The State Highway Administration will detail pros and cons tonight of eight options for Route 100's future path through southern EllicottCity.

Most vulnerable is the Hunt Country Estates subdivision, where the SHA has offered to buy eight homes to make way for Route 100.Two of the homes would be razed, and six would be severely affected by the six-lane highway in the current SHA plan.

The options to be presented tonight follow a request last November by Hunt Country Estates residents, who asked the SHA to consider other alternatives, including one mapped by residents.

The alternative suggested by residents is generally opposed by residents of the villages of Montgomery Run condominiums and Ashton Woods apartments. That plan would put the highway on a narrow strip of land between the complexes and Route 108.

County Executive Charles I. Ecker has endorsed the SHA plan to take out Hunt Country Estates homes, saying evenmore would be sacrificed under other alternatives. He said the county should not delay construction of the highway, which has been an on-again, off-again project for more than 30 years.

The SHA study will detail each option, including the number of homes that would have to be destroyed, how many acres of wetlands would be damaged and how much noise the highway would bring to area residents, said Mark Crampton, project manager for the county's segment of Route 100.

Three of the plans would eliminate no homes, but would severely affect wetlands, he said.

The meeting will be from 5 to 9 p.m. in the cafeteria of the Maryland School for the Deaf, Old Montgomery Road and Route 108. The cafeteria is at the rear of the complex.

Highway plannersalso will present the study to Howard County's legislative delegation this morning and to federal and state regulators this afternoon.

Crampton said the SHA wants to hear from residents, elected officials and regulators before making a decision.