Environmental damage from the proposed intercounty connector could be reduced by narrowing its median, avoiding forested areas, and laying some sections below ground level, according to a study released yesterday by Maryland officials.
Opponents of the 18-mile highway, which would connect Interstate 95 in Prince George's County with Interstate 270 in Montgomery County, have contended that it would carve up farmland and forests and foment suburban sprawl.
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But an environmental impact statement, which examined two routes for the highway, has found that many of these problems could be mitigated, according to a summary of the study released yesterday by the state Department of Transportation.
"At the end of the day, everyone is going to reach a consensus that this is a very environmentally sound project," state Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said.
But environmental advocates suggested that the state approached the study with a pre-ordained conclusion.
"They have, from the beginning, done this study with the intention to create the road," said Stewart Schwartz, head of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
The document made public yesterday was a summary of a draft environmental impact statement -- the entire 1,400-plus-page statement was to be released today at noon.
State officials said they were pleased that the draft had been completed in just 18 months, crediting a new streamlining program that involved federal and state agencies earlier in the process. Flanagan said if the project remains on schedule, construction could begin in 2006.
That would allow Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) to fulfill a key campaign promise in time for his reelection bid.
The study examined two potential routes for the highway and the option of not building a connector.
The highway has been lauded as a way to shorten commutes and bring more traffic to Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
The study echoed those conclusions: It found the trip from Shady Grove to BWI could be reduced from 107 minutes to 72 and estimated that 156,000 jobs would be more accessible to commuters.
To minimize damage to forests, the study suggested that the highway's median could be reduced and its shoulders shrunk. Where possible, the study said, the road could be designed to avoid wooded areas.
Responding to concerns that the highway would pollute streams, the study also found that much of the polluted runoff could be captured and treated.
