Posted on 01/07/2013 5:06:36 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
WASHINGTON - The Intercounty Connector, a highway that stretches between Gaithersburg and Laurel in Maryland, could see an increase in its speed limit this year.
An engineering study found the speed limit of the highway could be raised from its current limit of 55 mph to 60 mph.
The ICC, which opened in 2011, gives commuters a quick way to get from Interstate 270 to Interstate 95.
"We wanted to have one year of actual operating experience before we looked at speed limits at all," Maryland Transportation Authority Executive Secretary Harold M. Bartlett tells WTOP.
Bartlett says he thinks there is a very good chance the speed limit will be raised to 60 mph, but that the MdTA needs to examine some additional factors.
"That study concluded there is a potential to raise the limit, but it also concluded we must do a detailed crash analysis," says Bartlett.
"I just want to make sure we have everything ready before we go ahead and implement that, because the most important thing we do is safety."
The Intercounty Connector has yet to see a fatal crash. Raising the speed limit from 55 mph to 60 mph would shave 90 seconds on an end-to-end trip.
The full report of the accident review is expected to be completed by the end of February. If the MdTA decides to increase the speed, it will take two to four months to go into effect.
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
What is the actual average speed? Bet it's 70+.
The higher speed limit will affect something like 2 people per day, based on my understanding of how much the road is used.
Fromwhat I hear the road is never used. a good safe speed limit would be 85 the same as the speed they drive on the Beltway.
Barely anyone uses the damn road because it’s almost $3.00 in tolls to drive from one end to the other.
What’ll be fun is to see how stupid Maryland is. Knowing socialists, I’d expect them to raise the tolls in order to get more people to use it.
That’s coming. They are planning on raising the tolls on the bridges over the Susquehanna River and also I believe the Ft. Mac and Harbor Tunnels.
Raising the speed limit would impact revenues from traffic enforcement, so it will be kept at 55.
70+ is about right on most roads if they aren’t jammed up. I’ve only used it one time because I don’t drive that way very often, but I thought the ICC was a decent road.
People regularly travel 70 to 80 mph on that piece of highway in spite of the heavy LEO presence.
Two years to determine if they can raise the speed limit 5mph. Maryland is such the nanny state.
Is the speed limit higher anywhere than 55 in MD?
I’ve used the ICC on occasion, and set the cruise control to 55 (my trips are always end to end). The thing is crawling with cops.
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