Governor Moore Announces $150 Million Transportation Budget Restoration to Help Address Critical Needs
Transportation needs across the state of Maryland would be addressed with Governor Wes Moore’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal, which includes a one-year restoration of $150 million in funding. This funding would continue to help the Moore-Miller Administration move forward with their goals of economic growth and mobility. The action restores funding for transit service, local roadway and transit maintenance, technology, and cybersecurity upgrades in Fiscal Year 2025. Governor Moore says their budget helps grow their economy and the transportation budget is essential to that mission. He adds that the funding would help Maryland’s working families continue to have access to places where they work, places where they learn, and other essential destinations
Additional Information from the Maryland Department of Transportation:
After releasing its draft capital program in September 2023 that revealed a $2.1 billion deficit, the department visited Baltimore City and each county to discuss transportation priorities. In December 2023, the department published an Overview of the Final Fiscal Year 2024 – 2029 capital program, which showed the deficit had grown to $3.3 billion. The December Overview previewed the reductions necessary to close the shortfall in the department’s six-year capital program, as required by law.
The Moore-Miller Administration continued to engage with stakeholders across the state to learn more about the impact of potential transportation budget reductions, hearing directly from the community about concerns related to disruption in critical services. As a result, Governor Moore determined to commit $150 million in general funds on a one-time basis to help relieve pressure in Fiscal Year 2025 on the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.
With this infusion of $150 million, MDOT commits to funding:
- $52 million to fully restore Highway User Revenue funding;
- $26 million to fully restore Locally Operated Transit System operating grants;
- $28 million in Maryland Transit Administration commuter bus funding to maintain service on the highest ridership routes;
- $15 million for critical state of good repair needs at the Maryland Transit Administration to meet the required funding levels under the Transit Safety and Investment Act;
- $10 million in State Highway Administration highway mowing and litter removal funding to maintain our roadways and our communities;
- $8 million in MARC Brunswick Line operating resources to maintain service frequencies to West Virginia and to launch a new mid-day service pilot;
- $5 million in MDOT-wide information technology and cybersecurity upgrades;
- $4 million in Motor Vehicle Administration operating dollars to maintain branch hours and keep open limited-service branches; and
- $2 million in Maryland Aviation Administration priority contractual services to retain key operations at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.
“Thanks to Governor Moore’s leadership, we will be able to restore funding for next year to some of our most vital transportation services,” said Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. “These resources will benefit Marylanders in rural, urban, and suburban areas, making sure that MDOT is able to provide for the residents who depend on these programs the most.”
