The last few weeks of rainy weather may have washed out roads and knocked out power to thousands of homes, but they didn't put a serious crimp in the progress of construction of the Intercounty Connector, Maryland's transportation chief says.

Shortly before Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee hit, contractors finished putting down at least one layer of pavement on the entire unopened stretch of the ICC between Georgia Avenue and Interstate 95, Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley said Thursday. The section between Georgia and Interstate 370 opened early this year.

The work that remains includes striping, putting up signage, installing guardrails and completing the top layers of pavement. Asked whether the entire stretch of the ICC linking the Interstate 95 and Interstate 270 corridors would open this year, Swaim-Staley crossed her fingers and said "weather permitting."