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State/federal team unveils three ICC proposals
for public review
BY JAMIE WELLINGTON
Capital News Service
Three alternatives for the
proposed Inter-county Connector, including not building at
all, have made the cut for presentation to the public, a state-federal
study team announced on October 30. A public hearing will
be held next year on the suggestions after federal, state,
and local agencies, as well as the public, review them, said
Valerie Burnette Edgar, spokesperson for the State Highway
Administration (SHA).
These alternatives were presented by the Inter-county Connector
Study Team for the "next phase of study," according to a statement
from the SHA. The controversial road is planned to connect
interstates 270 and 95 or U.S. Route 1 corridors in Montgomery
and Prince George's counties.
ICC planning studies began in 1979, but protests caused many
delays. Former Gov. Parris Glendening finally stopped an environmental
study of the proposed routes and vowed not to build it. Just
three years later, it became a top priority of Gov. Robert
L. Ehrlich Jr., and this year, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation
put the project on the fast track so that environmental studies
can be completed in two years. Even now, the project attracts
opponents.
"I'm concerned about the negative economic impact of this
road on Prince George's County," said Peter A. Shapiro, chairperson
of the Prince George's County Council. "It exacerbates the
Ôregion divided' phenomenon."
Only already developed areas in Maryland would benefit from
construction of the ICC, not those less developed inside the
Beltway, Shapiro said.
Shapiro favors the study group's no-action alternative, which
the SHA said will include "no substantial improvement...to
east-west transportation facilities," other than those already
contemplated in the region's master planning.
Two other options are in the running for public perusal.
The first route would connect I-270 near Shady Grove to Route
1 south of Laurel, according to the SHA, generally following
the master plans of both counties. The second alternative
generally follows the same route, but it deviates at State
Route 97 and curves east to cross I-95, ending either at Route
1 north or Muirkirk Road.
"Fooling around with the lines on a map isn't going to change
the basic problems with the ICC," said Steve Caflisch, transportation
chairperson for the Maryland Sierra Club. The master plan
route goes through many environmentally sensitive stream valleys,
including Rock Creek and Paint Branch, Caflisch said.
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