A proposed highway that would run from Gaithersburg to Clarksburg has many upper Montgomery County residents worried about unwanted traffic and worse — being displaced from their homes. More than 200 residents spoke out against the proposed Midcounty Corridor highway at a meeting at Goshen Elementary School in Gaithersburg.
Proposed in 2003 to relieve congestion on Interstate 270 and Route 355, the proposal was changed in 2006 after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that the plans disturbed too much of the county’s wetlands. The county devised 10 alternatives, which were narrowed to five.
One of the options, referred to as “Alternative 4,” would transform Brink, Wightman and Snouffer School roads into a four-lane divided highway and widen Goshen Road. But residents are worried that the plan would require the demolition of dozens of single-family homes.
Jane Hatch, president of the Northgate Homes Corp. said the plan would demolish more than 50 homes.
Some people have lived in those homes for 30 years, said Kevin Linck, president of the East Village Homes Corp. The highway would disturb a nursing home, Hatch said.
There are also two churches next to the plans for Alternative 4, Linck said, but nobody ever warned the congregants that their churches might be overrun by a highway.
Recognizing the need for the county to reduce congestion on major roadways, Linck suggested the county pick one of the other proposed routes. He pointed to “Alternative 5,” which would run along Route 355, or “Alternative 8,” which aligns more closely with the county’s master plan.
But Hatch said that could be problematic as well.
“If this is going to be placed in someone else’s neighborhood, I’m not going to say shove it on them.”
And even these plans have the potential to disturb more natural resources, upsetting area environmentalists, Linck said.
Project manager Greg Hwang said the county won’t know which route makes the most sense — or even how many houses would be displaced — until the county completes its study, expected by December 2012.
The county also will not know how much each route will cost the county until then, said Montgomery County Transportation Planning Manager Aruna Miller, a state delegate.
Miller emphasized that the county will take into consideration the natural, environmental, social and cultural impact before making a final decision.
