On Tuesday, officials with the Maryland Department of Transportation met with the Worcester County Commissioners to discuss the agency’s Consolidated Transportation Program for Fiscal Years 2025-30. While county leaders continue to push for major projects, including the dualization of Route 90, Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said budgetary challenges at the state level have led officials to pause certain projects.
“Regarding MDOT’s finances, to be frank, the department continues to face significant budgetary challenges because of the state’s slow economic growth, historic levels of inflation, rising costs of labor and materials, and revenues not growing at the rate that we anticipated,” he told the commissioner at the beginning of this week’s presentation.
Transportation officials this week reported the state’s six-year spending plan prioritizes projects and programs that maintain Maryland’s transportation system and reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries on Maryland’s roads. Wiedefeld told the commissioners Tuesday those goals were reflected in the draft CTP.
“Getting into the details, the draft CTP is balanced and totals $18.9 billion,” he said. “However, because of fiscal constraints, we had to make tough decisions and reductions to live within our means. This resulted in a reduction of $1.3 billion compared to last year’s CTP. This draft CTP presents a challenging road map, obviously, for the department and for the state. However, the department will continue to make strategic investments to support Maryland families in a fiscally responsible manner. And just like Maryland families who are making tough decisions in their own personal budgets, we also have to do the same with ours.”
Do not solicit money too soon, it will only be wasted on unnecessary studies.