, support regional transit improvements, foster new opportunities for transit and increase carpool/vanpool/ridesharing opportunities to reduce reliance on single occupancy vehicles in the National Capital Region. Furthermore, the SA allows for new transportation opportunities with a shared-use bicycle and pedestrian path on the east side of the American Legion Bridge.

On I-495, the SA would include two new High Occupancy Toll (HOT) managed lanes in each direction from south of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Fairfax County, VA to west of MD 187 (Old Georgetown Road) in Montgomery County, MD. On I-270, the alternative would convert the existing high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction to a HOT managed lane, as well as add one new HOT managed lane in each direction on I-270 from I-495 to north of I-370, and on the I-270 east and west spurs.