For more than 50 years Marylanders have argued over the benefits of an Interstate highway between Gaithersburg and Laurel: the InterCounty Connector. Proposed last century during the heyday of road building, the ICC has been buried and revived more often than Wile E. Coyote.

As of Thursday, November 8, it’s as close to a done deal as it has ever been.

Championed by former Maryland Governor Ehrlich, the ICC was set to begin construction months ago, when a group of environmentalists requested an injunction due to perceived inadequacies during the review stage. The ICC’s EIS, they argued, failed to consider non-highway alternatives such as mass transit, and was therefore an invalid study of potential effects. That injunction was officially denied by a federal judge on Thursday, removing the last hurdle to building. Construction is now expected to begin in a matter of days.

BeyondDC stated our opinion some time ago. As new highways go the ICC isn’t objectionable. It will divert growth from rural upper I-270 towards already-suburban eastern Montgomery County and will better connect the eastern part of the region with the west. Worthy goals of Smart Growth. The question is whether building the ICC will bankrupt the state’s ability to get the Purple Line, Corridor Cities Transitway and Baltimore Red Line built.