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.