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The exorbitant tolls proposed by the Maryland Transportation Authority for the Intercounty Connector could negate the purpose of the highway by preventing drivers who can't afford the fees from using the road.

Last week, the authority released suggested toll rates that, if enacted, would mean commuters paying as much as $13 for a round trip if they drove the length of the 18.8-mile ICC during peak hours. Supporters of the tolls point out that most people will only drive between six and seven miles, meaning a much lower fee, but if the intent of the ICC is to link Laurel and Gaithersburg, tolls are likely to remain high for many commuters.

Ron Kirby, director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government's Department of Transportation Planning, said in general, most governments in the United States are past the point of building roads that are fully-funded by public means. That means one of the only options is to institute tolls. That's fair enough, especially since the ICC is widely accepted as a critical development that will help ease traffic on residential roads that have been clogged by commuters, like Muncaster Mill and Randolph.

However, the proposed fees could be far too expensive to push large numbers off of residential roads; with these high costs, the very purpose of the $2.5 billion ICC is jeopardized. A commuter would need an additional $3,000 to drive the length of the ICC each work day for a year. For a person earning $50,000 a year, that's about 6 percent of his or her income, and not too many companies seem to be handing out 6 percent pay increases lately. Even though the cost would be offset by savings in gas and vehicle wear-and-tear, commuters will still have to shell out extra money to get to work if they opt for the ICC rather than local thoroughfares.

The proposals are even more troublesome since transportation officials have said they would actually increase toll rates if the road becomes too congested. With such a policy, toll rates will continue to climb as population grows, keeping more people off the ICC while local roads take on additional burdens. As toll roads become the norm in the region (think along the model of private roads, like the Dulles Greenway), and the population continues to swell, it's likely that users of free roads will be the ones still stuck in traffic.

Public comments on the proposals are due by 5 p.m. Nov. 23. Comments can be submitted via www.iccproject.com or mailed to ICC Project Office, Attn: ICC Tolls, 11710 Beltsville Drive, Suite 200, Beltsville, MD 20705.