The County Council voted 10-1 Tuesday to eliminate a planned extension of Midcounty Highway (M-83).
The County Planning Board recommended a planned northern section of the highway be removed from a transportation master plan.
Earlier this month, residents spoke out on both sides of the issue. The majority of residents who spoke during the Council public hearing called for eliminating the M-83 extension. Environmental concerns were raised.
The plan approved by the Council Tuesday removes the planned northern section of Midcounty Highway. It would have extended more than five miles from Montgomery Village Avenue to Ridge Road in Clarksburg. The southern section remains in the plan.
There will also be a study to assess transit needs in the Clarksburg to Germantown corridor.
A ‘Phantom Project’
Councilmember Evan Glass (at-large) said, “M-83 has been on the books for more than 60 years, it has been studied and analyzed extensively for 35 years and that is why the planning department no longer considers it in the planning process. It is a phantom project that simply remains on the books in this proposal.”
“We have to acknowledge the reality that it’s not being considered, it’s not being funded, and it should not be on the record,” Glass said.
County Council Vice President Will Jawando (at-large) said he agrees with the dissenting councilmember but still supports the elimination because, “I don’t believe M-83 will provide the relief that is needed and is justified for your residents, and for the residents of upcounty.”
Councilmember Sidney Katz (District 3) shared his concerns. “I realize it’s not realistic, and I realize it’s not going to be built, I realize it has a variety of problems — but we never do alternatives,” Katz said.
One Councilmember Dissents
Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe (District 2) was the sole councilmember to vote against the updated plan. She also dissented during Council Committee session last week, when members voted 2-1 to concur with the Planning Board’s position on M-83.
“Even with the changes proposed and the study, I cannot support this master plan of highways and transit knowing that it does not provide the necessary highways or transit for my district,” Balcombe said. “There are only two major roads in all the master plans throughout the county that have never been built — both of them are Clarksburg roads: M-83 and Observation Drive.”
“This entire discussion is the epitome of the roads versus transit divide in the county, and — it’s not all in my head — but the upcounty/downcounty divide,” she said.
“The county has done nothing to make sure that the upcounty, that the Germantown and Clarksburg developments reach its full potential,” Balcombe said.
