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After receiving complaints from residents regarding traffic and environmental impacts of the Intercounty Connector, District 21 legislators drafted a letter to state officials Monday asking that residents who live near the toll highway, which is currently under construction, be allowed to drive it at a discounted rate.

The 18.8-mile, $2.4 billion highway that will connect Gaithersburg and Laurel will run through portions of Laurel and Beltsville and will have exit ramps on I-95 and Route 1 in Laurel. The local portion of the road is scheduled to open by 2012, and some residents are worried that it will bring traffic and pollution to the area.

State officials have proposed toll rates that would cost as much as 35 cents per mile during peak driving periods for passenger vehicles and light trucks.

The letter — signed by District 21 Democrats Sen. James C. Rosapepe of College Park and Dels. Benjamin S. Barnes of College Park, Barbara A. Frush of Beltsville and Joselyn Pena-Melnyk of College Park — requests that state officials consider lowering the rate for nearby residents.

"We think it's a reasonable thing to consider," Rosapepe said. "The people who live the closest are going to [receive] the most negative impact in terms of air pollution and in terms of development."

Frush said she has received numerous complaints from constituents about the highway's construction and only expects to hear more when it opens. A discount, she said, would be a way of compensating residents whose lives and land have been affected most.

"Quite frankly, my constituents can't afford these tolls," said Frush, who has lobbied in the past to cut the ICC's funding. "We'll plead our case and see what happens. With the [state's] financial situation, it's not looking good, but we can still pursue it."

The letter was addressed to state transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley, who had not read it as of Tuesday afternoon, said Jack Cahalan, Maryland Department of Transportation spokesman. Cahalan said Swaim-Staley will read it and respond directly to the legislators, but there are currently no plans for a discount.

"This specific request for a toll discount for individuals living this close to the highway has not been considered to date," Cahalan said. "Currently, there are no discounts planned for the ICC."

Discounts have been offered on toll roads elsewhere in the country, usually in cases where a toll road is vital to the daily mobility of the people who live near it. However, several discount programs — in Boston, Staten Island, N.Y., and Grand Island, N.Y. — are being challenged in court as unconstitutional and unfair toward non-residents.

Rosapepe said he has also lobbied project officials to connect bus transportation between the ICC and the Muirkirk MARC train station in Beltsville.

"It's like anything else where we won't know until everything's done," Rosapepe said. "They still have some issues to be determined, but we're going to try to make this work the best that we can."

E-mail David Hill at dhill@gazette.net