Gov. Larry Hogan will unveil plans Thursday for Maryland to spend nearly $2 billion on highway and bridge projects throughout the state, a top ally in the General Assembly said.
Sen. J. B. Jennings, the Senate minority leader, said the governor's team briefed him on the highway spending plans ahead of a planned 2:30 p.m. news conference on transportation infrastructure. Jennings, a Republican who represents Baltimore and Harford counties, said he was not briefed on Hogan's expected announcement of plans for mass transit.
The governor is widely expected to reveal his decision on the fate of the $2.4 billion Purple Line in the Washington suburbs and possibly to discuss the future of Baltimore's proposed Red Line.
Jennings said he was told Hogan would outline $1.97 billion in spending on projects to improve driving conditions for Maryland motorists. The senator said $525 million of that would go toward projects already in the planning pipeline and $500 million would go to repairs of existing roads and bridges.
The "magic number," Jennings said, is the $845 million in spending Hogan will announce for new road projects that are not currently in the Maryland Department of Tansportation's plans.
Jennings said the administration has been sounding out lawmakers around the state about the highway needs in each of their districts. He particularly welcomed the new spending on road maintenance after a punishing winter.
"They really need some major TLC," Jennings said.
The senator said the $845 million for new projects will not likely be spent immediately. He noted that the planning, design and engineering process for such projects takes about two years -- pushing that spending into mid-2017.