Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008
Work on the Burtonsville-area stretch of the Intercounty Connector started several weeks ago as construction crews cleared land for the 8.2-mile section extending from Old Columbia Pike to east of I-95 and closed one area road this week.
A section of Dogwood Drive at Briggs Chaney Road permanently closed Monday for a bridge that will extend over Briggs Chaney Road. Ray Feldmann, the ICC community outreach coordinator, said the road will be turned into a cul-de-sac.
Of the three houses on Dogwood Drive, two have already been acquired, he said. But traffic from the apartments behind Dogwood Drive will be detoured to Gateshead Manor Way and access Briggs Chaney from Aston Manor Drive.
The Burtonsville section of the ICC is the third segment of a larger project connecting I-270/I-370 in Gaithersburg to U.S. Route 1 in Laurel.
Passers-by on U.S. Route 29 near Fairland Road will see two clearings on either side of the highway teeming with tractors, felled trees and piles of dirt. It's the beginning process of "grubbing," which means digging up tree stumps and roots to clear the land, Feldmann said.
The second construction site is across the street on the northbound side of Route 29 between Fairland and Briggs Chaney roads.
The kitchen windows at Blaney Marlow's home on Old Columbia Pike open out to a perfect view of the rolling tractors and cleared land. She said the construction has been "orderly" and she hasn't heard too much noise so far. But, she added, she's never been a supporter of the ICC and is worried the value of her land will decrease with the highway.
"I've never felt like this was the answer," she said of the ICC.
Marlow, who has lived there for 58 years, said members of the ICC approached her to sell her house but she refused. Instead, she'll lose 1/8 of an acre on her front property for the incoming highway.
Of the $513 million spent on the Burtonsville stretch of the ICC, much of it goes to keeping the site environmentally sound, said Mike Baker, ICC's environmental construction manager.
Pipes have been installed along Route 29 to channel clean water by the construction site, there are water quality monitors in nearby Fairland stream and even a special team of dogs are used to take box turtles and other wildlife out of the construction area, Baker said.
Although the Burtonsville stretch is the third segment of the ICC, it is the second of the five to start construction. That's because it has several complicated interchanges—at Route 29, I-95 and Briggs Chaney Road—that require a head start to finish the project all at once, Feldmann said.
The entire ICC is slated to open in late 2011, with the first section, I-370 to MD 97/Norbeck Road, opening a year earlier. Construction on that area is almost finished, said Fran Counihan, ICC's media relations manager.
Construction could have started on the Burtonsville stretch of the ICC in April but it took until July to get all the permits approved, Feldmann said.
Although work in other areas of Burtonsville won't start until the fall, some residents are already affected.
John-Paul Rippetoe, who lives at the Albany Grove townhouses on Dogwood Drive, said he doesn't mind being re-routed. In fact, he said the closure is a benefit because it will slow down traffic on Dogwood Drive.
"People come zooming down the road," he said.
No other roads will be closed until October, when parts of Old Columbia Pike will close, Feldmann said.
