Baltimore, MD – Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Chairman Beverley K. Swaim-Staley today announced that the State will open the next 10.35 miles of Maryland’s Intercounty Connector (ICC)/MD 200 by 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. With this opening, the ICC will connect Montgomery and Prince George’s counties from I-270/I-370 at Shady Grove to I-95 at Laurel.
“By morning rush hour on Nov. 22, the ICC will finally link the I-270 and I-95 corridors providing motorists with a viable option to the existing congested local road network in Maryland’s Washington suburban region,” said MDTA Chairman Swaim-Staley. “I am also pleased to announce that our citizens will once again be able to ‘test drive’ the entire ICC at no charge between the opening on Nov. 22 through Dec. 4, helping us to test the tolling equipment under actual traffic conditions.”
When full toll collection begins on the ICC on Dec. 5, drivers of cars and light trucks with E-ZPass® will pay a Peak toll rate of $0.25/mile, Off-peak rate of $0.20/mile and Overnight rate of $0.10/mile as they do today to travel the ICC’s first segment.
“The ICC per-mile toll rates, at the low end of the ICC tolling plan approved by the MDTA Board in December 2009, remain the same when we open the next segment,” said MDTA Executive Secretary Harold M. Bartlett. “Our goal for the ICC is to provide reliable travel times between the I-270 and I-95 corridors. Today, the morning commute between Laurel and Gaithersburg takes about 47 minutes on stop-and-go local roads. This same trip will take just more than 17 minutes on the ICC.”
The ICC is a variably priced toll facility where higher tolls are charged during peak-travel times (Monday – Friday, 6 – 9 a.m. and 4 – 7 p.m.) and reduced tolls are charged when traffic volumes are lower. ICC tolls are collected electronically at highway speeds using E-ZPass and video-tolling technology. There are no toll booths or cash toll collection on the ICC, Maryland’s first all-electronic toll facility.
In addition to existing connections at I-270/I-370 at Shady Grove and MD 97 (Georgia Avenue), the next segment of the ICC will open up new connections at MD 182 (Layhill Road), MD 650 (New Hampshire Avenue), US 29 (Columbia Pike), Briggs Chaney Road (Briggs Chaney to eastbound ICC and westbound ICC to Briggs Chaney) and at I-95 in Laurel.
To travel the entire ICC one way between I-95 and I-370, drivers of cars and light trucks with E-ZPass will pay $4 in Peak hours, $3.20 Off-peak and $1.60 Overnight. Please refer to the attachments included with this release for the ICC/MD 200 Toll Schedules (I-270/I-370 to I-95).
Drivers without a valid E-ZPass account will pay a Video Toll Rate to travel the ICC. A Notice of Toll Due will be sent to the registered owner of the vehicle for the cost of the Video Toll, which is 150% of the E-ZPass toll rate, with a minimum video surcharge of $1 and a maximum of $15.
To sign up for E-ZPass, visit
www.ezpassmd.com to enroll online or get a list of E-ZPass “On the Go” retail locations. E-ZPass Stop-in Centers are located at local Motor Vehicle Administration offices in Gaithersburg and Beltsville and are adjacent to Maryland toll facilities.
For additional tolling information, visit
www.mdta.maryland.gov/TollFacilities/ICC.html. The MDTA will review ICC toll rates periodically and may adjust them within the tolling plan approved by the MDTA Board to help manage traffic congestion and meet revenue needs.
The State Highway Administration (SHA) is managing ICC construction, and the MDTA helped finance and owns, operates and maintains this new variably priced toll facility. The final segments of the ICC between I-95 and Virginia Manor Road and US 1 are anticipated to be complete in 2014.
Dateline for the ICC Opening:
• Tuesday, Nov. 22, by 6:00 a.m.: ICC opens to I-95 (weather permitting).
• Tuesday, Nov. 22 – Sunday, Dec. 4 at midnight: Test-drive period -- no tolls will be collected on the entire roadway from I-370 to I-95.
• Monday, Dec. 5, 12:01 a.m.: Toll collection begins on the entire roadway from I-370 to I-95.