Governor Ehrlich Wins Federal Approval to Build Intercounty Connector

Governor Ehrlich Wins Federal Approval to Build Intercounty Connector

Breaking 50 years of a bureaucratic and political logjam, Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., today announced the State has received federal approval to build the Intercounty Connector (ICC). The ICC is an 18-mile east-west highway linking Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The approval by the Federal Highway Administration was granted last night following extensive review of the project's environmental impact study and public comments.

"Today marks the most important milestone yet for the Intercounty Connector as we have the necessary approvals to start building this ‘highway of opportunity' that Maryland has needed for decades," said Governor Ehrlich. "In just under three years, we kept our promise to start construction on the ICC. Thank you to the many people who have worked tremendously hard to make this dream a reality for the people of Maryland."

Governor Ehrlich made the announcement at a ceremonial ground breaking for the project near the Shady Grove Metro Station, close to where the western end of the ICC will connect with I-370. Along with state and local elected officials, the Governor planted several trees to kick off the first contract for the ICC, a reforestation project that is part of the project's environmental mitigation program. The Governor also unveiled a banner that stated "The ICC Starts Here."

Planned for decades, the ICC will connect I-270 in Montgomery County to I-95 and US 1 in Prince George's County. The Federal Highway Administration approved the State's preferred alternative, Corridor 1, which is a six-lane controlled-access highway that is the southern of the two proposed corridors. The project includes nine interchanges and one intersection.

The ICC will link existing and proposed development areas between the I-270 and I-95/US 1 corridors within central and eastern Montgomery County and northwestern Prince George's County. It will be a state-of-the-art, multi-modal, limited access east-west highway with variable tolls to manage traffic and deliver relatively congestion-free travel. The ICC will be equipped with EZ Pass technology to collect tolls at highway speeds. It will allow for express bus service that will connect to Metro and MARC stations along the corridor.

An independent economic study by the University of Maryland projects the ICC will have a nearly $7 billion impact on the state's economy and generate more than 14,000 jobs in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The ICC will also help improve traffic congestion on local area roads, improve traffic flow at nearly 40 key intersections, and improve the safety of local roadways in the study area by reducing the number of crashes by an estimated 356 per year.

The cost of the ICC is $2.4 billion. Sources of funding will include: Maryland Transportation Authority revenue bonds; Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle, or GARVEE bonds; funding from the Maryland Transportation Trust Fund; and special funds earmarked for the project by Congress. The independent ICC funding plan supports construction of this mega-project while continuing to utilize Maryland's traditional funding sources for other much needed transportation projects throughout the State.

As a result of Governor Ehrlich's direct request to President George W. Bush, the ICC project was included as one of President's priority projects, which provided for more timely environmental review by federal resource agencies. The Maryland Transportation Authority will operate and maintain the roadway once completed. The State Highway Administration (SHA) will manage the design and construction through five major contracts. SHA will begin construction work on the ICC fall 2006.

http://www.governor.maryland.gov/pressreleases/2006/BuildIntercountyConnector.html