Courtney Mabeus, The Examiner
2007-10-25 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

Opponents of the Intercounty Connector on Wednesday said that artifacts found by state archaeologists in the 18-mile road’s pathway add to their ammunition in their fight to stop its construction.

State Highway Administration officials are planning a tour this afternoon to show off artifacts found near where the road would cross Georgia Avenue. Archeologists have unearthed a quartz quarry and tools dating back to 5,000 years believed to have been used by American Indians, officials said. Blood residue tests on the tools will help determine what kinds of animals they were used on, officials said.

“I really think it’s one more reason to be opposed to the ICC. Here they are decimating additional pieces of history for a road that doesn’t solve congestion. This is one more reason why this is really a project to add to the list of many of why this road should not be built,” said Dolores Milmoe, Maryland conservation advocate for the Audubon Naturalist Society.

The society is one of two groups suing in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt to stop the ICC from going forward.

“Even a Neanderthal would say the ICC is a bad idea,” she added.

County Council Member Phil Andrews was not aware of the tour until late Wednesday. He has been one of the council’s leading opponents against the ICC.

“If the ICC is built, historians won’t record what was found in the right-of-way but what was missed; a historic opportunity to invest in transit and environmentally sound road improvements rather than in a sprawl-inducing global warming-worsening expensive toll highway, a $3 billion toll highway,” he said.

SHA spokeswoman Valerie Burnette Edgar disputed Andrews’ claims. She said the archeological digging has been part of the approved project. She said findings should have no effect on the judge’s ruling.

“If there weren’t an ICC, we wouldn’t even know what was there. We wouldn’t even have known that the site was there,” Edgar said.

Federal Judge Alexander Williams Jr. heard arguments from the Audubon Naturalist Society in one suit Oct. 1. A hearing in a similar case filed by the Sierra Club is scheduled for Monday.

The Sierra Club refused comment Wednesday because of the pending hearing.

Opposition to the controversial proposed 18-mile roadway has grown in recent weeks, culminating in a majority of the Montgomery County Council members sending a letter to Gov. Martin O’Malley urging him to halt the destruction of any homes or other significant environmental damage by contractors. Prince George’s Council members unanimously oppose the road.

Under an agreement struck by the State Highway Administration and ICC opponents, contractors are allowed to clear four large trees, relocate utilities, install erosion and sediment controls and remove of one house owned by the administration near Redland Road. Major disruptions have been postponed until Williams rules on the environmentalists’ complaints.

cmabeus@dcexaminer.com