During what was announced as a “rare joint meeting” on Dec. 3, the Montgomery County Council and elected officials of the cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville discussed plans for a bus rapid transit system that would traverse substantial areas of the county. The predominant message about the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) in particular is that the state wants to cut costs. The question is whether the 15-mile, two-lane roadway—with 18 fare stations, three fly-overs and 35 modern, branded rapid buses—between Clarksburg and the Shady Grove Metro Station will be worth building if the reductions in question are as dramatic as they appear.

Calculated in 2012 dollars, the first phase of the project—the nine-mile segment from the Shady Grove Metro to the Metropolitan Grove MARC station—will cost $716 million, including all planning, design and construction, said Joana Conklin, the county’s Department of Transportation Rapid Transit System Development manager who provided the “big picture overview” at the meeting. She translated the capital cost as $80 million per mile. “We expect the estimate to be updated when the cost for the 30-percent design is released by MTA (Maryland Transit Administration),” she noted.

In today’s dollars, the cost would be closer to $100 million per mile, observed Kevin Quinn, director of the MTA’s Office of Planning and Programming.

Rick Kiegel, the MTA’s CCT project manager, detailed the status of the project: the 30-percent design has been submitted to the state, his office is updating cost estimates to reflect 2016 dollars and MTA engineers are preparing to begin the final design. Although the planning funding is in place for the next three years, the state has not allocated money for construction in its six-year budget. All parties in attendance appeared to agree that choosing not to apply for federal funding would be wise in terms of speeding up the project’s timeline, but Quinn warned that “the time gained (would result in the) risk that you would never be eligible for federal funds.”

County Council President Nancy Floreen said the CCT has been “on our priority list with the state for years. It serves the upcounty, which desperately needs traffic solutions.” She deemed the state’s interest in cost-cutting “typical for major projects. It seems that everything comes in at a higher cost than originally thought.” However, she cautioned, these cost-cutters need “to be careful not to undercut the expected value, time savings, and reduction of congestion benefits of the basic project. Otherwise, the whole thing becomes a waste of money because it is no longer achieving the intended objectives.”

Gaithersburg officials echoed Floreen’s words. Mayor Jud Ashman feels “significant cost-cutting on the CCT” has been done already.

City Councilman Michael Sesma expressed his fear that eliminating the fly-overs, the “aerials becoming grade-level,” especially on Quince Orchard and Clopper roads and around the Kentlands, would contradict the project’s purpose. Kiegel acknowledged that the original estimated travel time of 38 minutes for the route would increase to 43 or 44 minutes, which would likely impact potential ridership, and the effects of running in mixed traffic would slow everyone’s commute.

County Councilman Sidney Katz feels the cuts will undermine the goal: “to make rush hour and beyond a better experience for the people living, working and coming through the area. People may be willing to add an extra 10, 15 or even 20 minutes to their commute, but not an extra 45.” In addition, he pointed out, the City of Rockville’s interest in rerouting the lanes from King Farm to Shady Grove Road, the impact on the Washingtonian Woods community and determining how to fund the project all must be addressed.

That the “series of decisions on the CCT since the early days of the project has each reduced speed and increased travel time” has long disturbed City Councilman Neil Harris. He supported the CCT because it “offers some powerful incentives for some needed economic growth for Gaithersburg, including the possible upgrading of the Kentlands retail districts, as well as the prospect for reducing automobile traffic.” But he worries that “the benefits could potentially be offset by lower-than-expected ridership if the CCT does not offer a significant improvement in travel time.”

Multiple issues remain to be dealt with, but funding is key. Probably most important is what the state will do. “We’ll watch carefully to see how the state’s analysis evolves,” Floreen said. County Councilman Hans Riemer brought up the need to “get private funding going,” Floreen noted that “special taxing districts are nothing new,” citing the special White Flint taxing district on businesses that funds roadway improvements, and County Councilman Marc Elrich pointed to the success of Northern Virginia in getting similar projects up and running, urging that Montgomery County “push” for the CCT.

All parties concurred on the need for creative ideas to meet the challenges to the CCT.

Ashman concluded, “We all understand that funding the CCT won’t be easy, but we need to continue to push for the best possible transit system to serve the community—and not settle for less.”