Muirkirk Rd to Become De Facto ICC Extension

On July 11, 2005, after decades of debate, Maryland Governor, John Ehrlich, Jr., announced the state's chosen route for the Inter-County Connector (ICC) between I-270 in Montgomery County and Prince George's County I-95 and eventually further east to Route 1.
On the map, notice how the eastern end of the Governor's chosen ICC Route terminates at Route 1 just north of Muirkirk Road -- making Muirkirk Rd a de facto extension of the east end of the high-speed, multi-lane ICC.

In fact, the proposed route will have an interchange connecting the ICC to Virginia Manor Rd, and thereby to Muirkirk Rd, just west of Route 1. That will attract east-bound traffic wanting to avoid the traffic lights on Route 1 as they go farther east on Muirkirk to get to the BW Parkway, and vice versa for westbound traffic leaving the BW Parkway at Rt. 197.

I hope those in our community who are already engaging the ICC planning process will add their comments to this blog (among other means), to share with us all a better understanding of what we each can do now to minimize the negative consequences and maximize the potential positive aspects of the ICC for our neighborhoods along Muirkirk Road, including Montpelier Elementary School.