The Maryland Dept. of Transportation will have to reconsider a protest lodged by the losing bidder for the initial phase of its $9-billion Express Lanes project, according to a Feb. 17 state circuit court judge's ruing. The decision likely stalls the state's ambitious plan to add capacity along portions of the I-495/Beltway and I-270 west of Washington, DC, using a progressive public-partnership.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge John M. Maloney largely rejected the agency's assertion that the project’s losing bid team—Capital Express Mobility Partners, led by Ferrovial-owned infrastructure developer Cintra—had missed stated deadlines to protest the state's February 2021 selection of Transurban/Macquarie Infrastructure-led Accelerate Maryland Partners for the project’s predevelopment phase.