Maryland highway P3 winner pulls out

The preferred bidder on the Maryland Express Lanes P3 project has ended negotiations with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and will not proceed with the scheme.

Transurban, the lead partner in the Accelerate Maryland Partners (AM Partners) consortium, has announced that it has submitted a notice to terminate to MDOT, citing continued challenges including “environmental approvals, changing political landscape and environmental lawsuits that remain unresolved”.

AM Partners was appointed preferred bidder on the deal in February 2021, but Transurban said that despite extensive negotiations agreement with MDOT on the “form of the concession agreement” had not been reached.

It added that pulling out of the deal now would allow it to use operating cash and corporate liquidity “for other purposes”.

The Express Lanes deal was a flagship project for previous governor, Larry Hogan, but had faced criticism from a number of sides. MDOT and the current governor, Wes Moore, have yet to respond to the AM Partners announcement.