Press Release

UMD Experts Available for Comment on Express Toll Lanes in Maryland

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  June 11, 2019

CONTACT:
Robert Herschbach
301 405 2057
rherschb@umd.edu

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A proposal to allow the state of Maryland to solicit bids from private companies to build and operate toll lanes on Interstate 270 and the Capital Beltway has received the go-ahead from the Maryland Board of Public Works, which voted 2-1 on Wednesday (June 5) in favor.

Transportation experts from the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering are available to comment on the plan, its significance and impact, and the steps involved in implementation.

They include Civil and Environmental Engineering Associate Professor Qingbin Cui and the director of the Maryland Transportation Institute, Herbert Rabin Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering Lei Zhang.

Dr. Cui is available to discuss the benefits of, and barriers to, public-private partnership contracts and the contracting details that must be considered. Cui is a nationally known expert on transportation, infrastructure, and sustainability. 

Dr. Zhang can comment on congestion in Maryland and on how well toll lanes have worked in other places. Zhang is the director of the Maryland Transportation Institute, which brings together interdisciplinary expertise from across Maryland universities to develop and deploy innovative solutions that address urban and rural transportation problems. Home to the largest transportation data center in the nation, MTI utilizes unique data sources at UMD to solve the world’s most pressing transportation and societal problems.  

The proposal green-lighted on Wednesday is part of Governor Larry Hogan’s plan to reduce congestion in Maryland, particularly in suburban areas.

Contact information:

  • Qingbin Cui
    Associate Professor
    Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Director, Maryland Energy Innovation Institute
    Areas of expertise: Public-Private Partnerships, Infrastructure Management, Energy and Sustainability
    cui@umd.edu
    301-405-8104
    301-385-5262 (cell)

  • Lei Zhang
    Herbert Rabin Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Areas of expertise:Transportation economics and policy; infrastructure project and polcy evaluation; land use and transportation planning
    3244 Jeong H. Kim Building
    lei@umd.edu
    301-405-2881
    202-286-4816 (cell)