Study will evaluate future travel needs and feasibility of planned transportation improvements following removal of an unbuilt section of Midcounty Highway Extended from future master planning
WHEATON, Md. — The Montgomery County Planning Board, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), approved the Scope of Work for the Clarksburg to Montgomery Village Transportation Study, launching a comprehensive effort to assess future travel needs and evaluate the feasibility of planned transportation improvements in the corridor.
The study responds to the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways (MPOHT) – 2025 Technical Update, which removed the long-planned northern extension of Midcounty Highway Extended (M-83) and called for a detailed review of transportation adequacy in the area. The study, funded through a special appropriation by the Montgomery County Council to the Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget of the Montgomery County Planning Department, also part of The M-NCPPC, will evaluate whether existing and master-planned infrastructure can support anticipated development in Clarksburg, Germantown, and Montgomery Village and develop a range of improvement options.
View the study’s Scope of Work and watch Montgomery Planning staff’s presentation to the Planning Board today.
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“This study gives us the opportunity to take a clear, data-driven look at how people travel between Clarksburg and Montgomery Village,” said planner and study lead Sofia Aldrich. “By examining existing and future travel needs and evaluating the feasibility and timing of planned improvements, we can better understand whether the master-planned transportation network can support the area’s growth. While this effort is not a formal plan, it will provide county leaders with a solid foundation for future decisions about how to strengthen mobility and meet residents’ connectivity needs along this corridor.”
The study area extends from Shady Grove Road in the south to Clarksburg Road (MD 121) and Stringtown Road in the north, and from I-270 in the west to the Brink Road/Wightman Road/Snouffer School Road/Muncaster Mill Road corridor in the east. While the study will include a high-level analysis of I-270 capacity, detailed traffic analyses within the ongoing Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan and the Germantown Sector Plan Amendment areas will rely on those plans’ own transportation assessments.
Conducting the study was one of the provisions of the approved 2025 MPOHT Technical Update. Following research and analysis, and comprehensive community input for the plan’s technical update, the Montgomery County Council approved removing the northern section of M-83 from the plan and retaining the southern section of M-83 between Shady Grove Road and the Intercounty Connector (ICC). Learn more about M-83 and what led to removing the unbuilt northern extension from the MPOHT.
Elements of the study
Montgomery Planning, with support from the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), will analyze whether the corridor has sufficient transportation capacity through:
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- Public engagement
- Transportation data collection
- Safety analysis
- Existing and year 2045 transportation forecasts
- Transportation adequacy metrics
- Peak-hour capacity analyses
- Development and evaluation of alternative infrastructure solutions
This effort will incorporate recommendations from current planning efforts and consider a range of master-planned projects, including those identified in MCDOT’s 2017 Midcounty Corridor Study Supplemental Report.
MCDOT, with support from Montgomery Planning, will then assess the feasibility and implementation timeline of planned and existing transportation improvements. This will include:
- Cost estimates for each project
- Identification of environmental, utility, cultural, park, and right-of-way constraints
- Development of a project implementation schedule
- A final round of public engagement before submitting recommendations to the Planning Board.
Anticipated schedule
The study is expected to be completed within 12 months. Over the course of that year, the team will hold two public meetings, one this fall and another in winter 2026/2027, to share findings and gather community input. The Planning Board will review the study in spring 2027.
Read the original article at montgomeryplanning