U.S. Route 40 in Maryland

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U.S. Route 40 marker

U.S. Route 40
Route information
Maintained by MDSHA, Baltimore DOT, and MdTA
Length: 221.31 mi[1][2] (356.16 km)
Existed: 1926 – present
Tourist
routes:
Historic National Road
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Scenic Byway
Antietam Campaign Scenic Byway
Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway
Major junctions
West end: US 40 near Addison, PA
  I-68 / US 219 near Grantsville

US 220 in Cumberland
I-70 / US 522 in Hancock
I-81 near Hagerstown
US 15 / US 340 in Frederick
I-70 / I-270 in Frederick
US 29 near Ellicott City
I-695 in Catonsville
US 1 in Baltimore

I-95 in Baltimore
East end: US 40 near Glasgow, DE
Highway system
MD 39 MD 41

U.S. Route 40 (US 40) in the U.S. state of Maryland runs from western Maryland to Cecil County in the state's northeastern corner. With a total length of over 200 miles (320 km), it is the longest numbered highway in Maryland. Almost half of the road overlaps with Interstate 68 or Interstate 70, while the old alignment is generally known as U.S. Route 40 Alternate, U.S. Route 40 Scenic, or Maryland Route 144. West of Baltimore, the portions where it does not overlap an Interstate highway are mostly two-lane roads. The portion east of Baltimore is a four-lane divided highway, known as the Pulaski Highway (named for Casimir Pulaski).

From Cumberland west to Pennsylvania, US 40 is the successor to the historic National Road. East of Cumberland, towards Baltimore, US 40 follows several former turnpikes, most notably the Cumberland Turnpike and Baltimore and Frederick-town Turnpike. The route from Baltimore northeast to the Delaware state line follows another historic corridor towards Philadelphia, including the old Baltimore and Havre-de-Grace Turnpike (now mostly bypassed as Maryland Route 7).

Route description

A 340-foot (100 m) deep cut in Sideling Hill makes room for the I-68/US 40 roadway.

U.S. Route 40 enters Maryland from Pennsylvania in far western Maryland's Garrett County, carrying the name "National Pike." It passes through rural farmland on this side of the state, intersecting U.S. Route 219 at its interchange with Interstate 68. Here it joins I-68, (built during 1971-73 as the "National Freeway") which it follows through to Allegany County and the historic "Cumberland Narrows" mountain gap to the county seat and major western Maryland city of Cumberland (nicknamed the "Queen City"). The previous alignments of US 40, carrying the name "National Pike", are either U.S. Route 40 Alternate or Scenic US 40, which parallel I-68 and US 40 very closely through the County (and later also carrying the designation of Maryland Route 144 (MD 144) and serve as main streets for the various towns and small cities they pass through, trailing the continued historic route of the 1808's Old National Road extension from Cumberland to Baltimore turnpike, which will still have many of the original 19th Century stone milestones every mile on the north side with five-mile stone markers with more elaborate carvings indicating mileage and distance to destinations. Since, the mid 2000s, The National Road now has a multi-state tourism/historical partnership and association collaborating various towns, cities and counties through which it passes from Baltimore to Vandalia, the original territorial capital of Illinois near the Mississippi River. Also several significant histories and guide books have been published throughout the 20th Century to describe its features, hazards and attractions plus historic/scenic sites. US 40 follows I-68 through Cumberland on an elevated highway through the western reaches of the Potomac River valley dividing the historic town, site of Colonel George Washington's Fort Cumberland of the French and Indian War era and passes into Washington County.

The I-68/US 40 roadway later passes through a 340-foot (100 m) massive deep cut in Sideling Hill. Just to the east of the cut is the site of the former "Sideling Hill Exhibit Center", a state museum (currently located in Hancock in the "narrow neck" of Maryland) that highlighted the many varied rock layers of Western Maryland mountain geology in "The Cut".[3] Shortly after this, in the town of Hancock where the State of Maryland narrows to less than two miles (3 km) across, on a steep valley slope carrying parallel highways, roads and railroad tracks (historic Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (now Amtrak and CSX plus Conrail freight rail systems) between the Mason–Dixon line with Pennsylvania to the north and the western branch of the Potomac River boundary with Virginia where Interstate 68 ends. US 40 then defaults onto Interstate 70 at Exit 1 of the latter route, coming down from the northwest at the large truck stop plazas at Breezewood, Pennsylvania. U.S. Route 522 is also carried by I-70, but it leaves to the south at the very next exit.

Interstate 70 and US 40 pass close to the West Virginia border along the historic old 1820s-30's era Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and its Potomac River, then turns toward Hagerstown and Washington County. Shortly before this, though, US 40 separates from I-70 to the north at exit 9 and passes through the town and county seat (known as the "Hub City") on Washington Avenue (eastbound) and Franklin Street (westbound), where it interchanges with Interstate 81. Heading southeast out of Hagerstown, US 40 diverges into two separate routes, US 40 (Dual Highway) and US 40 Alt. US 40 parallels Interstate 70, its longtime, cross-country travel partner, crossing it again at exit 32 near Greenbrier State Park on the older Baltimore National Pike alignment. US 40 Alt (also known as Maryland Route 144 heads southeast on the historic Old National Pike of 1805 alignment through Boonsboro, crossing the famous South Mountain at "Turner's Gap", with its notable American Civil War battles here and at nearby "Crampton's Gap and "Fox's Gap" where Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee held back oncoming Union armies under General George B. McClellan just prior to the horrific Battle of Antietam in September 1862. The two highway routes converge just west of the "City of Clustered Spires", Frederick which is also the site of several major Civil War conflicts, such as the 1862 first Southern Invasion (resulting in "Battle of Antietam"), the 1863 second passing of the huge armies on their way to Pennsylvania to collide at Gettysburg and the nearby "Battle of Monocacy", "The Battle That Saved Washington" in 1864's third Confederate Invasion.

The western end of the below-surface level expressway stub in Baltimore City intended for use by the canceled I-170 from the 1970s "Highway Wars". This expressway is now used to carry US 40.

In Frederick, US 40 uses Patrick Street (the main west-east route through Frederick's historic downtown), before merging back onto the US 15 north-south expressway for a short distance. It leaves US 15 and rejoins I-70 on the southern and eastern outskirts of Frederick. Old MD 144 on the 19th Century's Old National Road once again takes over along the old 1920's era alignment of US 40. It then passes through Carroll County and Howard County, where US 40 once again separates with the old National Road pathway carrying MD 144 routes to the southeastward towards historic Ellicott City and US 40 continues to the north. After passing over the upper northern reaches of the Patapsco Rivervalley and crossing the bridge over Patapsco Valley State Park entering Baltimore County before in Ellicott City, a former colonial port and one of the state's "Antiques Capital" as the Patapsco River courses through a deep valley with the town perched on surrounding steep sides. The Highway 40 heads toward Baltimore, interchanging with first US 29 and then the Baltimore Beltway (later renamed for former Gov. Theodore R. McKeldin and Baltimore City Mayor in the 1940s, 50's and 60's, also designated as Interstate 695. This section is known as the "Baltimore National Pike" commercial strip of shopping centers and varieties of car dealerships and fast-food restaurants as it crosses the 1919 Baltimore city limits near Security Boulevard and the massive national headquarters of the Social Security Administration.

US 40 in Aberdeen.

Inside Baltimore City, US 40 continues as Baltimore National Pike changes into Edmondson Avenue, then passes southeastward onto West Franklin and West Mulberry Streets as a one-way pair, bypassing Gwynns Falls-Leakin Parks (which escaped having the interstate cut through its wilderness wooded stream valleys in the 1970s after a heated decade-long public debate and battle), before shortly leaving to utilize the former expressway stub originally meant to continue to carry Interstate 170 for a short distance between Pulaski Street and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Through this area, an alignment called "Truck US 40" diverts larger vehicles onto an alternate cross-town route (largely via North Avenue and U.S. Route 1). The I-170 expressway stub (long-time nicknamed the "Highway to Nowhere") also carries US 40 over Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, rejoining West Franklin Street and West Mulberry Street just west of North Greene and North Paca Streets, both of which are the northern terminus of MD 295, which eventually become Russell Street leading to the Baltimore–Washington Parkway. US 40 passes through the Seton Hill Historic District and the tony 19th Century historic Mount Vernon-Belvedere neighborhood and a few blocks south from Baltimore's landmark Washington Monument, (built 1815-1827). Just beyond historic main Charles Street and Saint Paul Street and Place, now East Franklin and Mulberry Streets merge through the "Preston Gardens" district onto the six-lane elevated Orleans Street Viaduct, which US 40 uses to cross the downtown Jones Falls stream valley, (a former main railroad route to downtown), passing over Interstate 83 (the Jones Falls Expressway) in the process (with no access) towards East Baltimore. It follows the divided Orleans Street, passing through the campus of The Johns Hopkins Hospital where it narrows to an undivided four lanes, until its end at Pulaski Highway on the east side of the city. US 40 carries this name on this four lane, divided highway alignment, heading northeastward having a full cloverleaf interchange with MD 151 at Erdman Avenue, which leads to the Baltimore city limits again on the eastside again re-entering Baltimore County towards North Point Boulevard and parallel Old North Point Road and with partial interchanges with Interstate 895, Moravia Road, and Interstate 95 before exiting the city, bearing northeast and meeting I-695 of the Baltimore (McKeldin) Beltway again.

US 40, for the entire length of Pulaski Highway, is closely paralleled by I-95. It also runs between Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and the CSX Philadelphia Subdivision railroad lines, while US 40's previous alignment, MD 7, parallels the highway in segments. Pulaski Highway passes through Gunpowder Falls State Park near Joppa into Harford County and west of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Between Havre de Grace on the southwest shore and Perryville to the northeast, it crosses the Susquehanna River on the tolled Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge entering Cecil County in the State's far northeastern corner. The toll plaza for this Hatem Bridge is encountered just beyond its east end. US 40 leaves Maryland in Elkton which is situated at the famous "Head of Elk" at the northern end of the Bay, crossing the border of the old historic Mason–Dixon line of 1767 into the first State of Delaware.

History

The National Road was opened from Cumberland on the Potomac River west and northwest into Pennsylvania, and beyond to Wheeling, Virginia on the Ohio River, in the 1810s. The turnpikes connecting Cumberland to Baltimore operated as the Cumberland Turnpike (Cumberland to Conococheague), Hagers-Town and Conococheague Turnpike (Conococheague to Hagerstown), Boonsborough Turnpike (Hagerstown to Boonsboro), and Baltimore and Frederick-town Turnpike (Boonsboro to Baltimore), completed in 1824. To the east of Baltimore, the Baltimore and Havre-de-Grace Turnpike went northeast from Baltimore to Havre de Grace, and public roads continued from Perryville, across the Susquehanna River from Havre de Grace to Elkton, where the Elk and Christiana Turnpike continued into Delaware.[citation needed]

Future

The US 40 bridge over the Patapsco River in Ellicott City, originally constructed in 1936, will be replaced in a project that started in the spring of 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2013. During the bridge replacement, temporary bridges will be constructed to serve traffic for the first time in a major bridge project in Maryland.[4]

As part of the Red Line project that was cancelled in 2015, segments of Edmondson Avenue and Franklin Street were to be widened to allow construction of the future east-west light rail line inside the median area. The Red Line would have also utilized the median of the US 40 freeway in West Baltimore.

Junction list

County Location mi
[1][2]
km Exit Destinations Notes
Garrett 0.00 0.00 US 40 west (National Pike) – Uniontown Western terminus of US 40 in Maryland; Pennsylvania state line
Keyser's Ridge 3.41 5.49
US 40 Alt. east (National Pike) – Grantsville
3.74 6.02 14 I-68 west (National Freeway) / US 219 south (Garrett Highway) – Morgantown, Oakland Split into exits 14A (US 219) and 14B (US 40); west end of concurrencies with I-68 and US 219
Grantsville 9.12 14.68 19 MD 495 (Bittinger Road) – Grantsville, Swanton
12.18 19.60 22 US 219 north (Chestnut Ridge Road) – Meyersdale, PA East end of concurrency with US 219
13.90 22.37 24 Lower New Germany Road
Finzel 19.70 31.70 29 MD 546 (Finzel Road) – Finzel
Allegany Frostburg 23.24 37.40 34 Midlothian Road – Frostburg Midlothian Road north is unsigned MD 736
24.93 40.12 36 MD 36 (New Georges Creek Road) – Frostburg, Westernport
La Vale 29.12 46.86 39
US 40 Alt. (National Highway) – La Vale
No exit eastbound; eastbound entrance ramp is from MD 53
29.85 48.04 40
US 220 Truck south (Vocke Road)
No entrance westbound; Vocke Road is unsigned MD 658
Cumberland 31.46 50.63 41 MD 49 (Braddock Road) / Seton Drive Westbound exit only
32.24 51.89 42 US 220 south (McMullen Highway) / Greene Street north – McCoole, Keyser, WV West end of concurrency with US 220
33.51 53.93 43A
To WV 28 Alt. / Johnson Street / Beall Street – Ridgeley
Right-in/right-out interchange with Johnson Street eastbound; ramps to and from Beall Street westbound
33.80 54.40 43B MD 51 south (Industrial Boulevard) – Airport
33.82 54.43 43C Downtown
34.14 54.94 43D Maryland Avenue Right-in/right-out interchanges
34.77 55.96 44
US 40 Alt. west (Baltimore Avenue) / MD 639 south (Willowbrook Road)
35.69 57.44 45 Hillcrest Drive Right-in/right-out interchanges with Rannells Road eastbound and Hillcrest Drive westbound, which are unsigned MD 952 and MD 952A, respectively
36.39 58.56 46 MD 144 (Naves Cross Road) Westbound exit and entrance
37.09 59.69 47 US 220 north / MD 144 (National Pike) – Bedford Signed as exit 46 eastbound; east end of concurrency with US 220
41.18 66.27 50 Pleasant Valley Road – Rocky Gap State Park Unsigned MD 948D
42.42 68.27 52 MD 144 east (National Pike) Eastbound exit, westbound entrance
Flintstone 45.87 73.82 56 MD 144 (National Pike) – Flintstone Westbound ramps are with MD 948AM
52.84 85.04 62
US 40 Scenic (Fifteen Mile Creek Road)
54.11 87.08 64 M.V. Smith Road Unsigned MD 948AL
58.64 94.37 68 Orleans Road
61.56 99.07 72
US 40 Scenic (National Pike) / High Germany Road / Swain Road
West end of concurrency with US 40 Scenic; High Germany Road is unsigned MD 948Y
Washington 63.51 102.21 74
US 40 Scenic east (National Pike) / Mountain Road
Eastbound exit, westbound entrance; Mountain Road is unsigned MD 903; east end of concurrency with US 40 Scenic
67.07 107.94 77
US 40 Scenic west (National Pike) / MD 144 east (Western Pike) / Woodmont Road
Hancock 71.01 114.28 82
1
I-70 (Eisenhower Memorial Highway) / US 522 – Breezewood, Hancock, Winchester Split into exits 82A (US 522), 82B (I-70 / US 40), and 82C (I-70 / US 522) eastbound; split into exits 1A (I-68 / US 40) and 1B (US 522 south) westbound; eastern terminus of I-68; west end of concurrency with I-70
73.50 118.29 3 MD 144 (Main Street) – Hancock No westbound entrance
74.40 119.74 5 MD 615 (Millstone Road) Eastbound exit, westbound entrance
75.85 122.07 5 MD 615 (Millstone Road) Westbound exit, eastbound entrance
Indian Springs 79.17 127.41 9 I-70 east (Eisenhower Memorial Highway) – Hagerstown Eastbound exit from and westbound entrance to I-70; east end of concurrency with I-70
Clear Spring 86.57 139.32 MD 68 east (Mill Street) – Williamsport
88.97 143.18 MD 57 north (St. Paul Road)
Huyett 93.51 150.49 MD 63 (Greencastle Pike) – Williamsport, Cearfoss
Hagerstown 94.75 152.49 MD 144 east (Washington Street)
96.23 154.87 I-81 (Maryland Veterans Memorial Highway) – Roanoke, Harrisburg I-81 Exit 6
96.61 155.48 MD 910 south (Western Maryland Parkway) Officially MD 910C
97.63 157.12 US 11 (Burhans Boulevard)
98.68 158.81 MD 64 east (Cleveland Avenue) – Smithsburg
101.72 163.70 I-70 (Eisenhower Memorial Highway) – Hancock, Frederick I-70 Exit 32
Beaver Creek 104.53 168.22 MD 66 (Mapleville Road) – Boonsboro, Smithsburg
Frederick Myersville 111.03 178.69 MD 17 (Wolfsville Road) – Middletown
Braddock Heights 118.41 190.56 I-70 west (Eisenhower Memorial Highway) – Hagerstown I-70 Exit 48; westbound exit, eastbound entrance
Frederick 119.68 192.61
US 40 Alt. west (Old National Pike) – Braddock Heights, Middletown
No direct access from eastbound US 40 to westbound US 40 Alternate or from eastbound US 40 Alternate to westbound US 40
121.09 194.88 US 15 north (Frederick Freeway) / Patrick Street east – Gettysburg US 15 Exit 13; split into exits 13A (Patrick Street) and 13B (US 40 west); west end of concurrency with US 15
121.82 196.05 US 15 south / US 340 west (Jefferson National Pike) / Jefferson Avenue east – Leesburg, Charles Town US 15 Exit 12; east end of concurrency with US 15
122.44 197.05 53 I-70 west / I-270 south (Eisenhower Memorial Highway) – Hagerstown, Washington Split into exits 53A (I-270) and 53B (US 40 west); west end of concurrency with I-70
123.60 198.91 54 MD 85 (Buckeystown Pike) to MD 355 / Market Street Single-point urban interchange
124.15 199.80 55 South Street Westbound ramps are with Monocacy Boulevard
124.68 200.65 56 MD 144 (Patrick Street) No westbound entrance
Bartonsville 128.04 206.06 59 MD 144 west (Old National Pike) Westbound exit, eastbound entrance
New Market 131.75 212.03 62 MD 75 (Green Valley Road) – Libertytown, Hyattstown
Carroll Mount Airy 137.19 220.79 68 MD 27 (Ridge Road) – Mount Airy, Damascus
Howard Lisbon 142.58 229.46 73 MD 94 (Woodbine Road) – Lisbon, Woodbine
Cooksville 145.75 234.56 76 MD 97 (Hoods Mill Road) – Westminster, Olney
West Friendship 149.42 240.47 80 MD 32 (Sykesville Road) – Sykesville, Clarksville
151.54 243.88 82 I-70 east – Baltimore Eastbound exit from and westbound entrance to I-70; east end of concurrency with I-70
Ellicott City 154.13 248.05 MD 144 west (Frederick Road)
157.10 252.83 US 29 (Columbia Pike) to I-70 – Columbia, Frederick US 29 Exit 24
159.25 256.29 Patapsco Valley State Park Right-in/right-out interchanges in both directions
Baltimore Catonsville 162.28 261.16 I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) – Glen Burnie, Towson I-695 Exit 15
City of Baltimore 165.93 267.04
US 40 Truck east (Hilton Parkway) / Hilton Parkway south
Cloverleaf interchange
167.31 269.26 Mulberry Street east to US 1 (Monroe Street/Fulton Avenue) Eastbound exit, westbound entrance (from Franklin Street)
168.36 270.95 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Diamond interchange
168.57 271.29 MD 295 south (Greene Street) MD 295 is unsigned; Greene Street is one-way southbound
168.64 271.40 MD 129 north (Paca Street) MD 129 is unsigned; Paca Street is one-way northbound
169.02 272.01 Charles Street north Charles Street is one-way northbound
169.09 272.12 MD 2 (St. Paul Street)
171.86 276.58 MD 150 east (Haven Street)
172.59 277.76
MD 151 (Erdman Avenue) / US 40 Truck west / I-895 south (Harbor Tunnel Thruway)
Cloverleaf interchange; movements from eastbound US 40 to northbound MD 151 and from northbound MD 151 to eastbound US 40 made via Armistead Way; I-895 Exit 13
173.58 279.35 Moravia Road to I-895 / I-95 north No eastbound entrance
173.76 279.64 I-95 south – Washington I-95 Exit 61; ramps from westbound US 40 to southbound I-95 and northbound I-95 to eastbound US 40
Baltimore Rosedale 174.12 280.22 MD 7 east (Philadelphia Road)
176.63 284.26 I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) / Golden Ring Road north – Essex, Towson I-695 Exit 35
Middle River 177.96 286.40 MD 700 south (Martin Boulevard) Trumpet interchange
White Marsh 180.84 291.03 MD 43 (White Marsh Boulevard) to I-95 Two-way ramp between US 40 and MD 43 plus a ramp from westbound US 40 to westbound MD 43
Harford Joppatowne 187.54 301.82 MD 152 (Magnolia Road/Mountain Road) – Fallston, Aberdeen Proving Ground
Edgewood 189.21 304.50 MD 755 south (Edgewood Road) / Edgewood Road north
189.78 305.42 To MD 24 (Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway) – Bel Air, Aberdeen Proving Ground Two-way ramp between US 40 and MD 24 is MD 24D (Otter Creek Ramp)
Riverside 193.93 312.10 MD 543 north (Riverside Parkway)
Aberdeen 196.13 315.64 MD 7 west / MD 159 south (Old Philadelphia Road) – Perryman
196.94 316.94 MD 715 east (Short Lane) – Aberdeen Proving Ground, Visitors/Deliveries Trumpet interchange
198.52 319.49 MD 132 (Bel Air Avenue) Officially MD 132B
13.61 21.90 MD 22 (Aberdeen Thruway) to I-95 – Aberdeen Proving Ground, Bel Air Partial cloverleaf interchange
Havre de Grace 200.28 322.32 MD 132 west (Oakington Road)
201.72 324.64 MD 7 east (Revolution Street) – Havre de Grace Officially MD 7A
203.10 326.86 MD 7 west (Otsego Street) / MD 155 west (Ohio Street) to I-95 / Otsego Street west – Havre de Grace, Churchville Officially MD 7A
Susquehanna River 203.41–
204.90
327.36–
329.75
Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge
Cecil Perryville 205.02 329.95 Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge Toll Plaza (eastbound)
205.21 330.25 MD 222 (Perryville Road/Aiken Avenue) to I-95 – Port Deposit, Perryville, VA Hospital
207.98 334.71 MD 7 west (Principio Furnace Road) – Perryville Officially MD 7B
208.45 335.47 MD 7 east (Old Philadelphia Road) – Charlestown, North East Officially MD 7C
North East 212.33 341.71 MD 272 (Mauldin Avenue/North East Road) to I-95 – Cecil College, Bay View, North East
Elkton 217.43 349.92 MD 7 west (Old Philadelphia Road) / MD 279 north (Elkton Road) to I-95 – North East, Newark Officially MD 7C
218.91 352.30 MD 213 (Bridge Street/Augustine Herman Highway) – Elkton, Chesapeake City
220.25 354.46 MD 7 west (Delaware Avenue) Officially MD 7D
221.08 355.79 MD 781 north (Delancy Road)
221.31 356.16 US 40 east (Pulaski Highway) – Glasgow Eastern terminus of US 40 in Maryland; Delaware state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

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External links

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U.S. Route 40
Previous state:
Pennsylvania
Maryland Next state:
Delaware