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ICC Speed Limit Could Be Safely Raised, Study Finds

By: Sharon Rae // December 21, 2012
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The Maryland Transportation Authority may raise the speed limit on the Intercounty Connector.
Doug Kerr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougtone/6480067291/
The Maryland Transportation Authority may raise the speed limit on the Intercounty Connector.

The speed limit on the Intercounty Connector in Montgomery and Prince George's counties could could safely be increased from 55 mph to 60 mph, according to an engineering study first reported in the Baltimore Sun.

An analysis of crash data still needs to be completed, however. That review of the $2.5 billion all-electronic toll road is expected to wrap up by the end of February. That's when the Maryland Transportation Authority will make a decision.

The highway, which opened in November 2011, has had no fatal crashes and 20 single-vehicle accidents. 

Raising the speed limit from 55 to 60 miles per hour would shave just 90 seconds off an end-to-end trip, says Harold Bartlett, executive director of the MTA. A number of modifications for the road might be needed before the agency could raise the speed, such as marking curves and modifying grading.

The 18.8-mile ICC, which runs between Gaithersburg and Laurel, is being built in segments. The last 1-mile section from Interstate 95 to U.S. 1 is set to open by early 2014.

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