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ICC Intercounty Connector

Started by Alex, August 27, 2009, 12:06:04 AM

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cpzilliacus

Quote from: 1995hoo on April 26, 2013, 01:06:49 PM
Perhaps–and this is just speculation–they're construing the "TOLL" banner as being part of the route shield (even though it's a physically-separate sign)?

That is possible - though the very first Md. 200 shields, on the first segment (Contract A) that opened between I-370 and Md. 97 (and Md. 28) did not (at first) have the TOLL banners, but they do now.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.


cpzilliacus

Washington Post: State considers cancelling some ICC bus routes

QuoteThe Maryland Transit Administration is considering cutting three commuter bus routes that provide peak-hour weekday service on the Intercounty Connector, citing low ridership.

QuoteThe agency has scheduled three public hearings on its proposal to cut routes 202, 203 and 205. Route 202 operates between Gaithersburg and Fort Meade. Route 203 operates between Columbia and Bethesda, and Route 205 travels between College Park and Germantown. The agency has proposed cancelling them Aug. 1.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

Baltimore Sun: New Contee Road bridge at ICC to open next weeK

QuoteAs part of the continuing construction on the Intercounty Connector near Laurel, drivers will be rerouted to a new Contee Road bridge over Interstate 95 next week.
QuoteSHA officials said Friday that, weather permitting, the new traffic pattern will be in effect Tuesday afternoon, and traffic will be shifted from the Van Dusen Road bridge over I-95 to the new bridge that takes Contee Road across the interstate to West Laurel.


Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

#403
Press release: NEW STUDY CONFIRMS ICC TRAVEL TIME SAVINGS AND CONGESTION RELIEF ON AREA ROADS - ICC Motorists Saving up to 25 Minutes

QuoteSince opening between I-370 and I-95 in November 2011, Intercounty Connector (ICC)/MD 200 drivers have cut their travel times in half when compared to travel on local east-west routes, according to a study released today by the MD Transportation Authority (MDTA) and the State Highway Administration (SHA).  Motorists who continue to travel local routes during peak hours also are experiencing time savings.  According to the ICC Before & After Traffic Study, these motorists have experienced a five to 11 percent reduction in travel times, compared to before the ICC opened.  Along with more consistent travel times, traffic on commuter routes like MD 650, MD 198, MD 28, MD 108 and MD 115 has decreased by five to 10 percent.

Quote"This report confirms that the ICC is saving time, increasing reliability and reducing delays for those traveling between Montgomery and Prince George's counties,"  said Maryland Transportation Secretary and MDTA Chairman James T. Smith, Jr. "The study confirms the ICC also is succeeding in delivering efficient travel times to local businesses and providing key infrastructure to support future economic growth."

QuoteWithin the study area, the percentage of time traveling without congestion during peak morning hours increased from 24 percent before the ICC was built to 46 percent after the ICC was operational.  The evening peak hour traffic went from 20 percent uncongested conditions before the ICC to 42 percent after the ICC opened.

Quote"A trip between I-370 and I-95 on the ICC saves up to 25 minutes compared to driving local routes,"  said MDTA Acting Executive Secretary Bruce Gartner.  "Traffic volumes are right in line with our projections.  Each weekday, nearly 40,000 vehicles now travel the ICC between I-370 and Georgia Avenue and about 30,000 vehicles travel between US 29 and I-95."

Quote"The ICC is working,"  said SHA Administrator Melinda B. Peters. "Travel through communities such as Burtonsville and Colesville is more reliable and dozens of intersections in the corridor are less congested.  One of the goals of the ICC was to divert traffic from overburdened area roads with homes, schools, civic and faith destinations.  We are giving communities back their neighborhoods."

Post Merge: June 27, 2013, 05:06:48 PM

Technical report details: http://www.mdta.maryland.gov/ICC/Saving_Time.html

Washington Post: ICC saves motorists time, study says

TOLLROADSnews: Study finds new Washington area ICC tollroad major success in improving mobility

WTOP Radio: Speed limit goes up, ICC tickets go down
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cpzilliacus

WTOP Radio: More than 800,000 ICC tolls unpaid

QuoteSince January 2012, more than 860,000 tolls on the Intercounty Connector have gone unpaid, according to records obtained by WTOP.

QuoteNew laws that go into effect on Monday will crack down on drivers skipping out on tolls across Maryland and then refusing to pay the outstanding bills. They also coincide with toll increases at bridges and tunnels across Maryland.

QuoteUnder the old law, Maryland could impose administrative fees and turn over unpaid tolls to collections, but could not compel drivers to pay. New laws will allow the Maryland Transportation Authority to flag or suspend the registration on toll scofflaws.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

Blast from the past (1999) in the Washington Post:  After Decades of Work, Maryland Still Hasn't Made the Connection

QuoteDid someone say that the governor of Maryland killed plans for the Intercounty Connector highway and now proposes building two roads to nowhere as an alternative?

QuoteIs this somebody's idea of a joke?

QuoteIs that the best that Maryland could do after more than four decades of spending millions of dollars on studies, plans and consultants' fees?

QuoteBuilding the 18-mile-long ICC may not have been a good idea, but surely highway engineers and other transportation experts must be capable of developing a viable alternative.

QuoteMaryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) has taken the road of least resistance, however, making a mockery of the highway-planning process instead.

QuoteUpon rejecting the proposal to build the ICC, Glendening unveiled a plan to build two short, limited-access roads at each end of the proposed ICC alignment.

QuoteUnder phase two of this Rube Goldberg scheme, the governor has ordered state officials to sell off $25 million in property that was acquired for one of the routes that had been proposed for the ICC. The right of way obtained for an alternate southern alignment of the ICC will be dedicated for use as parkland and a still-to-be-determined transit line.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

mgk920

That is the same governor who, at about the same time, rejected an absolutely *fantastic* 'Star-Spangled Banner over Fort McHenry' design (see: http://www.quarterdesigns.com/proposed/maryland.html it's the one on the right) to instead foist a terrible, uninspiring image of the statehouse dome and a nonsensical motto for his state's state quarter upon us in the rest of the USA.  Why?  The usual 'War is bad' thing.

:rolleyes:

Thank God that a successor had the sense - and ability - to reverse his decision on the ICC.

:nod:

Mike

NE2

pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

cpzilliacus

Quote from: mgk920 on July 06, 2013, 11:35:49 AM
That is the same governor who, at about the same time, rejected an absolutely *fantastic* 'Star-Spangled Banner over Fort McHenry' design (see: http://www.quarterdesigns.com/proposed/maryland.html it's the one on the right) to instead foist a terrible, uninspiring image of the statehouse dome and a nonsensical motto for his state's state quarter upon us in the rest of the USA.  Why?  The usual 'War is bad' thing.

:rolleyes:

I dislike Parris Glendening as much as a previous governor from the party opposite, Spiro "Ted" Agnew, but for different reasons.  Agnew was dishonest and manifested that dishonesty by taking bribes, as far back as his time in office as Baltimore County Executive.  Glendening ran for office in 1994 stating he was in favor of the ICC, and only changed his mind when  he started cheating on his wife by shacking up with Jennifer Crawford, a hard-core Green.

But regarding the quarter, our historic State House is the oldest one in  the nation that's still in use, and it is considered iconic by state residents (even those that don't like Glendening - count me among that group).  We were building the wood dome during the American Revolution, and kept on with the work until it was done.  It served as the temporary U.S. Capitol in 1783 and 1784.

Quote from: mgk920 on July 06, 2013, 11:35:49 AM
Thank God that a successor had the sense - and ability - to reverse his decision on the ICC.

:nod:

Mike

Bob Ehrlich got my vote in 2002 for because he promised to get going on the ICC (apparently much to the rage of Glendening).  It also helped that a lot of people around the state were angry with Glendening, and (perhaps unfairly) took it out on his hapless Lt. Governor and Democratic nominee to succeed him, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.  Ehrlich only served one term (he was defeated by Martin O'Malley in 2006), and the Sierra Club, Virignia's Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) and their allied Green extremists hoped that O'Malley would cancel the ICC project - again.  I believe O'Malley made a political decision that the downside risk for him of going forward with the ICC was small (the groups opposed to the project have always been very small, but loud - and very nearly all PEC members cannot vote in Maryland elections), while the risk of trying to cancel it would have brought the full wrath of the business community (including the editorial pages of the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post) down on him.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

Alps

Quote from: mgk920 on July 06, 2013, 11:35:49 AM
That is the same governor who, at about the same time, rejected an absolutely *fantastic* 'Star-Spangled Banner over Fort McHenry' design (see: http://www.quarterdesigns.com/proposed/maryland.html it's the one on the right) to instead foist a terrible, uninspiring image of the statehouse dome and a nonsensical motto for his state's state quarter upon us in the rest of the USA.  Why?  The usual 'War is bad' thing.

:rolleyes:
Mike
Almost as bad is AK-3 instead of AK-2. Those stars are iconic, as is sled dogging. We have bears here.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: Steve on July 06, 2013, 12:50:20 PM
Quote from: mgk920 on July 06, 2013, 11:35:49 AM
That is the same governor who, at about the same time, rejected an absolutely *fantastic* 'Star-Spangled Banner over Fort McHenry' design (see: http://www.quarterdesigns.com/proposed/maryland.html it's the one on the right) to instead foist a terrible, uninspiring image of the statehouse dome and a nonsensical motto for his state's state quarter upon us in the rest of the USA.  Why?  The usual 'War is bad' thing.

:rolleyes:
Mike
Almost as bad is AK-3 instead of AK-2. Those stars are iconic, as is sled dogging.

Agreed.   When I was in elementary  school, we had to learn about the flags of all of the 50 states (the idea of 50 states was still somewhat new in the 1960's), and the flag of Alaska got special attention, perhaps because it is one the best of the bunch, with its elegant and simple design (right up there with our Maryland flag ;-) ). 

And we were taught that the Alaska flag was designed by a school child, which is apparently true.

Quote from: Steve on July 06, 2013, 12:50:20 PM
We have bears here.

Yeah, but not the massive (and often foul-tempered and dangerous) grizzlies and Kodiak brown bears that have been featured in various TV shows about Alaska, including Alaska State Troopers.

Though I get your point - it is rather difficult to distinguish a black bear from one with a brown or grizzled coat on the back of a coin.

And speaking of Alaska troopers, the Alaska bears have been honored by being featured on the badge that the troopers are issued.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

Gazette.Net: MTA opts not to cut two ICC commuter bus routes

QuoteIn response to public outcry, the Maryland Transit Administration has decided to continue two of three commuter bus routes along the Intercounty Connector that it had considered cancelling.
QuoteRoute 202, which runs from Gaithersburg to Fort Meade, and Route 203, which runs from Columbia to Bethesda, will continue. Route 205, which runs from College Park to the Germantown Transit Center, will be discontinued starting Aug. 1, according to a press release from the Maryland Transit Administration.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

lepidopteran

An update on ICC construction, sort of.  That is, another construction project, the Contee Road interchange, is being built along with the Contract D/E section of the ICC, but is actually not part of it.

With traffic rerouted onto the new Contee Rd. overpass across I-95, the old Van Dusen Rd. bridge is being demolished as we speak.  Decking has been removed, and all structural steel over the NB I-95 lanes has been removed.  But you know how, when an overpass is dismantled, the piers typically remain in place for days or weeks before they're demo'd?  (Probably because special equipment is needed to uproot the concrete structures) Well, the pier structure on the outside of the NB lanes was taken down along with the structural steel, possibly even on the same day!  I suspect this was to expedite construction of the C/D lanes.  The pier on the inside of the NB lanes is still standing.  There are other sets of piers on both sides of the SB lanes -- structural steel still in place, but probably not for long.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: lepidopteran on August 01, 2013, 08:17:53 PM
An update on ICC construction, sort of.  That is, another construction project, the Contee Road interchange, is being built along with the Contract D/E section of the ICC, but is actually not part of it.

With traffic rerouted onto the new Contee Rd. overpass across I-95, the old Van Dusen Rd. bridge is being demolished as we speak.  Decking has been removed, and all structural steel over the NB I-95 lanes has been removed.  But you know how, when an overpass is dismantled, the piers typically remain in place for days or weeks before they're demo'd?  (Probably because special equipment is needed to uproot the concrete structures) Well, the pier structure on the outside of the NB lanes was taken down along with the structural steel, possibly even on the same day!  I suspect this was to expedite construction of the C/D lanes.  The pier on the inside of the NB lanes is still standing.  There are other sets of piers on both sides of the SB lanes -- structural steel still in place, but probably not for long.

Yeah, I have seen the work going on there, starting with the demolition of the bridge deck (which was in great condition as compared to the series of ruts and potholes and patches that was Van Dusen Road east of I-95).

I also saw that the pier on the right side of the northbound lanes was knocked down, but still somewhat intact, as you describe above. 

Added note - the plans I saw for this interchange call for four cloverleaf ramps between the new Contee Road and the new I-95 C-D lanes.  Rather like a diamond interchange turned inside-out.  I don't think I have ever seen one of those in Maryland before.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

MdTA has finally signed the Montgomery County/Prince George's County line.

Eastbound between Briggs Chaney Road and I-95: 


Westbound (crookedly) between I-95 and Briggs Chaney Road:
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

Washington Post: ICC traffic growing monthly, officials say

QuoteTraffic on the Intercounty Connector toll highway in Montgomery and Prince George's counties is growing at an average 2.6 percent per month, Maryland officials said Thursday.

QuoteIn the fiscal year ending June 30, the highway (Route 200) had more than 17.2 million trips and generated $39.59 million in toll revenue, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority's newly released annual financial statement. The authority, which operates the 18.8-mile road, had projected $39.56 million in revenue for the year, officials said.

QuoteTraffic, which averaged almost 40,000 vehicles on weekdays, was "slightly"  lower than projected on the eastern end near Interstate 95 and "significantly"  higher on the western end near the Interstate 270 corridor, officials said.
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cpzilliacus

Bethesda magazine: The Road Less Traveled - The Intercounty Connector promised a lot of things to Montgomery County residents. But with traffic and revenue far lower than projected, some people are asking: Was the highway all hype?

QuoteDriven on the Intercounty Connector lately? No? You're not alone. Many haven't.

QuoteThe 18.8-mile highway–the first stretch of which opened two and a half years ago after great hype and amid great controversy–is the road less traveled. Traffic counts are well below early projections, and revenue from tolls–needed to pay off the bonds that were sold to build the road–is far less than originally anticipated.

QuoteThe initial estimated cost of $1 billion has ballooned to $2.4 billion–or as much as $4 billion if you include interest payments. Consequently, all tolls on Maryland highways, bridges and tunnels have been raised in part to help pay for the ICC. Every driver who passes through the two Baltimore harbor tunnels, goes over the Francis Scott Key, Chesapeake Bay or Harry Nice bridges, or speeds along the John F. Kennedy portion of Interstate 95 north of Baltimore is helping to pay for the highway, which currently extends from the I-370 spur off I-270 to I-95. (Eventually it will continue as a four-lane road another nine-tenths of a mile east to U.S. Route 1, with the last section's completion scheduled for July 2014.)
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

TOLLROADSnews: Maryland's Inter County Connector MD200 has solid 40k ADT traffic, $40m/year tolls after two years operation

Quote2013-10-24: Maryland's Inter County Connector saw strong growth in traffic in the spring this year achieving solid 40,000 vehicles/weekday patronage over three of five segments with overall traffic at 187,000/weekday adding transactions in all five segments or 37,000 average weekday numbers per segment. May thru' August the numbers haven't substantially changed, but compared with same-month-a-year-back the traffic is up a solid 20% to 25%.

QuoteA 2x3 lane expressway can comfortably carry 60,000 to 90,000 vehicles per day, so 40,000 means there's still plenty of spare capacity on the MD200. But for Year 2 it's a solid number for a road sized in a growth area for demand levels in 2020 or 2030.

QuoteOperator Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) reports revenue at $39.6m for the fiscal year that ended June 30, almost exactly, they say, at CDM Smith's forecast level.
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jeffandnicole

But if it was carrying 90,000 already, that'll signal either traffic congestion or much higher tolls in the near future; neither of which would really be a positive outcome.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: jeffandnicole on October 25, 2013, 10:38:14 PM
But if it was carrying 90,000 already, that'll signal either traffic congestion or much higher tolls in the near future; neither of which would really be a positive outcome.

It likely will not ever get to 90,000.  The state has committed to this always being a free-flowing highway, so if it starts to near capacity, the tolls will go up as much as is needed to keep it running decently.  For now, it is not close to being at capacity.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

This is directly related to ICC Contract D/E, which is why I am posting it here.

Baltimore Sun: Laurel business owners say I-95 sign removal could sting

QuoteState Highway Administration plans to remove road signs with logos at an exit near Laurel has some business owners concerned that motorists traveling up Interstate 95 might pass them by.

QuoteThe decision to remove the signs, on the northbound side of I-95, stems from new Intercounty Connector-related construction near Route 198. To better manage increased traffic flow for commuters traveling between I-95 and Route 1 or the ICC, SHA is incorporating the highway exits into side service roads that link up with the ICC and Contee Road.

QuoteWith the reconfiguration comes new signage. SHA officials say that there isn't a lot of room for multiple signs, which according to federal guidelines must be placed at least 800 feet apart.

QuoteAnd the precedent set by similar connector roads, such as those along the Interstate-270 corridor, is that signage with specific logos is not necessary.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

lepidopteran

The first traffic pattern switch in this phase of the ICC project seems to have taken place last week.

The ramp from EB MD-198 to SB I-95 has been closed and is being jackhammered away.  Now, EB 198 traffic entering SB 95 takes a new ramp that merges with the long ramp from WB 198.  Of course, I presume this will all eventually feed into the new C/D lanes that won't put them on SB 95 until they're past the ICC interchange itself.

Construction on the Contee Rd. interchange and the C/D lanes is inching along.  While at least one stretch has been paved, others, especially on the NB side, still need to be graded yet.  On NB 95, a new concrete retaining wall is being built under the diagonal WB 198 on-ramp overpass, presumably to clear space for the C/D lanes between it and the pier.  How often have you seen that being done -- leaving an overpass intact, but widening the space under one side by retrofitting a concrete embankment?  I've only known of one, years ago, and they had to close the road above for a while to do it.  Somehow I doubt the on-ramp will be closed, at least not for any significant length of time.

BrianP

Sorry I saw this before but didn't post it:   
SHA SHIFTS TRAFFIC ONTO TEMPORARY EXIT RAMP FROM EASTBOUND MD 198 TO SOUTHBOUND I-95 AS PART OF ICC PROJECT

Also there's this:
QuoteThis section of the ICC between I-95 and US 1 is expected to open to traffic spring 2014, weather permitting.

TheOneKEA

Unless the contractor gets going with roadbed construction and base paving of the CD lanes north of the ICC interchange and the ramps to and from the CD lanes, I can't see this interchange opening before next May. The CD lanes haven't even been built out to the existing lanes yet and the ramps to and from Contee Road are hardly recognizable as such from the ground. I also haven't seen any foundations constructed for the signage at the ramp terminal intersections on either side of the new bridge over I-95.

The top layer of asphalt is being laid on the new, divided arterial east of I-95, but it's not clear what the road name will be yet. In addition, the ICC mainline has been built and base paved on either side of the new bridge west of US 1, but the temporary embankment constructed for Virginia Manor Road hasn't been removed yet.

Also, it will be interesting to see when the new roadway west of Sweitzer Lane opens and what name it receives.



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