Maryland Route 200 (MD 200), more commonly known as the Intercounty Connector or ICC, is a partially completed tolled freeway under construction in Maryland which connects Gaithersburg in Montgomery County and Laurel in Prince George's County. When completed, it will reach the community of Konterra just north of Beltsville. The highway was originally proposed in the 1960s as part of the Washington Outer Beltway. While other parts of the Outer Beltway were canceled, the ICC and the Fairfax County Parkway remained on master plans. The road's long history as an unbuilt proposed road stems from the controversy that has surrounded it over the years.
Proponents of the highway have claimed that it will improve the flow of interregional traffic, relieving traffic congestion on local roads. Opponents of the highway have claimed that the road will (with a few limited exceptions) harm significant traffic flow characteristics (such as increasing drive times, congestion, and costs in the form of tolls), will negatively harm the environment (with air, sea and land impacts), and will disrupt established communities through which it passes.
Fulfilling a 2002 campaign promise, Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich pushed to begin construction of the road and conducted a formal groundbreaking in October 2006. With additional support from his successor, Governor Martin O'Malley, construction began on November 13, 2007. The first segment, from I-370 to Maryland Route 28, officially opened on February 23, 2011, while the extension to Interstate 95 opened on November 22, 2011.
Read more about Maryland Route 200: Tolls, Opposition, Environmental Mitigation, Exit List
Famous quotes containing the word route:
“A route differs from a road not only because it is solely intended for vehicles, but also because it is merely a line that connects one point with another. A route has no meaning in itself; its meaning derives entirely from the two points that it connects. A road is a tribute to space. Every stretch of road has meaning in itself and invites us to stop. A route is the triumphant devaluation of space, which thanks to it has been reduced to a mere obstacle to human movement and a waste of time.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)