Maryland got 'peanuts,' Florida congressman says
When the Obama administration announced which states would be the winners in the $8 billion high-speed rail derby last week, Florida was one of the biggest winners -- getting $1.2 billion to build a rail line from Tampa to Orlando. Maryland, on the other hand, received $70 million for two critical but more modest projects -- better than many states but far behind the biggest beneficiaries.
So now a Florida congressman is contending that Maryland got "peanuts," Southerrn Maryland Online reports.
U.S. Rep. John Mica, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee and one of the leading cheerleaders for high-speed rail in Congress, said the money Maryland received toward a new Amtrak tunnel in Baltimore and a new BWI train station was "an insult."
If Maryland's own representatives were feeling insulted, they concealed it well. Most of the state's top Democrats welcomed the money. But Mica's point is that more of the money should have been directed into the Northeast Corridor to bring it up to a condition that would support truly high speeds.
Categories: Amtrak/intercity railroads
Comments
IMHO, a couple reasons that MD's reps didn't voice any disappointment over the funding:
1.) They're all, save for Roscoe Bartlett, Democrats and probably realize that now is not the time to rock the party boat. Not saying that's good or bad, it is what it is.
2.) Nobody is going to get a gift and then say, "Well, this sweater is nice, but what I really wanted was the Lexus with the big red bow on top." That's a surefire way of getting a fruitcake, or nothing at all, next time around.
3.) It's possible, although I don't know for sure, that the massive money sent to FL for the rail line between Tampa and Orlando will be used for actual construction or other more capital-intensive parts of the project. By comparison, the MD money will be used for environmental and engineering studies, which are required before any ground can be broken.
All that being said, I'd have liked MD to get more money for rail projects as well. Being along the Northeast Corridor, our population is denser and people will, arguably, benefit more from completed rail improvement projects than in Florida, where urban planning is a myth and sprawl is a way of life.
Posted by: kungpow12 | February 1, 2010 4:34 PM
It certainly is an insult to Maryland's rail system--we have billions of dollars in needs along the Northeast Corridor: a new B&P tunnel, quadruple tracking, new bridges in northeastern Maryland, etc., all of which have been identified by the state government already. But the insult isn't the fault of the feds, it's our own fault. Florida asked for lots of money and showed it was willing to spend some of its own money; we asked for a pittance and expressed our traditional conservatism about funding any infrastructure ourselves--after all, that's the feds' job, right? The blame falls on Maryland's government for not having developed its MARC Growth & Investment Plan beyond the initial stages over the last couple of years. True, tight budget times mean you have to prioritize, and the priority has been planning to spend $4 billion on I-270 rather than on MARC.
Posted by: Saul Wilson | February 2, 2010 7:19 AM
I agree with Saul above. In addition, Maryland has put its energy and money into developing projects that benefit Montgomery County.. see the ICC, Purple line, 270 projects, Bethesda traffic improvements ( BRAC)etc. These come after huge expenditures for the new Wilson Bridge.
There ain't no money left for the rest of us.
I think the Gov, state SHA, and Md congressional delegation let us down.
Posted by: Anonymous | February 2, 2010 11:12 AM