Types

Categories

ICC/MD 200 Contract A

  • Share
  • PDF
icc-after
icc-before
Project Category:
Location: Montgomery County, MD
Client: Parsons/Jacobs
Architect/Engineer: Parsons/Jacobs
Contractor: Granite Construction

As landscape architects for Maryland’s Intercounty Connector (ICC)/MD 200 Contracts A and B, FTLA worked with an interdisciplinary team of biologists, environmentalists, and engineers to produce a landscape design for this new toll highway designed to increase community mobility and safety in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.

Notable features of this landmark
project include:

    • Intensive manpower requirements: 10,000 hours for original design alone and 3 full-time staff members on site for more than a year
    • 7+ miles of landscape design including 23 bridges
    • Stringent environmental measures including wildlife and wetland protection, reforestation and
      stormwater management

Wildlife Preservation

Wildlife preservation measures for the ICC far are among the most cutting-edge ever implemented. When the box turtle was discovered within the project’s limits, biologists used GPS technology to locate and track the turtles who were temporarily relocated, then returned at the project’s conclusion. FTLA designed landscape plantings to attract wildlife to the culverts and introduced earthen escape ramps, assisting deer that venture into the roadway corridor so they can find a way out. To aid in protecting juvenile salamanders, a wildlife fence was placed on the right of way fence bordering the nearby forests. The design also featured a special drainage system that uses sand to cool runoff water before it reaches streams to further protect native wildlife.

Into the Woods

Although engineers designed the highway with the minimum required cutting of adjacent forests, FTLA was tasked with replacing the existing tree canopy as quickly as possible. Under the direction of its in-house forester, FTLA ultimately reforested 74.2 acres on the project site using 270,000 plants larger than the typical size used on SHA projects to reach maturity faster.

Community Corner

Highway projects are typically not popular with surrounding communities, with residents citing concerns about noise and traffic debris. To respond to these concerns, FTLA principal Joan Floura and other staff members were heavily involved in community outreach. In addition to holding open meetings and attending community gatherings to present information and answer questions, FTLA staff went door-to-door to meet with individual homeowners and and work with them to develop acceptable solutions. Ultimately, a mix of sound walls and trees were used to create a feeling that the neighborhoods were still connected despite the addition of the new highway.

Tunnel Vision

In order to avoid endangered species in the area, it was necessary for engineers to run the new roadway directly through a local development, essentially dividing the neighborhood in half. To minimize disruption and ensure pedestrian safety, the design incorporated a tunnel that runs underneath the neighborhood. FTLA designed a green space on top of the tunnel featuring turf and ornamental plantings to create a central park that helps preserve a sense of community for residents.

Team Players

While FTLA stands behind every project it completes, scope of work for the ICC specifically called for a two-year warranty period, during which time FTLA was responsible for ongoing community outreach and maintenance including walking the entire project and replacing any dead material each planting season.

Video

Click here for a 90-second video that offers a closer look at this project’s unique features.