I-70 interchange requires more homes

But Eaglehead is too far away from the interchange for the state to provide money to build the interchange, according to Jim Gugel, a Frederick County planner. A cost estimate for the interchange is not available.

The state would like to see more homes, or at least the possibility of more homes, to be built closer to the proposed interchange, Gugel said.

‘‘It’s probably the most critical road interchange project for the region plan as a whole, and specifically for the development of [Eaglehead],” Gugel said. Commissioners ‘‘would want [the interchange] to be under way before any development occurred.”

Kameel Holmes, the state planner in charge of the interchange project for the State Highway Administration, did not return a call seeking comment.

According to the Maryland Department of Planning’s Web site, the state provides funding for projects such as the interchange in ‘‘existing communities and places where local governments want state investment to support future growth.”

Money is provided to projects generally located around traditional population centers, the site said. The idea is to promote smart growth legislation the state passed in 1997.

To allow more development to meet those criteria, Frederick County would have to intend to extend sewer service to land near the interchange sometime in the next 10 years. A sewer connection is necessary for the number of homes the state would consider to be enough to fund the interchange.

Commissioner Jan H. Gardner (D), president of the Board of County Commissioners, said the county intends to extend sewer service to the area sometime in the next seven to 20 years.

‘‘We just have a different time frame in our [plans],” she said. ‘‘We need to adjust our time frame.”

She said the board would be open to discussing change its time frame.

In order for the issue to be resolved, the state would want any property surrounding a future interchange to be zoned for a minimum of 3.5 homes per acre. The land around the most likely alignment is zoned either for agriculture, or R-1 zoning, which only allows one home per acre, Gugel said.

According to information from the State Highway Administration, planning for the project is funded through fiscal 2010, with the state contributing $500,000 to planning alone.

Project planning is under way, with the county and state splitting the cost 50⁄50, Gugel said.

The planning phase will also look at alternatives to constructing the interchange as well as possible alignment, he said. If the project moves into the design and engineering phase, the county would have other opportunity to fund construction, Gugel said.