Gov. Martin O'Malley signed Maryland's first gas tax increase in 20 years into law on Thursday and announced $1.2 billion in highway and transit projects.
The new law levies a sales tax on gasoline on top of the state's 23.5-cents per gallon tax. The new tax will add about 4 cents to a gallon of gas, rising to 20 cents by July 2016. The law also includes a mechanism to automatically raise the tax based on inflation by linking it to changes in the Consumer Price Index.
The O'Malley administration said the state will continue to review project needs and make investment decisions over the summer.
The current project list includes:
—$82 million for construction on the U.S. 15/Monocacy Blvd. interchange in Frederick County
—$125 million for construction on the I-270/Watkins Mill Rd. Interchange in Montgomery County
—$100 million for construction on Maryland 210 at Kerby Hill Rd./Livingston Rd. Interchange in Prince George's County
—$20 million for design of a new Thomas Johnson Bridge in Calvert and St. Mary's counties
—$100 million for MARC enhancements in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., regions
—$60 million for construction on Leeds Ave. Interchange reconstruction and bridge replacement in Baltimore County
—$49 million for Aberdeen Proving Ground BRAC Intersection improvement in Harford County
—$44 million for construction on U.S. 301/Maryland 304 Interchange in Queen Anne's County.
— Transit funding for final design, including $170 million for the Red Line, $280 million for the Purple Line, and $100 million for the Corridor Cities Transitway
The law is estimated to invest an average of $800 million a year at full implementation and a total of $4.4 billion over the next six years, according to the O'Malley administration.
