Highway Foes Urge Charles To Abandon Unbuilt Leg

Environmental Risk Is Too Great, Group Says

Opponents of completing the cross-county connector are urging Charles County officials to ditch the remaining six-mile stretch and focus on smart-growth measures, such as transit and road improvements in the Route 301 corridor.

Last week, the Smarter Growth Alliance for Charles County, a consortium of about 20 environmental organizations, presented a study called "Trouble Ahead." It says that development in Charles needs to proceed in a way that will protect natural resources while fostering prosperity.

"The question isn't where Charles County should grow, but how and when Charles County should grow," said Kim Coble, the Maryland executive director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a member of the consortium.

The estimated 16-mile highway that is planned to connect Route 5 to Route 210 is almost two-thirds complete, but the western stretch remains to be built. That six-mile section would cross over Mattawoman Creek, destroying one of the Chesapeake Bay's cleanest tributaries and active eco-systems, opponents said.

Money earmarked for the last section of the road should be used for transit and road improvement projects in the heavily traveled Route 301 corridor and other areas designated for growth, Coble said. The consortium estimates the cost of completing the highway will be $60 million; county officials say $47 million.

The alliance members say they want Charles officials to take a closer look at what will happen to the area after the highway is finished. They said the wider road will mean more development, traffic and untreated stormwater runoff.

"Improve traffic patterns by bringing the destinations to the people. Reduce the need for travel," said Erik Fisher, a planner with the foundation. "The bigger picture of alternatives has not been examined."

The group also encouraged the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of the Environment to push Charles officials to answer questions before permitting construction. The county has been working with the corps and the Department of the Environment for five years to get the necessary permits.

A decision on the state permits was expected last month, but the Department of the Environment delayed it until December, when a decision also is due from the Corps of Engineers.

"The impacts to the Mattawoman would be unavoidable with the highway. Science tells us this," said Bonnie Bick of Sierra Club of Maryland.

Charles officials, citing concerns about traffic in Waldorf, say they are committed to finishing the roadway. To address environmental concerns, they have altered the engineering plans to halve the amount of wetland the road would cut through to about seven acres, among other steps.

County officials also revised the original plan to include a Mattawoman Creek bridge that would be high enough to allow more light into the water, said county Commissioner Gary V. Hodge (D-St. Charles). "My commitment to protecting the environment and natural resources of Charles County is unwavering and undiminished," Hodge said last week. "If we are allowed to move forward to build the cross-county connector, it will be designed and engineered to protect the Mattawoman Creek."

Hodge, one of the most outspoken proponents of extending Metrorail to Waldorf, said the highway is needed for economic and safety reasons. He said construction can start as soon as the county receives the necessary state and federal permits. Extending the rail system could take 10 years, he said. The four-lane highway has been in county plans for 20 years, he said.

Although thousands of homes are to be built near the highway, the road itself is not going to bring them, said Jason Groth, the county's chief of resource and infrastructure management. He said that up to two-thirds of the homes expected in the Bensville area are already being built or are in the early stages of development.

Terry Cummings, advocacy manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said the local environment is threatened with or without the highway because of the county's plans for intense development.

"There are things that [the county] should and can be doing," said Cummings, such as better stormwater controls and zoning.