Cutting the ribbon for the ICC, an on-ramp to the future

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending the ribbon-cutting for the first segment of MD-200, better known in Maryland as the Intercounty Connector.   Now, the sky may have been cloudy, but--because the state was willing to dream big and build big--the future of transportation in Maryland sure looked bright.

And that's because this new stretch of highway truly is a connector.  It will connect employees with jobs and students with schools.  It will connect Montgomery County with Prince George's County and with the city of Baltimore.  It will connect I-270 and I-370 with I-95.

Cutting the ribbon, from left to right, are Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Gov. Martin O'Malley, me, Maryland Transportation Sec. Beverley Swaim-Staley, Montgomery Cty Executive Ike Leggett, Prince George's Cty Executive Rushern Baker, State Senator Jennie Forehand, and Del. Kumar Barve

But most importantly, it will connect people.  The ICC will allow commuters to save nearly 20 minutes each way, giving them back hours of time with their loved ones.  And for every commuter who chooses the ICC there will be one less vehicle on another road, thereby helping ease congestion for commuters throughout the region.

The ICC was also built with the best environmental stewardship in mind.  This was obvious to me as Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and I rode to the ceremony in an all-electric Chevy Volt.  The road features underpasses instead of overpasses to cut down on noise, and it is landscaped more like a parkway than a highway.

You see, even as we develop other ways of getting around, 21st century transportation projects will continue to feature roadways prominently.  So we owe it to the next generation of Americans to build those roadways as safely and sensibly as possible. And the Department of Transportation will continue to partner with states like Maryland and Governors like Martin O'Malley to do just that.

The ICC we opened yesterday is certain to be an on-ramp to the future.  One study indicates it will help create more than 14,000 jobs in the region. 

We know it will give people in northwestern Montgomery County access to the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and to the city of Baltimore.  It will allow residents of Prince George's County better access to the high-tech jobs along I-270, and residents of Montgomery County better access to the high-tech jobs in Greenbelt.  It will allow residents in Gaithersburg better access to the University of Maryland in College Park and residents in Prince George's better access to the new higher education opportunities in Shady Grove.

And, as everyone who spoke yesterday repeated, this road is only one part of a multi-tiered regional transportation plan that includes the Corridor Cities Transitway, Purple Line light rail, transit-oriented development, sustainable growth, and livable communities.

As Maryland's Lieutenant Governor, Anthony Brown, said, "This day is bigger than a road; it's about a plan.  It's about creating jobs and opportunities for businesses.  It's about becoming more competitive."

Comments

[Greg Cohen]

Delighted to see your support for this new highway, Mr. Secretary. We *can* build new roads and still be pro-environment, pro-sustainability, and pro-livability! This road is putting needed transportation infrastructure in an already developed area -- a difficult achievement. The environmental stewardship efforts on this project will be copied by others around the country.

As you pointed out, the Chevy Volt -- a technological solution, is a key element in making highway mobility environmentally sustainable. To improve the environment, we don't have to get Americans out of their cars -- but we do need to keep improving our technologies as the consumers show interest in affordable advancements!

[Jesse]

I work for Secretary Ray LaHood at the U.S. DOT in Washington D.C. and live in Maryland near the ICC.

This route violates the principles of Secretary LaHood's liveable and walkable community initiative, which he announced March 18 and 22, 2009, on his fastlane blog. He appeared before the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee to emphasize the importance of livable and walkable communities.

At the time, Secretary LaHood stated, "the way we design our communities has a huge impact on our citizens’ social, physical, and economic wellbeing. Yet many Americans live in neighborhoods without sidewalks or access to public transportation."

The ICC route was designed and built without a pedestrian or bike path despite failed promises by the Maryland State Highway Administration to do so. This begs the question - why is Secretary LaHood supporting the ICC by attending its grand opening? It completely violates his walkable and livable community policies.

Needless to say, I'm very disappointed. What a wasted opportunity to provide multi-modal travel options, mobility, and equal access for our car-less population, especially those who can’t drive – children, disabled, elderly, low-income, etc.

Would you personally lobby the Maryland State Highway Administration to build a pedestrian/bike path along the ICC (and all roads for that matter). We need Complete Streets!

Thanks,
Jesse

[Jesse]

I work for Secretary Ray LaHood at the U.S. DOT in Washington D.C. and live in Maryland near the ICC.

The ICC violates Secretary LaHood's walkable community initiative, which he announced March 18 and 29, 2009, on his fastlane blog. He appeared before the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee to emphasize the importance of livable and walkable communities.

At the time, Secretary LaHood stated, "the way we design our communities has a huge impact on our citizens’ social, physical, and economic wellbeing. Yet many Americans live in neighborhoods without sidewalks or access to public transportation." His blog statements can be viewed in the links below:

The ICC route was designed and built without a pedestrian path or bike lanes despite failed promises by the Maryland State Highway Administration to do so. This begs the question - why is Secretary LaHood supporting the ICC by attending its grand opening? It completely violates his walkable and livable community policies and beliefs.

Needless to say, I'm very disappointed. What a wasted opportunity to provide multi-modal travel options, mobility, and equal access for our car-less population, especially those who can’t drive – children, disabled, elderly, low-income, etc.

Would you personally lobby the Maryland State Highway Administration to build a pedestrian/bike path along the ICC. We need Complete Streets!

Thanks,
Jesse

[mcas]

How can a highway be 'green'?

How many billions of miles of electric vehicles will have to be driven to counter-balance all the embedded energy of the materials used to build this? To pave over the green pastures while you build highways to facilitate 'drive til you qualify' suburban sprawl?

DOT calling sprawl and highways 'the future' is terrifying. It's 2011, folks.

[Greg Cohen]

Folks -- you can't put a bike path on a freeway, but there is a bicycle/pedestrian path along much of the ICC and there's also connections to existing trails in the area. Hopefully, there will eventually be a bike path along the entire length of the ICC behind the sound walls but we have to get agreement for the Corps of Engineers for the 404 permit. There is also two new transit lines on the ICC, which you can't miss from the huge picture of the new coach on the blog. If people use these buses, you can expect more of them! By building this infrastructure in an already-developed area -- it IS smart growth -- it's infrastructure that supports mostly existing growth and well-planned future density projects. The environmental efforts on this project cannot be ignored -- SHA's efforts to go above and far beyond the law are exemplary. They are leaving the streams better than they were before, where uncontrolled runoff was the norm. Getting traffic moving is also good for regional congestion relief and overall air quality improvements. So it's just sad that some are so myopic to question "how can a highway be green". You don't need to be anti-highway to be pro-bicycling or pro-transit. This project adds to both transit usage and bicycling too, while also benefiting motorists. It's a rare opportunity for us all to celebrate.

[Steve Coyle]

I recently visited Maryland and had an opportunity to drive on this segment of the ICC highway. It had sound barriers attractive trees charming bridges and was built to be low to the ground. I wish I could send some Connecticut DOT people down there to see how it's done.
Great job!

[Nathanael Nerode]

Expensive source of sprawl and oil dependency. What ever happened to the Purple Line?