Cross County Connector Included in Charles County Comprehensive Plan
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Cross County Connector Included in Charles County Comprehensive Plan
La Plata, MD - 7/10/2012
By Andy Marquis
Despite multiple permit denials, the Charles County Planning Commission decided the controversial “Cross County Connector” remains a viable option and included it in the 2012 Comprehensive Plan. The 4-3 approval will take the issue before the commissioners again when the plan is approved.
Jason Groth, chief of infrastructure and resource management, said county planning staff did not entirely agree with the Army Corps of Engineers (ACoE) letter saying that expanding MD Route 228 would be a better solution and that the Cross County Connector remained a viable option.
In November 2011, the Maryland Department of the Environment killed the project when it denied the necessary permits for construction of the road. Earlier this year, the Army Corps of Engineers also denied the permits. Funding for the project was eliminated in the FY2013 budget. The Cross County Connector was planned as an extension of Billingsley Road to run from MD Route 5 to MD Route 210.
Groth had recommended that the commission study the Billingsley corridor as a whole to see what improvements could be made, but Vice Chairman Joe Richard moved to include the Cross County Connector in the 2012 Comprehensive Plan, saying the county, state and ACoE had not taken the position that the road would not be built.
“It’s not funding,” Stephen Bunker said. “It’s that the state and the federal government will never approve the Cross County Connector.”
Lou Grasso said it remained a viable option that could be approved in the future under a new name.
“We can see, by the actions of the commissioners, that there is no money in the budget for the Cross County Connector and they won’t appeal Army Corps of Engineers permit, it is clear with respect to the commissioners’ position,” Chairman Courtney Edmonds said. “I don’t even know why (inclusion of the Cross County Connector) is still on the table.”
During the discussion, Grasso called for a vote saying of the discussion, “All we’re doing is wasting time.”
Edmonds, Bunker and Joe Tieger voted against including the Cross County Connector in the Comprehensive Plan.
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