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ICC Intercounty Connector

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

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1995hoo

"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.


mcmc

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 04, 2013, 12:55:20 PM
Just been announced within the past hour: ICC speed limit to go to 60 mph by March 31.

The first state highway in Maryland to be posted above 55. What BS.

cpzilliacus

This is near the eastern end of the  ICC, and in or near some pretty extensive construction work (ICC Contract D/E) going on right now, though it is not clear to me if the ICC has anything to do with it.

Water main break disrupts Laurel, Beltsville areas - Van Dusen Road, Virginia Manor Road closed; customers may have discolored water
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 MD200/ICC keeps low low speed limit

QuoteMaryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) is determined treat most of its new toll road patrons as reckless drivers who deserve to be pulled over by the cops and given $80 fines. For 15 months since opening the $2.5b 18 mile MD200 Inter County Connector the splendid new 2x3 lane expressway has made all but a few dawdlers into law-breakers.

QuoteThe 55mph posted speed limit was exceeded by 91% of drivers in at least one highway segment according to calculations made from passes under the ten toll gantries (five each direction of traffic) over a week in the summer (June 24-30.) That was up on the 88% of the drivers who were "speeders" over three days in January in the second month of the tollroad's operation (It began tolling Dec 5, 2011.)

QuoteWe've driven the road and there's no doubt that speeds have been creeping up as more motorists become more familiar with it. It's quite likely by now some 92% or 93% of motorists exceed the 55mph posted speed in at least one segment of their trip.
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.

BrianP

I've heard of the ICC as being a speed trap.  I have kept my speed around 60 when driving on that route.  I did get passed by some traffic.  But that was by what I would estimate was drivers doing 60-70 mph. Nobody was doing I-270/I-95 speeds.  Granted I haven't driven on it recently. 

I would guess in their 91% figure I would be a speeder.  Which is why that figure seems like it's worthless.  Since driving at 60 mph would not get you pulled over on the ICC.   Speed cameras trigger at 12 mph over the limit in MD.  And even doing 12 mph over the limit won't get you pulled over on I-270 or I-95.  On the ICC 12 mph over the limit would be the beginning of the danger zone IMO.

cpzilliacus

#380
Quote from: BrianP on February 11, 2013, 04:32:12 PM
I've heard of the ICC as being a speed trap.  I have kept my speed around 60 when driving on that route.  I did get passed by some traffic.  But that was by what I would estimate was drivers doing 60-70 mph. Nobody was doing I-270/I-95 speeds.  Granted I haven't driven on it recently.

Compared to other freeways in Montgomery County (where the Maryland  State Police Barrack "N" troopers (Rockville) are way understaffed and overworked), the speed limit on Md. 200 is strictly enforced by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police (who have little in the way of other policing duties). 

Quote from: BrianP on February 11, 2013, 04:32:12 PM
I would guess in their 91% figure I would be a speeder.  Which is why that figure seems like it's worthless.  Since driving at 60 mph would not get you pulled over on the ICC.   Speed cameras trigger at 12 mph over the limit in MD.  And even doing 12 mph over the limit won't get you pulled over on I-270 or I-95.  On the ICC 12 mph over the limit would be the beginning of the danger zone IMO.

I have observed the MdTAP stopping motorists on Md. 200 for doing 65 or even a little less, though I think those drivers might just get off with a warning. Or perhaps the stop was for something other than speeding.
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.

vdeane

According to the article, 26% of speeding tickets are for 1-9 mph over the limit.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: deanej on February 11, 2013, 04:50:46 PM
According to the article, 26% of speeding tickets are for 1-9 mph over the limit.

And those tickets are absolutely legal, too.

Though it is a pretty common practice among at least some Maryland law enforcement officers to write a speeding ticket for a lower speed than what the driver was observed to be operating his vehicle at.
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:  ICC subcontractor clears West Laurel trees without permit - County Council member Lehman calls for investigation, fines

QuoteOfficials with the Intercounty Connector project office improperly authorized the removal of trees in a West Laurel neighborhood last week, after an unapproved permit was inadvertently issued to a sub-contractor, according to ICC project spokesman Ray Feldmann.

QuoteAccording to Feldmann, the permit, which was pending approval by the Maryland Department of the Environment, would have superseded a previous permit issued in October 2012 and would have extended the tree removal boundary approximately 20 feet closer to residential properties on Fitzpatrick Drive.
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:    Authority advises caution on ICC privatization

QuoteThe Maryland Transportation Authority has thrown some cold water on the idea of leasing the Intercounty Connector as a relatively pain-free way of raising money to pay for other projects — saying such deals are too complex to enter into without extensive study.

QuoteIn a position paper sent to the legislature, the authority does not rule out privatization deals but warns "they are not easy and should be approached prudently."

QuoteThe authority's statement comes in response to a bill from a Republican delegate that would require the state to issue an invitation for bids for the ICC and the Express Toll Lanes being built on Interstate 95 by the end of the year, but it also addresses one of the ideas raised by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller in a comprehensive transportation revenue bill. 
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:  Partners split on Konterra project

QuoteThe partnership behind Konterra, one of the largest planned development projects in Prince George's County, is no longer.

QuoteThe Gould family and its real estate company, Gould Property Co., own 2,200 acres along Interstate 95 in Laurel that it has been plotting for years as a colossal mixed-use development with partner Forest City Washington, the local arm of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises.

QuoteThe plans are ambitious. With land totaling nearly two-thirds the size of Tysons Corner, Gould and Forest City planned a 488-acre, multibillion-dollar town center project near the intersection of I-95 and the Intercounty Connector that promised 4,500 residential units, 5.3 million square feet of commercial, retail and office space, and 500,000 square feet of hospitality space.
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.

DeaconG

Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 23, 2013, 10:44:00 AM
Washington Post:  Partners split on Konterra project

QuoteThe partnership behind Konterra, one of the largest planned development projects in Prince George's County, is no longer.

QuoteThe Gould family and its real estate company, Gould Property Co., own 2,200 acres along Interstate 95 in Laurel that it has been plotting for years as a colossal mixed-use development with partner Forest City Washington, the local arm of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises.

QuoteThe plans are ambitious. With land totaling nearly two-thirds the size of Tysons Corner, Gould and Forest City planned a 488-acre, multibillion-dollar town center project near the intersection of I-95 and the Intercounty Connector that promised 4,500 residential units, 5.3 million square feet of commercial, retail and office space, and 500,000 square feet of hospitality space.


Good God, are they still pushing that?  They were working on that project when I lived in Landover Hills in the early 80s!  Talk about a long gestation period...
Dawnstar: "You're an ape! And you can talk!"
King Solovar: "And you're a human with wings! Reality holds surprises for everyone!"
-Crisis On Infinite Earths #2

cpzilliacus

#387
Quote from: DeaconG on March 23, 2013, 11:02:03 AM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 23, 2013, 10:44:00 AM
Washington Post:  Partners split on Konterra project

QuoteThe partnership behind Konterra, one of the largest planned development projects in Prince George's County, is no longer.

QuoteThe Gould family and its real estate company, Gould Property Co., own 2,200 acres along Interstate 95 in Laurel that it has been plotting for years as a colossal mixed-use development with partner Forest City Washington, the local arm of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises.

QuoteThe plans are ambitious. With land totaling nearly two-thirds the size of Tysons Corner, Gould and Forest City planned a 488-acre, multibillion-dollar town center project near the intersection of I-95 and the Intercounty Connector that promised 4,500 residential units, 5.3 million square feet of commercial, retail and office space, and 500,000 square feet of hospitality space.


Good God, are they still pushing that?  They were working on that project when I lived in Landover Hills in the early 80s!  Talk about a long gestation period...

Well, yes.  The land is still there (most of it is mined-out sand and gravel pits), and could (and should) be put to good use, and with the coming of Md. 200 and related improvements on I-95 (the final Contract D/E segment should be open by the end of 2013), it should be possible to start serious development there. 

A member of the Gould family told me years ago that there was never a mortgage on the land (note that the Goulds are directly descended from the late financier Jay Gould, so they  probably can afford to be patient).

But the Montgomery County Civic Federation and its noxious affiliate group (the now-defunct Montgomery InterCounty Connector Coalition (M-ICC)) routinely used to cite Konterra as a reason not to build Md. 200.  Never mind that almost none of Konterra is in Montgomery County.

M-ICC and M-ICC's Web site are out of business, but you can see some of the stuff they cranked out between 2000 and 2008 on archive.org here (may take a little while to load).
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: Konterra road construction taxing for Laurel area residents and businesses

QuoteResidents and businesses near the upcoming 2,200-acre Konterra development near West Laurel say they're battling traffic problems as the State Highway Administration continues to work on the access road to the development, which they will make the commute easier for future businesses and customers.

QuoteThe SHA began construction on the two-mile I-95 interchange with Contee Road near state Route 198 in winter 2011, said SHA spokeswoman Kellie Boulware.

QuoteThis interchange will tie into the final phase of the Intercounty Connector, a toll road that will link Prince George's I-95 and U.S. Route 1 corridors with Montgomery County's I-370, she said.
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: Another small stage of MD200/ICC under way

QuoteMaryland's State Highway Administration has another small stage of the MD200, Intercounty Connector (ICC) tollroad well under way. And the project has got the attention of the Washington Post because of a few complaints about construction related traffic delays. An $89m contract with a Shirley, Clark, Facchina & Trumbull joint venture is extending the tollroad just 0.9 miles east of its present  end at I-95 to US1 in Laurel. The end of this section will be at US1, a surface arterial, with a signalized intersection.

QuoteThe project actually involves more work along I-95 itself than on the ICC extension.  Those are collector-distributor roadways 2 miles long through two close-spaced interchanges of I-95, one of which is being built separately as part of a development named Konterra.
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

I knew that groups opposed to new highways would eventually cite Md. 200 as an example in one or more ways, but I did not know which would be the first.  Turns out that the honor may just belong to the Tri-State Transportation Campaign of metropolitan New York.

San Francisco Leapfrogs New York Region on Cashless Tolls

QuoteIt now appears that cities across the country are primed to leapfrog the MTA when it comes to cashless tolling. AET  is already in use on Maryland's Intercounty Connector and North Carolina's Triangle Expressway. On Wednesday, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge will become the first major toll bridge to convert to all-electronic tolls, bringing speedier commutes to 112,000 motorists a day.
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: ICC gets speed limit boost to 60 mph later this week - Signs to be posted Friday and Saturday
Quote
Speed-limit signs on the Intercounty Connector will be changed from 55 mph to 60 mph at the end of the week, the Maryland Transportation Authority announced Wednesday.
QuoteThe 18.8-mile, all-electronic toll road connects Interstate 270 in Gaithersburg to I-95 in Laurel. Weather permitting, westbound signs will be changed on Friday followed by eastbound signs on Saturday. In addition, warning signs will be added for curves.
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

WTOP Radio: Nearly 7K speeding tickets issued on ICC

QuoteLAUREL, Md. - Since the Intercounty Connector opened, nearly 7,000 speeding tickets have been issued, according to documents obtained by WTOP.

QuoteWhile most tickets are clearly violations, some raise questions for drivers.

QuotePolice issued nearly 200 tickets to drivers going less than 65 mph in a 55 mph zone. On Oct. 6, 2011, a driver was ticketed for going 59 mph.
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.

1995hoo

Earlier this week on the Channel 4 late news (11:00) Wendy Rieger said something about the ICC going up to 60 mph and she referred to the "westbound span." I figured it was a mistake and shrugged it off.

Then tonight on their 6:00 news Erika Gonzelez said the same thing. Clearly whoever programs the teleprompter is clueless about the ICC!
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 30, 2013, 08:10:03 PM
Earlier this week on the Channel 4 late news (11:00) Wendy Rieger said something about the ICC going up to 60 mph and she referred to the "westbound span." I figured it was a mistake and shrugged it off.

Then tonight on their 6:00 news Erika Gonzelez said the same thing. Clearly whoever programs the teleprompter is clueless about the ICC!

Not the  first time! 

As I understood it, MdTA swapped-out the 55 MPH signs in one direction, and then the other direction, probably the source of the confusion. 

There are many bridges along its route, but "span" in this context is usually reserved for structures like the U.S. 301 Potomac River (Gov. Nice) Bridge or the U.S. 50/U.S. 301 Bay (Gov. William Preston Lane, Jr.) Bridge.

Speaking of which:



Only place along Md. 200 where I could snap a Md. 200 shield and a new 60 MPH speed limit sign.
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

It had to happen - this afternoon, Bob Marbourg (the  P.M. drive traffic anchor at all-news WTOP Radio (103.5)) reported a wreck that actually was worthy of mention in one of his traffic reports.

It was eastbound at milepost 15.0 (between Md. 650 and U.S. 29), and had two lanes closed for a while.

First one I have heard reported anywhere on Md. 200.
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

Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post: Turn the Intercounty Connector into the American autobahn

QuoteI needed to take a relative from Gaithersburg to Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport a few days ago, and I took the Intercounty Connector (ICC). I was surprised by how lightly traveled the road is and by the three police cruisers enforcing the speed limit.

QuoteWhy? Why the concentrated enforcement presence when there were hardly any cars on the road? Why enforce a speed limit at all? If Maryland had any marketing sense, instead of enforcing speed limits on a road that few people bother to use, it would rebrand the ICC as an American autobahn. When you are as desperate for revenue as the Maryland Transportation Authority is, you have to think outside the box.
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.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 30, 2013, 09:52:43 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 30, 2013, 08:10:03 PM
Earlier this week on the Channel 4 late news (11:00) Wendy Rieger said something about the ICC going up to 60 mph and she referred to the "westbound span." I figured it was a mistake and shrugged it off.

Then tonight on their 6:00 news Erika Gonzelez said the same thing. Clearly whoever programs the teleprompter is clueless about the ICC!

Not the  first time! 

As I understood it, MdTA swapped-out the 55 MPH signs in one direction, and then the other direction, probably the source of the confusion. 

There are many bridges along its route, but "span" in this context is usually reserved for structures like the U.S. 301 Potomac River (Gov. Nice) Bridge or the U.S. 50/U.S. 301 Bay (Gov. William Preston Lane, Jr.) Bridge.

Speaking of which:



Only place along Md. 200 where I could snap a Md. 200 shield and a new 60 MPH speed limit sign.

Just wondering...why is 'Toll' mentioned on the MP signs?  MP signs are there for reference to a particular location.  'Toll' is a meaningless reference point.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 26, 2013, 08:58:48 AM
Just wondering...why is 'Toll' mentioned on the MP signs?  MP signs are there for reference to a particular location.  'Toll' is a meaningless reference point.

All of the mileposts in whole numbers have them on Md. 200.  I don't know why.

Standard MdTA practice on all off its roads is (and has been for as long as I can remember) to post mileposts every 1/10th of  a mile.

The ones in whole numbers usually have a route shield (there are probably some exceptions to this), but I think Md. 200 is the only one with TOLL banners over the shield.
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.

1995hoo

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)?
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.



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