Maryland drivers may soon be on the road to a faster rush-hour commute. The second span of the Intercounty Connector is set to open later this month. It will connect the I-370/I-270 corridor in Gaithersburg to the I-95 corridor in Laurel.
Crews are finishing work on the second phase of the Intercounty Connector. The section is just more than 10 miles long.
Together with the section that opened in February, a 16-mile stretch soon will connect Interstate 270 to Interstate 95. It's the first all-electronic toll road in Maryland, automatically deducting the cost from EZ passes as vehicles pass below a gantry.
"We haven't changed the mileage rate from segment one, which is 25 cents a mile for the peak period,” said Harold Bartlett, of the Maryland Transportation Authority. “End to end it costs$ 4 for the 16-mile length."
The ICC comes with a free trial, though.
"The free period will be extended from 6 a.m. Nov. 22, when the roadway opens, until midnight Dec. 4, and then the tolls will begin after that," ICC Director Melinda Peters.
ICC traffic is expected to grow from 15,000 vehicles a day to 25,000. MTA buses offer easy access to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and for the thousands of military employees relocated by BRAC.
"You can actually pick it up at one of the Park and Rides in Montgomery County and actually take it over to Ft. Meade," said John Wesley, of MTA.
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