Upcounty scores big on study of crowded roads

Growth in Clarksburg, Gaithersburg and Germantown increase pressure all around

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

by Margie Hyslop

Staff Writer

Commuters’ pain is spreading and has become acute at two upcounty intersections, according to a report from the Montgomery County Department of Park and Planning.

The county’s most congested intersections continue to be clustered along major thoroughfares and their feeder roads — the Capital Beltway, Interstate 270 and Route 355.

But development in the less densely populated northwestern county has propelled the junctions of Great Seneca Highway and Muddy Branch Road in Gaithersburg (No. 64 in 2004) and Frederick Road at Ridge Road (routes 355 and 27) in Germantown (No. 81) to No. 3 and No. 6 today.

Both are in areas where the county’s population is growing most rapidly.

Last year’s worst intersection — Key West Avenue at Darnestown Road in North Potomac — is no longer among the 10 most congested because of lane improvements that have relieved pressure.

Three of the 10 worst intersections — Rockville Pike at West Cedar Lane, Columbia Pike at Southwood Avenue and Connecticut Avenue at Jones Bridge Road — have been among the county’s worst since 2004 and should be targeted for improvements by planners, state and county government and developers, the report says.

Peak traffic exceeded standards at 15 percent of the 457 intersections monitored, a phenomenon that the report attributes largely ‘‘to pronounced levels of development in the vicinity of these routes and corridors.”

Increased traffic along Route 355 from Route 109 at Frederick County line to Montgomery Village Avenue is the result of development in Clarksburg, but recent road improvements have reduced congestion during the morning rush hours, the report says.

10 most congested intersections
1. Georgia Avenue (Route 97) at Forest Glen Road (in Forest Glen, just north of the Capital Beltway)
2. Rockville Pike (Route 355) at West Cedar Lane (in Bethesda)
3. Great Seneca Highway at Muddy Branch Road (in Gaithersburg city)
4. Rockville Pike (Route 355) at South Drive⁄Wood Road⁄National Naval Medical Center (in Bethesda)
5. Columbia Pike (Route 29) at Southwood Avenue (in Four Corners)
6. Frederick Road (Route 355) at Ridge Road (Route 27) (in Germantown)
7. Connecticut Avenue at Jones Bridge Road (in Chevy Chase)
8. Connecticut Avenue at University Boulevard (in Kensington)
9. Frederick Road (Route 355) at King Farm Road (in Rockville)
10. Rockville Pike (Route 355) at Pooks Hill Road (in Bethesda)
For a full report, go to www. mc-mncppc.org⁄transportation⁄ hmr⁄index.shtm.

‘‘Significant delays” continue along Norbeck Road (Route 28) from Route 355 to New Hampshire Avenue (Route 650).

The Clarksburg and Norbeck corridors, as well as Montrose Road and along Georgia Avenue from Silver Spring to Wheaton, also need relief soon.

Heavier traffic along Georgia Avenue from Glenmont to Olney Town Center needs to be watched closely, the report says.

But computer models indicate that if the Intercounty Connector linking Gaithersburg and Laurel and other projects scheduled through 2010 are built, average traffic on the county’s roads would not exceed capacity — despite a projected 17.1 percent increase in vehicle miles traveled since 1998, the report says.