UMD Experts Available for Comment on Express Toll Lanes in Maryland

A proposal to allow the state of Maryland to solicit bids from private companies to build and operate express 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)