Feds turn down grant for Beltway funding

Efforts to ease congestion along Maryland portions of the Capital Beltway took a hit this week when the U.S. Department of Transportation denied the state’s application for a grant. State transportation officials said last year they would seek a total of $3 billion in federal aid to help pay for replacement of the American Legion Bridge as well as the widening of Interstate 270 through the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant.