Keeping Maryland on the Move" More money for Maryland’s highways, roads and
mass transit systems means more than just transportation – it means
residents and visitors in Maryland can live, work, and play throughout
the state in safety. I will continue to fight for Maryland’s
fair share with smart investments that keep travelers on the move and
help lessen the pollution and congestion."
-Senator Barbara A. Mikulski
As a senior member of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Mikulski fights for Maryland's fair share.
The Highway Trust Fund
In addition to Congressionally designated projects that Senator Mikulski fights for in each year's federal budget, Maryland also receives money from the federal highway trust fund.
Marylanders pay a federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon. This revenue funds the highway Trust Fund and is divided into two separate funding streams:
- Funds for highways (highway maintenance, roads and bridges)
- Funds for mass transit (bus and rail)
In the 2005 transportation authorization bill (Public Law 109-59), Senator Mikulski fought for a formula that will give Maryland a total of $720 million per year:
- $580 million a year in highway funds (annual increase of $140 million)
- $140 million a year in mass transit funds (annual increase of $40 million)
Governor Martin O'Malley and the Maryland Department of Transportation make determinations on how to distribute the majority of these funds throughout the state.
Mass Transit
Senator Mikulski is a strong advocate for mass transit because it is safe for the commuter, cost efficient for the consumer, and environmentally sound.
- Senator Mikulski fights to put money in the federal checkbook for MARC Commuter Rail, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, locally operated bus systems and the Maryland Transit Administration’s bus system in the Baltimore metro area.
- Senator Mikulski secured funding for double-tracking of the Baltimore Light Rail Transit system, construction of the Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center, establishment and expansion of the Southern Maryland Commuter Bus Initiative, and the Red and Green Lines in Baltimore.
- This year, Senator Mikulski cosponsored and helped pass legislation authorizing $1.5 billion for DC Area Metro over ten years (Public Law 110-432).
- This bill means more money for America’s metro.
- Federal employees account for nearly half of Metro's ridership, and Metro keeps area residents and tourists on the move.
Passenger and Freight Rail
A native of Baltimore, the birth place of America's first commercial long-distance railroad, the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad, Senator Mikulski has always been a strong advocate for the railroad.
- Senator Mikulski fights to restore funding for Amtrak in the federal budget, which allows the passenger rail to continue operations of its existing system, return its infrastructure to a state of good repair, and provides much-needed stability.
- This year, Senator Mikulski supported legislation authorizing $133 billion for Amtrak over five years and $60 million to study a new Baltimore and Potomac tunnel (Public Law 110-432).
- Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, which service Maryland, carries over 700,000 riders a day. In Maryland, Amtrak operates 90 trains daily.
- Baltimore’s Penn Station is the seventh busiest station and BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport is the fifteenth busiest station on Amtrak’s system.
- Approximately 1 million of the 3.7 million Amtrak passengers using Washington Union Station reside in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.
- In Maryland, CSX and Norfolk Southern provide long haul freight service and several shore line railroads provide service from Western Maryland to the Delmarva Peninsula. This network is especially important to the Port of Baltimore which imports over 30 million tons of cargo annually.