Photo by Bruce DePuyt
When the Board of Public Works voted 2-1 in January to advance a plan to widen two highways in Montgomery County, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) hailed the decision as “monumental and historic.”
The vote was also a testament to Democratic Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot’s willingness to make full use of his leverage as a member of the three-member panel.
In a Maryland Matters interview earlier this month, Franchot signaled that he has every intention of using his position as the frequent BPW swing vote over the next two years, as Hogan’s road-widening project — his top transportation priority — comes back for needed approvals.
Although the project, in its current design, is unpopular with top local officials, members of the Montgomery County state House delegation and environmentalists, Franchot also sounded very much like a man who is willing to support the broad contours of Hogan’s plan to widen the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270.
