The first segment of the InterCounty Connector is slated to open up later this month, weather permitting, Maryland officials said Monday. Starting at 6 a.m. Feb. 22, the Tuesday after the Presidents’ Day weekend, commuters can cruise on the fresh new pavement between Interstate 370 in Shady Grove and Georgia Avenue in Olney. Drivers won’t have to start paying its tolls immediately. The state is giving a free two-week taste of what the road has to offer. And commuters still have six weeks to order E-ZPasses to avoid processing fees on the cashless toll road.
| ICC timeline |
| Feb. 22: Start your engines. Toll road opens from I-370 in Shady Grove to Georgia Avenue in Olney. Drivers don’t have to pay tolls. |
| March 7: Prepare to pay. Tolls are collected, but drivers without E-ZPass don’t have to pay the $3 processing fee for each trip. |
| April 6: All systems go. The $3 processing fee per trip begins for all drivers without the E-ZPass automatic payment system. |
| Late 2011-early 2012: |
| The final stretch. The second segment extending to Interstate 95 in Laurel is slated to open. |
Drivers will see work being done even after the opening date, Maryland Transportation Authority Acting Executive Secretary Harold Bartlett told The Washington Examiner. The paving will be complete, he said, but crews may need to finish up some electrical work on the tolling structure, lane striping and landscaping.
The highway has been a long time coming. The ICC had been planned for years, then was supposed to open its first segment last fall until last year’s heavy snowfall delayed the work. By the start of 2012, the $2.6 billion highway project should extend from Montgomery County to Prince George’s County, reaching Interstate 95 in Laurel.
Officials have estimated that the first segment alone will let drivers reduce their commutes by 70 percent in comparison to using existing roads.
But drivers will have to pay for the privilege.
For the first segment, tolls will cost $1.45 during the busiest rushes, $1.15 during the lulls and 60 cents overnight. If drivers don’t have an E-ZPass for the tolls to be charged automatically, they will have to pay an additional $3 per trip processing fee. That could add up to $8.90 for a round trip.
Drivers won’t have to start paying the tolls until March 7. And the fees for those without E-ZPasses don’t begin until April 6.
The idea behind the tolls is to pay for the road and manage traffic. Vehicles won’t need to slow down at tollbooths but instead will be charged electronically through overhead monitors, letting cars stay at highway-level speeds. The tolls vary by time of day to encourage drivers to spread out their trips to less crowded times, thus diluting the stream of cars and reducing the chance of congestion. The tolls could change in the future if traffic clogs develop regularly.
