Midcounty Highway (M-83) was first included in Montgomery County’s Master Plan of Highways in the 1960s. It is planned to extend from Ridge Road (MD 27) in Clarksburg to Redland Road in Derwood as an 8.7-mile, controlled access, four to six-lane major highway. Over the years, a three-mile segment of Midcounty Highway was constructed between Shady Grove Road and Montgomery Village Avenue as well as a short two-lane section from Middlebrook Road to Grassy Knoll Terrace. Right-of-way is preserved on much of the unbuilt sections of the proposed highway.
On November 21, 2013, following publication of MCDOT’s Draft Environmental Effects Report, the Planning Board received a briefing by M-NCPPC staff and Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) staff and heard public testimony. As a result of the November 21, 2013 briefing and testimony, the Planning Board issued a letter to MCDOT supporting Alternative 9A, the master plan alignment. In 2015, MCDOT completed the Draft Preferred Alternative/Conceptual Mitigation Report, also recommending Alternative 9A as the Preferred Alternative.
In 2017, MCDOT completed the Midcounty Corridor Study Supplemental Report, evaluating three options that included transit. The analysis found that a transit-focused scenario, including bus rapid transit (BRT) on MD 355 and local intersection improvements, could accommodate a large share of the future transportation needs along the corridor.
Later that year, the County Council issued Resolution 18-957, directing the Planning Board “not to assume additional road capacity from the northern extension of Midcounty Highway when calculating the land use – transportation balance in future master plans, including but not limited to the upcoming Gaithersburg East Master Plan and the Germantown Plan for Town Sector Zone. This step ensures that any new development allowed under these plans does not rely on the northern extension of Midcounty Highway, while retaining the right-of-way for this extension in these plans.” MCDOT subsequently place the project on hold.
Frequently asked questions
As of January 2025, much of the Midcounty Highway Extended right-of-way has been preserved through public ownership, the construction of other parallel and intersecting roadways, and dedication for public use by private property owners as part of the development approval process:
- Northern Segment: Between Ridge Road and Germantown Road, 75% of the alignment is preserved. However, of this, 29% is dedication, which could be lost if Midcounty Highway Extended is removed from the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways.
- Central Segment: Between Germantown Road and Montgomery Village, 84% of the alignment is preserved. However, of this, 53% is dedication, which could be lost if Midcounty Highway Extended is removed from the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways.
- Southern Segment: All of the southern segment, between Shady Grove Road and the Intercounty Connector, is fully preserved in public ownership or as part of existing roadways and would not be lost if Midcounty Highway Extended is removed from the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways.
| Category | Northern | Central | Southern | Total |
| Public Ownership | 41% | 24% | 79% | 40% |
| Existing Roadway | 6% | 7% | 21% | 8% |
| Dedication | 29% | 53% | 0% | 34% |
| Private Ownership | 25% | 16% | 0% | 18% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
No. However, the Planning Board would continue to be able to require dedication for other public uses that remain in the Bicycle Master Plan, Upper Rock Creek Are Master Plan, the Gaithersburg Vicinity Master Plan, Montgomery Village Master Plan, the Germantown Master Plan, and the Clarksburg Master Plan, such as bikeways and trails.
Nothing happens to the right-of-way unless the County Council or the Planning Board approves an abandonment of the right-of-way. After the abandonment, the land area would revert back to use by the adjacent property that made the original dedication.
There are two processes for abandonment. If the right-of-way is in public use, the County Council reviews and approves abandonments pursuant to Chapter 49-62, et seq of the County Code.
If the right-of-way has not been in public use, the Planning Board reviews abandonment applications via a preliminary plan application pursuant to Chapter 49-68 of the County Code.
Nothing, the bikeway planned in the right-of-way would continue to be recommended in the Bicycle Master Plan and therefore, the right-of-way preserved for the bikeway would be retained. However, the right-of-way requirements of a bikeway are substantially less than the highway. On flat land the right-of-way could be as narrow as 30 feet for a bikeway, including shoulders, though the right-of-way may be greater on segments with steep slopes that could require switchbacks.