The Maryland Department of Transportation’s (MDOT’s) $9 billion Traffic Relief Plan, which would add new lanes on I-495 and I-270, is receiving big interest from the public-private partnership (P3) industry.

MDOT says it received 27 responses to its initial Request for Information (RFI), which was released in September. Plans call for adding four new lanes to I-270, the Capital Beltway (I-495) and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD 295).

Upgrades to MD295 are part of the $9b project plan. Credit: WikimediaValued at $7.6 billion, the project to add new lanes on I-495 and I-270 is one of the largest P3 highway projects in North America, MDOT says. The solicitation asks private developers to design, build, finance, operate and/or maintain new express toll lanes on I-495 (also known as the Capital Beltway outside of Washington, D.C.) between American Legion Bridge and Woodrow Wilson Bridge, and on I-270 between I-495 and I-70.

Formal industry responses to the Request for Information were due in late December. Responses were received from regional, national and international firms, representing seven different countries. The responses were received from concessionaires, investors, contractors, engineers and other firms. Responding to the RFI was not a requirement, MDOT says. Industry also may submit response proposals in the later stages of the process.