At the heart of public budgeting is the inherent conflict between the demand for public financing and the finite resources available for achieving those ends. The state of Maryland, especially in regards to transportation, is no exception to the rule.
While exact cost figures are not yet available, early estimates for expanding the Beltway range from $2 to $4 billion. With system preservation demands and large projects such as the Intercounty Connecter and I-95 ETLs north of Baltimore costing so much money, it is currently cost prohibitive to expand the Beltway in one large project. Maryland is therefore implementing Beltway improvements on a project-by-project basis with MDOT's focus being to improve the Beltway through system preservation projects where lane expansion is included.
Compounding the problem are the current general financial pressures on the state and the Transportation Trust Fund. To help mitigate the current transportation budget shortfall, Governor O'Malley has proposed a series of policy changes that would generate about $400 million annually for the Transportation Trust Fund. However, emblematic of the severity of the budget shortfall that would still exist; these measures would only help fund the first three major transportation priorities on a list of fourteen needed projects in Montgomery County. Moreover, as discussed below, this list of fourteen immediate transportation priorities for Montgomery County does not include Beltway expansion.