The Intercounty Connector
The Intercounty Connector (ICC) will connect I-370 near the Shady Grove Metro Station with Route 1 between Beltsville and Laurel, spanning 18 miles across central Montgomery County and northern Prince George’s county. The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is leading the planning, design and construction of the toll highway.
SHA has divided highway construction into five parts, called contracts. The Montgomery County contracts include:
- Contract A: I-370 east to Georgia Avenue (MD 97).
- Contract B: Georgia Avenue (MD 97) east to Colesville Road (US 29)
- Contract C: Colesville Road (US 29) to I-95 within Prince George’s County
Why Build the ICC?
In the 1950s, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) proposed an outer-ring highway around the Beltway. While planners and policy-makers later dropped the idea of a complete outer beltway, they retained the ICC between I-270 and US 1 as a critical link for the region’s transportation network.
The ICC will:
- Improve mobility in the developed portions of central Montgomery and north Prince George's counties
- Boost economic development in technology areas such as the I-270 corridor, the BWI Airport development area and the U.S. 1 corridor
- Create more interaction between communities
- Provide better access to government and community services
- Improve safety on local roads, now accommodating high volumes of traffic
Montgomery County Planning Board’s Role
The Montgomery County Planning Board continues to help the state plan and implement the ICC, which has been part of county master plans for decades. As part of its evaluation of the design of the ICC, the Planning Board this month will review the proposed environmental and water resource protection measures for the section of highway that crosses through the Upper Rock Creek Special Protection Area (SPA).
With both its Department of Parks and Planning Department, the board is considering issues such as:
- Parkland transfer. The highway’s route is planned through some county parkland that will be transferred to the state. In return, the board will receive replacement park parcels that provide equivalent natural resource value and a replacement ratio of 8 acres of for each acre transferred to the state.
- Facilitating and advising on highway design elements, with particular focus on environmental reviews of the county’s Special Protection Areas (Upper Rock Creek and Upper Paint Branch).
- Studying the cross-county bike route envisioned in county plans to run parallel with the highway
The board and its staff negotiate and participate in stewardship projects related to the highway construction, such as wetlands mitigation, reforestation, invasive species management, relocation of species of interest (such as box turtles) and improving county park facilities.
In March, the Planning Board agreed to transfer about 44 acres of county parkland in the path of the proposed (ICC to SHA. As part of the Record of Decision that spells out the particulars of the project, state highway officials will provide about 8.5 acres of replacement park property for every acre of parkland lost.
Planners also are working on an ICC hiker-biker trail envisioned to run parallel with the highway. In addition to the Hiker-Biker Trail, another upcoming stewardship project which is being designed and constructed by the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA), called the Lake Frank Trail is in the planning stages.
Staff Briefings
Staff updates the Planning Board on the status of the ICC design and construction status, with special attention given to parkland and stewardship issues. Each file is a PDF version of the transportation planning division’s staff report to the board.
Status of the ICC roadway project
| ENGINEERING, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION |
|---|
| Status Report # 21 (June 10, 2010) |
| Status Report # 20 (March 25th, 2010) |
Mitigation and stewardship projects
| DATE | STAFF REPORT |
|---|---|
| 07/23/09 | Mandatory Referral #09901-MTA-1 for Project NW-160/NW-170 |
01/17/08 |
|
| 07/13/06 |
Mandatory referral
| DATE | STAFF REPORT |
|---|---|
| 07/13/06 |
ICC planning (leading up to the SHA record of decision)
| DATE | STAFF REPORT |
|---|---|
| 09/15/05 | |
| 07/28/05 | |
| 02/03/05 | |
| 01/13/05 | |
| 07/15/04 | |
| 06/03/04 | |
| 03/04/04 | |
| 01/22/04 |
M-NCPPC Staff Contact
Mary Jo Kishter , Environmental Planning Division
301-495-4701
MaryJo.Kishter@montgomeryplanning.org