After brief delay, feds give key approval to Hogan plan to widen parts of Capital Beltway, I-270

One of Gov. Larry Hogan’s top policy priorities — a plan to relieve traffic snarls along the Capital Beltway and I-270 — got the green light Thursday from a key federal agency. “This is a major milestone for the most important transportation project for the National Capital Region in the last 50 years. With the Biden administration’s final approval, we are ready to move forward with this transformative project,” the term-limited executive said in a statement. The Federal Highway Administration issued its “record of decision,” the final step in the National Environmental Policy Act process that spanned more than four years, less than a month after federal officials told the state of Maryland that final action on the $7.6 billion project had been deferred indefinitely.