More than 15,000 defense jobs, most of them civilian Defense Department employees or "embedded" contractors, are expected to be added at military installations in Maryland as a result of the nationwide base realignment ordered by Congress in 2005. But other jobs also are being added at and near the bases; planners have projected a total increase of 60,000 jobs and 28,000 families statewide.
The Defense Department has provided more than $8 million in grants to state and local governments in Maryland, Hayes said, much of it to study transportation and water needs expected from the base growth. But the Pentagon offers little other funding to communities expecting to grow as a result of base realignments.
Montgomery County has requested $21 million under a defense program that traditionally pays for road improvements around rural bases that experience significant growth. Of that, local officials want $20 million to build a new Metro subway station entrance closer to the hospital, and $1 million to upgrade intersections. Traffic is projected to soar on already jammed roads around the facility.
