NEW STUDY CONFIRMS ICC TRAVEL TIME SAVINGS AND  CONGESTION RELIEF ON AREA ROADS

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MDOT SHA Logo

BALTIMORE, MD – Since 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. 
 
“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.”
 
Within 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.
 
“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.”
 
“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.”
 
The study identified the following parallel routes to the ICC, which all experienced an improvement in travel time reliability and reduction in congestion since the ICC’s opening:
 
• South Gaithersburg to Laurel: MD 28, to Bel Pre Road, to Bonifant Road, to Good Hope Road, to Briggs Chaney Road. 
• Rockville to Calverton: Montrose Road, to Randolph Road, to Cherry Hill Road, to MD 212. 
• South Rockville to Beltsville: Shady Grove Road at Crabbs Branch Way, to MD 115, to MD 28, to MD 198, to US 1.
 
The three-year before/after study, which began in spring 2010, was performed by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board/Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and is available at mdta.maryland.gov.
 
Follow the MDTA at twitter.com/TheMDTA and facebook.com/TheMDTA.  Follow SHA on Twitter at @MDSHA and on facebook.com/Maryland State Highway Administration.​

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