The objective of the Roads Program is to alleviate congestion within key transportation corridors of the County and improve roadway capacity, safety, circulation, and accessibility throughout the County. Additional capacity and congestion relief is provided through new construction, realignments, upgrades, or by providing missing transportation links; implementation of the infrastructure needed to support master planned growth; and the improvement of traffic flow and circulation. Roadway improvements also allow commercial and residential development plans to proceed, allowing construction of housing and economic development to meet the growing population and jobs needed in the County. An adequate transportation network...
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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
The objective of the Roads Program is to alleviate congestion within key transportation corridors of the County and improve roadway capacity, safety, circulation, and accessibility throughout the County. Additional capacity and congestion relief is provided through new construction, realignments, upgrades, or by providing missing transportation links; implementation of the infrastructure needed to support master planned growth; and the improvement of traffic flow and circulation. Roadway improvements also allow commercial and residential development plans to proceed, allowing construction of housing and economic development to meet the growing population and jobs needed in the County. An adequate transportation network allows business growth to provide employment opportunities and accommodates public and quasi-public facilities which respond to the demands of citizens for services and safe access to schools. In addition to providing traffic capacity, the roads program provides funding for: pedestrian facilities and bikeways alongside new roadways; advance reforestation, highway noise abatement structures, stormwater management structures, and other mitigation measures to protect the environment; landscaping to improve appearance to highway users and surrounding properties; and on-site reforestation to improve appearance, contribute to a cleaner environment, and buffer affected communities. The program also provides funding for planning and preliminary engineering design of future new and reconstruction roadway projects. The Roads Program also includes funding for planning and preliminary engineering design of future mass transit facilities projects. Additional mass transit facilities are necessary to encourage mass transit use as a means of relieving congestion on the County's roadways.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Provide for emergency stabilization of Davis Mill Road between its intersections with Wildcat Road.
- Continue funding for design and land acquisition for Observation Drive Extended, a north-south road extension of existing Observation Drive, connecting north Germantown to Clarksburg.
- Continue funding of $175 million for the planning and design, land acquisition, and construction of roadway improvements in the White Flint District East: Transportation, White Flint District West: Transportation, and the White Flint West Workaround projects to support redevelopment of White Flint.
- Complete the construction of Snouffer School Road and Snouffer School Road North (Webb Tract) to improve traffic congestion and safety in support of the proposed Multi-Agency Service Park (MASP) as part of the County's Smart Growth Initiative.
- Complete construction of East Gude Drive Roadway Improvements and Seminary Road Intersection Improvements.
- Continue partnerships with developers to support development in the Clarksburg area through the Subdivision Roads Participation project.
- Construct a new roadway between Spencerville Road (MD 198) and the School Access Road in Burtonsville.
PROGRAM CONTACTS
Contact Sogand Seirafi of the Department of Transportation at 240.777.7260 or Brady Goldsmith of the Office of Management and Budget at 240.777.2793 for more information regarding this department's capital budget.
CAPITAL PROGRAM REVIEW
The FY21-26 Roads Capital Improvement Program includes eleven ongoing projects totaling $114.3 million over the next six years. This represents an $17.3 million, or 13.1 percent decrease, from the FY19-24 Amended CIP of $131.6 million.
TRANSPORTATION IMPACT TAXES
The County Council established new rates and geographical boundaries for transportation impact taxes in November 2016 and enacted a White Flint impact tax district in 2010. These taxes are levied at rate schedules based on the classification of an area relative to transit service and accessibility. The "Red" policy areas replaced the prior Metro Station Policy Areas (MSPAs). "Orange" policy areas are corridor cities (but not MSPAs), town centers, and emerging transit-oriented development areas where transitways such as the Purple Line and Bus Rapid Transit lines are planned. "Yellow" policy areas are lower density residential neighborhoods with community-serving commercial areas; and "Green" policy areas are the Agricultural Reserve and other rural areas. In related action, the County Council adjusted impact tax rates to replace lost revenue from eliminated transportation mitigation payments. Transportation Impact Taxes are also assessed for projects within the boundaries of Rockville and Gaithersburg. These impact taxes can only be used for projects listed in a Council-approved Memorandum of Understanding with the individual municipalities.
STATE ROAD PROGRAM
In addition to the County Roads, Bridges, Traffic Improvements, and Pedestrian/Bicycle programs included in the County CIP, the State's Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) represents a significant investment in improving and maintaining the roadway network in Montgomery County. The State's Draft Consolidated Transportation Program is released each October. Final action on the Statewide CTP is taken by the General Assembly. State roads in Montgomery County are identified by numbers (e.g., MD 650 is New Hampshire Avenue).
State projects identified in Montgomery County in the Draft FY 2020-2025 CTP include: 7 construction projects and 4 development and evaluation projects impacting interstate highways and primary and secondary roads.
Construction Projects:
| Road | Nature of Work |
| *I-270 | Construct a new interchange at Watkins Mill Road Extended. |
| I-270 | Innovative Congestion Management (ICM) tools to reduce congestion along I-270. |
| *MD 97 | Georgia Avenue: Construct a two-lane highway from south of Brookeville to north of Brookeville. |
| MD 185 | Connecticut Avenue: Intersection treatments at MD 185 and Jones Bridge Road (Phase 3). |
| MD 355 | Frederick Road: Replace bridge 15053 over Little Bennett Creek. |
| MD 355 | Frederick Road: Realign, widen, and signalize intersection of MD 355 and West Old Baltimore Road |
| MD 355 | Rockville Pike: Construct intersection treatments along MD 355 between Woodmont Avenue / Glenbrook Parkway and South Wood Road / South Drive. |
Development and Evaluation Projects:
| Road | Nature of Work |
| I-495/I-95, I-270 | Corridor Transportation Study: Study to determine the feasibility of providing managed lanes along I-495/95 from the American Legion Bridge to MD 5 in Prince George's County, and along the full length of I-270 from I-495 to I-70. |
| MD 28 / 198 | Norbeck/Spencerville Road: Study to construct capacity improvements in the MD 28 and MD 198 corridors in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. |
| *MD 97 | Georgia Avenue: Montgomery Hills study to evaluate safety and accessibility issues on MD 97 from Forest Glen Road to 16th Street. |
| *MD 124 | Woodfield Road: Right-of-way for the planned reconstruction of MD 124 from Midcounty Highway to south of Airpark Road (Phase 2) and north of Fieldcrest Road to Warfield Road (Phase 3). |
*: Projects which the County has contributed funding to.
The Draft FY 2020-2025 CTP includes $178.4 million for the Construction Program and $6.7 million for the Development and Evaluation Program (not including the Managed Lanes project estimated at $7.6 billion), which is structured similarly to Montgomery County's Facility Planning process. In addition, the CTP includes over $80 million for 25 system preservation projects including road resurfacing and reconstruction, bridge replacement and rehabilitation, safety/spot improvements, traffic management, environmental preservation, intersection capacity improvements, bicycle retrofits, and TMDL Compliance, and enhancements to pedestrian/bicycle facilities.
SUBDIVISION STAGING POLICY CONSIDERATIONS
In an effort to coordinate development activity with the implementation of the Transportation Program, County law establishes the Subdivision Staging Policy (formerly Growth Policy) and the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO). The most recent 2016-2020 Subdivision Staging Policy was adopted by the County Council on November 15, 2016.
The Subdivision Staging Policy (SSP) correlates public facilities such as transportation infrastructure and schools with private development so that development cannot outpace the construction of the infrastructure needed to support it. The APFO tests for the adequacy of road facilities using a tool called the Local Area Transportation Review (LATR) process.
LATR sets standards for traffic congestion at intersections throughout the County and tests individual subdivisions to determine if the new development will cause congestion at any of these intersections to exceed the standard. The LATR uses the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) analysis to identify a development's impacts to nearby intersections. To be counted for transportation capacity under LATR, a road must be programmed for completion within six years in a State, County, or municipal capital program. LATR also includes required performance standards for transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities.
In some policy areas (particularly Red areas), it is anticipated that per-trip Local Area Transportation Improvement Program (LATIP)/Unified Mobility Program (UMP) fees will be calculated and assessed on new development to finance identified infrastructure needs. These needs are drawn from both master planned projects as well as intersection treatments identified as part of the LATIP/UMP analysis, which evaluates traffic impacts at full build-out of the associated master plan.
The six year Roads, Bridges, and Traffic Improvements Program, combined with the State CTP and roads built by developers as conditions for approval, is expected to improve the County's road and related development capacity, while increasing safety by widening roads and intersections and engineering them to modern standards.
REQUIRED ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES DESIGNATION
Each Project Description Form (PDF) in the Transportation Program contains an area at the top titled, "Required Adequate Public Facilities." If this area contains a "YES," the project has been counted toward the Montgomery County Planning Board's approval of specific developments. The area indicates only previous approvals and does not indicate any future approvals that may take place.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT COORDINATION
The County is required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit and develop a stormwater management program to prevent harmful pollutants from being washed or dumped into the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4). The DOT is assisting the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in implementing the MS4 permit by (1) constructing Storm Water Management (SWM) retrofit programs which have been developed through DEP's MS4 planning studies; (2) providing opportunities for curb bump-outs and road narrowing where feasible to permit implementation of Low-Impact Development (LID) SWM provisions within the right-of-way; (3) seeking DEP guidance on prioritization of storm drain outfall repairs; (4) coordinating with DEP on constructing storm drain projects developed in the Storm Drain General and Facility Planning Storm Drain programs to identify opportunities for enhancements which would assist in meeting the requirements of the MS4 permit; and (5) establishing quarterly meetings with DEP and DOT staff to look for additional areas of cooperation in meeting the MS4 permit requirements.
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