The Intercounty Connector (ICC) is a 18.9 mile, $3.1 billion interstate-scale TOLL road first proposed in 1950s. The ICC is planned to run through Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland connecting I-270 (in Gaithersburg) and Route 1 (in Laurel). Federal environmental agencies rejected the ICC twice - in the 1980s and 1990s - because the ICC would severely damage or destroy parks and communities, forests, wetlands and streams. The ICC would be a part of Washington Outer Beltway, which would destroy more nature, pose more health impacts on human and wildlife, and increase more CO2 from transportation.
A study that compared 6 alternatives (conducted by Norm Marshall and Brian Grady of Smart Mobility, Inc. Released in January 2005) says, "The alternatives studied in this report would allow less time spent in cars, remove traffic from local roads, and result in lower air emissions compared to the ICC. The report, The Intercounty Connector: Performance and Alternatives, shows that there are ways to improve travel in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties without an ICC and with a lower cost."
The ICC is exerting so much pressure on Maryland's finances that the Maryland Transportation Authority plans to raise tolls sharply on every toll facility in the state to help pay for it. For the story, visit: Commuters likely to face higher tolls, The Examiner.
Highway construction costs have risen by roughly 50 percent since January 2005. The Federal Highway Trust Fund is expected to be bankrupt by Fiscal Year 2009, and the feds have rescinded more than $200 million from Maryland over the past three years. And oil closed at more than $100 per barrel in February 2008, four times higher than in 2002 when former Governor Ehrlich declared his intent to build the ICC. It's time to pull the plug on this multi-billion-dollar boondoggle and invest in transportation priorities that reduce oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The ICC would trigger more than 700 million miles of new driving per year.
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