The InterCounty Connector is attracting just more than half the flow of vehicles that state officials project for the roadway after the first two months of charging tolls. Meanwhile, the state is paying $1.4 million to advertise in newspapers, on the radio and the Internet about the highway connecting Interstate 370 in Shady Grove to Georgia Avenue in Olney to increase the number. It is also sending out staffers to tout the road at local businesses three to five times a week.
Maryland Transportation Authority spokeswoman Cheryl Sparks said the state needs to advertise the road to let drivers know where it goes and how it works. She added that state officials had planned to advertise it all along, starting the ads in January before the road even opened.
“It’s the first all electronic tolling facility in the Northeast,” she said. “We have an obligation to provide them with the information they need.”
| InterCounty Connector average daily traffic counts |
| March 7-12*: 9,448 |
| March 14-20: 9,683 |
| March 21-27: 10,150 |
| March 28-April 3: 10,194 |
| April 4-10: 10,421 |
| April 11-17: 10,389 |
| April 18-24: 9,839 |
| April 25-May 1: 10,793 |
| May 2-8: 11,490 |
| * Average weekday count, which does not include vehicles on weekends. All other weeks’ data include weekends. |
| SOURCE: Maryland Transportation Authority |
Last week, the highway logged an average of 11,490 vehicles per day, according to Maryland Transportation Authority.
That’s a slight increase from the approximately 9,400 averaged in the first week when the state started to charge tolls that vary from $1.15 to $1.45 per one-way trip for most cars. But it’s still well below the estimated 21,000 vehicles per day officials said in February they expected.
It also far below the 30,000 vehicles per day that traveled the first segment during a free trial period before the state started charging tolls.
But Maryland officials said Monday they expect it to take as long as three years for the traffic flow to ramp up to the 21,000 figure.
Sparks also said more people are expected to use the road when the second leg connecting to Interstate 95 is finished. That segment is slated to open by early next year, and officials had initially said they expected 55,000 vehicles per day.
Some have already been convinced to stick with the road, despite the tolls.
Bruce Kahan said he has somewhat reluctantly become a regular user of the road, commuting on it from his home in Brookeville to North Potomac several times a week. Before it opened, he said he promised himself not to take the road because of the $1.45 tolls. But during the free trial period, he tried it during rush hour and saved about 15 to 20 minutes.
“With the price of gas and factoring in the tolls, I guess it is all a wash moneywise,” he said. “But with peace of mind and a quick commute, I don’t even think much about the expense. I need to get back and forth to work, ICC or no ICC.”
