The ICC (MD 200) is free from tolls from Nov. 22nd - Dec. 4th. (Baltimore: how much, home)

[carthell]

I received the e-mail from the Md. Transportation Authority today. I didn't realize that the a significant portion of the road was finished because (uggh) I spent most of my summer bailing out my basement.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I'll try it out.

On many of my "just because" drives between Laurel and Rockville in the 2000s, I found that the roads between the towns had two major characteristics: congested and/or slow. There were a few trips I took from Baltimore to IAD and the adjacent Smithsonian museum where the road could have proven to be useful.

[smitity]

I used it this morning. I'm curious to hear what other people think about this and if it helps your commute. I'm debating if there's enough benefit to justify the toll/ezpass cost.

I drive from Columbia to Bethesda, normally I take 29 to the beltway, and I loathe driving on 29 in the morning. In cruddy weather like today, it can take 1.5-2 hours to get to Bethesda. Using the ICC today it took me just over an hour, so in theory it saved me some time but it's kinda hard to judge how much faster my commute would be in good weather. I took the ICC from 29 to Georgia ave, then took Conneticut Ave to Jones Bridge (I think this is the route of a MTA's proposed Columbia-Bethesda commuter bus), so there may be a faster way I haven't tried yet.

The ICC itself was open and moved fast, no traffic issues, of course this was the first day it was open, and I was only on it for a short period. If you're heading into DC/Bethesda/etc from the north, you still have to spend a fair amount of time on congested local roads (i.e Georgia Ave, Conneticut) but they seemed to move faster than 29 does in bad weather, but that may just be my perception. Also this took out the delay of waiting to merge onto the beltway and the usual backup on 495 between 29 and Georgia Ave.

I usually take the beltway and I-95 to get home, but I'll try the ICC again this evening to see if it saves me any time.

[dkf747]

I used it today to drop someone off at work. Then I got back on it and went all the way to 95. I timed my trip from my old home in Beltsville to my current home in Gaithersburg. This includes local roads. It took 29 minutes, right on the dot, to make the trip. That's pretty close to using 495 to 270 when traffic is light. The toll is onl worth it if 495 is choked with traffic.

[Henry Bowman]

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

You can thank those of us in the rest of the state who will never use the ICC who are supporting that road through the increased tolls at the tunnels and bridges.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by Henry Bowman

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

You can thank those of us in the rest of the state who will never use the ICC who are supporting that road through the increased tolls at the tunnels and bridges.

Thank you.

[BigCityDreamer]

Originally Posted by smitity

I used it this morning. I'm curious to hear what other people think about this and if it helps your commute. I'm debating if there's enough benefit to justify the toll/ezpass cost.

I just used the ICC going to New Jersey. I live close to the Layhill Road exit. It was very quick getting to and from I-95. It felt like having the beltway near me, but without the traffic.

[carthell]

I drove westbound only from I-95 to the MD 355 exit (missed a turn on the way back). It took me 11 minutes to travel through the tolled section. If i'm reading the gate labels right, the system suggests that I went through five tollgates from end to end.

[Henry Bowman]

Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer

I just used the ICC going to New Jersey. I live close to the Layhill Road exit. It was very quick getting to and from I-95. It felt like having the beltway near me, but without the traffic.

I guess we better get more people driving across the Bay Bridge to help fund that road.

[HurricaneDC]

I might be driving it tomorrow, I'll report back if I do. I'd be taking it from Georgia Avenue all the way to I-95.

[smitity]

Since it opened last week, its taken me between 45 minutes and 1:15 (bad weather) to get from Columbia to Bethesda on the ICC, mostly varying with the traffic on conneticut ave after I get off the ICC. Taking 29 and 495, it takes me 1:00-1:15 in good conditions, and up to 2 hours in bad conditions. I usually hit the road by 7:30am at the latest. So the road appears to be shaving 15-30 minutes on a good day, and a bit more on a crappy weather day.

Going the other way in the evening, the it still seems faster to take 495 the and 95, due to slow traffic on conneticut and georgia ave prior to getting on the ICC.

Still haven't decided if its saving me enough time to justify the toll, if it stays relatively consistant this week, I may go for it.