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Committee approves CIP adjustments and instructs further analysis of alternatives for US 29 BRT through 4 Corners
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Summary
The committee recommended several CIP adjustments — deferring some hydrogen-bus procurements, adding refurbishment funds, and removing undefined out-years from bus stop and park-and-ride projects — and added language requiring MCDOT to evaluate 2-way, 1-lane and 0-lane alternatives through the '4 Corners' area for the US 29 BRT Phase 2 project; members debated whether to explicitly include the previously studied managed-lane option.
The Transportation and Environment Committee reviewed a batch of FY27–32 CIP adjustments and recommended forwarding them to full council, alongside amended project language for the US 29 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Phase 2 project.
Council staff recommended deferring about $25.5 million of FY27 bus replacement funding to FY28 for 16 ride-on hydrogen fuel-cell buses because the county's green-hydrogen fueling facility procurement and delivery are delayed. Staff also recommended adding approximately $742,000 for stopgap hydrogen fueling and $2.4 million in FY27 for refurbishing diesel buses that currently serve US29 flash routes so those vehicles can be used while hydrogen fueling is finalized.
Sarah Kogel (climate officer) and DGS staff told the committee the county intends to produce green hydrogen on-site with an electrolyzer; the hydrolyzer procurement was rebid and that rebid caused schedule slips. DOT staff said the 13 BRT hydrogen buses already procured can be put into service with temporary fueling arrangements while the full facility is completed.
Staff proposed and read revised project description language for US 29 BRT Phase 2 to require that, alongside final design for a two-way busway, MCDOT evaluate alternative technical concepts for one or zero dedicated transit lanes through the 4 Corners area — assessing construction impacts, transit performance and cost, and neighborhood mitigation. Council member Mink asked to include the previously considered "managed lane" concept explicitly in that comparison. Director Conklin and other members debated whether adding managed-lane language would relitigate earlier decisions and flagged schedule and cost implications of fully developing a managed-lane design to parity with the preferred median busway.
The committee otherwise supported advancing the BRT project language as recommended by staff and accepted the CIP technical adjustments (bus stop improvements, park-and-ride adjustments, North Bethesda aid additions). Staff said MCDOT will brief the TNE committee after the alternatives analysis is complete and before proceeding to construction.
The committee concluded by approving staff’s package and sending CIP adjustments and the US 29 project recommendation to full council review.
