New Data Offer Conclusive Proof: ICC Has Reduced Area Traffic

From Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance:

Rockville, Maryland – AAA MidAtlantic is distributing today important new data from the Maryland
Department of Transportation that offers clear insight into how our regional transportation network is
performing, where traffic is getting better and where it is getting worse, based on actual traffic counts from
2009 through 2015.

Among other findings, the latest data from the State Highway Administration’s Data Services and
Engineering Division offers a substantive look at traffic volumes before and after the InterCounty Connector
(ICC), an 18-mile toll highway linking I-270 in Montgomery and I-95 in Prince George’s Counties that opened
in November of 2011 (a final section between I-95 and US 1 opened in 2014).

“The results put a conclusive end to any further debate over the ICC’s effectiveness in reducing traffic: It has,
and lots of people are using it.” said SMTA Vice Chair, Richard Parsons.

The Report proves, beyond any reasonable doubt, that regional traffic forecasts of significant traffic relief
from the ICC have, in fact, materialized in real life, just as predicted, with the increasingly popular road now
in its fifth year of operation.

The report is available here. The Capital Beltway traffic counts for Montgomery County are on pages 123- 124; the figures for Prince George’s County are on page 148. A set of summary tables is attached, which breaks out the major highway segments by:

1. Major regional highway segments that the ICC directly impacts (lower I-270, I-495, and lower I-95)

2. All other major regional highway segments in Maryland located outside of the ICC corridor

3. Key local east-west roads within the ICC study area that previous studies indicated would likely
benefit from the ICC (including major local arterials like Muncaster Mill Road, MD Routes 28 and
198, Norbeck Road, Shady Grove Road, and others)

The major highways served by the ICC outperformed all other regional highways over the past 5 years – by a
net differential of 7% -- and given the hundreds of thousands of daily trips on these major highways, this is a
very significant finding to which area leaders should pay close attention. Here is what the numbers show:

1. The major interstate segments directly impacted by the construction of the ICC (lower I-270, I-495 and I-
95) saw a net DECREASE OF 5% in Annual Average Daily Traffic volume from 2011 (pre-ICC opening) to
2015 (the latest traffic count data). This included:
a. A net reduction of 17,166 vehicles per day on the lower segments of I-270, from an average
216,008 daily trips to 198,841 (an 8% reduction since the ICC opened);
b. A net reduction of 7,679 vehicles per day on segments of the Capital Beltway between I-270 and
US Route 1, from an average of 202,755 trips to 195,079 (a 4% net reduction);
c. An average net decrease in traffic on the main interstates directly impacted by the ICC of 5%, or
9,506 fewer trips per day, since 2011.

2. All other major highway segments in the Maryland portion of the DC region, except those noted above,
saw an average net INCREASE OF 2% in daily traffic volumes during the same period, indicating that the
decrease in traffic in the areas surrounding the ICC is not being driven by broader region-wide trends.

3. Local east-west local roads surrounding the ICC alignment showed a 7% OVERALL REDUCTION in
Average Daily Traffic, including:
a. MD Routes 28/198 (Norbeck Road) – 8% decrease in daily traffic volume
b. MD Route 108 – 13% drop in traffic volume
c. Muncaster Mill Road – 13% drop in volume
d. Viers Mill Road – 3% decrease in traffic
e. Randolph Road – 2% decrease in traffic
f. Shady Grove Rd. (east of 270) – 8% decrease in traffic since the ICC opened.

Finally, the report includes updated usage numbers for the ICC itself: Daily usage of the ICC has increased
71% since the ICC opened, with an average of over 43,558 travelers using it now on a daily basis. This is up
from 25,416 per day in 2012, its first full year of operation.

SMTA recently released a major regional poll that indicates transportation is, by far, the top long-term
concern for residents of the Greater Washington Region; and in all three jurisdictions overwhelming
majorities favor significant new investments in both the area’s highway and mass transit networks.

• Area residents see transportation as the greatest long-term issue facing the region, by a 3-to-1 margin over the next highest answer (jobs/economy) to an open-ended question

• Residents identify “reducing traffic congestion and delays” as the most important transportation priority for the region by a margin of nearly 2-to-1 over anything else

• 84% of area residents favor investing in both roads and transit, not one or the other
• A total of 800 randomly-selected adult residents of the greater Washington region were interviewed by telephone December 1-5, 2015 by OpinionWorks LLC, a highly-respected independent research organization based in Annapolis that has done significant public opinion work in the DC region on environmental, transportation and other issues. The results of this survey have a potential sampling error of no greater than +/-3.5% at the 95% confidence level.

The Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance (SMTA) provides expert analysis, public education and
ongoing advocacy for a more efficient, safe and balanced transportation network in Suburban Maryland. It
was founded primarily to advocate for increased transportation funding and is now focused on making sure
those funds are invested in multi-modal improvements that make the most difference in our region.

Graphics courtesy of the Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance.