I-495 CAPITAL BELTWAY STUDY, ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION
MARYLAND STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION

A.D. Marble & Company has performed a variety of project planning tasks for this major transportation project in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, Maryland. The purpose of this ongoing study is to maintain and improve regional mobility within the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. A number of alternatives have been reviewed including transit and managed lanes for the entire 42-mile Beltway corridor in Maryland. The current study involves an evaluation of the effects of one additional lane in each direction for use as Express Toll Lanes (ETLs).

A.D. Marble & Company’s role in the project includes thorough documentation of environmental effects on the socioeconomic, cultural, and natural environment. This includes an air technical analysis to ensure conformity with regional and local air quality standards; a socioeconomic technical report to document potential impacts on parks, communities, and the regional economic environment; and a Secondary and Cumulative Effects Analysis (SCEA) to assess long-term effects on environmental resources as they relate to other development projects within the region.

Community involvement is a critical component of the Capital Beltway project. A.D. Marble & Company staff has worked closely with the State Highway Administration to perform extensive community outreach efforts, including neighborhood association meetings, contact with local schools, newsletter mailings, and public workshops.

An assessment of past and present land use trends, planned development, and transportation projects was used to estimate future land use conditions under all alternative conditions. Sub-boundaries, such as watersheds, census tracts, and the area of traffic influence, were overlaid to create a SCEA boundary within which the analysis was performed.

Contact Information
Ms. Sue Rajan

Maryland State Highway Administration
707 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202

(410) 545-8514