Maryland State Route 144 - why?
TheOneKEA
Maryland signed and designated as MD 144, while other alignments in
central and western Maryland are signed ALT US 40 or SCENIC US 40?
Notwithstanding the potential confusion of seven separate mainline MD
144 segments, all of which don't connect to one another and have their
endpoints at non-trivial distances from one another, why was it decided
that ALT/SCENIC US 40 in western Maryland was more appropriate than
ALT/SCENIC US 40 in eastern Maryland?
The only possibility that comes to mind is that it was hoped that
signing the original US 40 in eastern Maryland as MD 144 instead of ALT
US 40 would help prevent the original route from being used by
commuters, long-distance traffic or trucks.
Ronnie Dobbs
Another question: why the number 144? Why not an x40?
SPUI
My guess is timing - I-70 was built earlier than I-68, and is very close
to old US 40 east of Frederick. On the other hand, I believe I-68 west
of Cumberland was built as US 48, and US 40 stayed on the old road until
recently.
Steve
Yes it was built as US 48, but with all my old maps at home, I can't
check whether they ever multiplexed. My hunch is you're probably right.
--
Steve Alpert
MIT - B.S. (Eng.) '05, M.S. (Transp.) '06
http://web.mit.edu/smalpert/www/roads
H.B. Elkins
>My guess is timing - I-70 was built earlier than I-68, and is very close
>to old US 40 east of Frederick. On the other hand, I believe I-68 west
>of Cumberland was built as US 48, and US 40 stayed on the old road until
>recently.
My first trip across there was in the early 1980s. I do not remember if US 48
stopped in Cumberloand or if it went all the way to I-70.
My second trip was in the early 1990s and I cannot remember the extent of US 48
then either. The year I was on it was about six months before it became I-68
because construction on the area east of cumberland was still ongoing but about
to be wrapped up.
Now, as I-68, I think US 40 joins in far WEstern Maryland and stays co-signed
all the way to I-70, am I correct? or does mainline US 40 split off in places? I
know there is alt 40 and Scenic for 40 in the area as well.
--
To reply by e-mail, remove the "restrictor plate"
Allen Seth Dunn
"H.B. Elkins" <hbel...@mis.net.restrictorplate> wrote in message
news:e2fcl...@drn.newsguy.com...
US 40 is indeed signed with I-68 to the point where it splits at Accident,
MD to go towards the Laurel Highlands of Southwest PA and re-join
paralleling I-70 in Washington, PA.
c...@os2bbs.com
> stopped in Cumberloand or if it went all the way to I-70.
The (signed) U.S. 48 ended in Cumberland back then.
> My second trip was in the early 1990s and I cannot remember the extent
> of US 48 then either. The year I was on it was about six months before it
> became I-68 because construction on the area east of cumberland was
> still ongoing but about to be wrapped up.
U.S. 40 and U.S. 48 were both signed on the "new" highway as the
sections between Cumberland and Hancock (I-70) were being
completed (it is now signed as I-68/U.S. 40).
> Now, as I-68, I think US 40 joins in far WEstern Maryland and stays
> co-signed all the way to I-70, am I correct? or does mainline US 40
> split off in places? I know there is alt 40 and Scenic for 40 in the area
> as well.
Going east, U.S. 40 "joins" I-68 at Keyser's Ridge (Exit 14), and
continues that way to the eastern terminus of I-68 at Hancock
(also I-70).
U.S. 40 then continues east with I-70, branching off at Exit 9 (about
7 miles east of Hancock). U.S. 40 re-joins I-70 at Frederick, and
stays multiplexed with the Interstate as far east as Marriottsville
in Howard County.
Most of what is now signed as I-70/U.S. 40 between Frederick and I-695
was once U.S. 40, a four-lane arterial highway. Much of it was
upgraded to I-70 in the mid-1970's. One small section, running
from (roughly) the eastern corporate limits of Frederick (Exit 56) to
Ijamsville (Exit 59), was left as an arterial highway signed U.S. 40
until the early 1990's, when I-70 was constructed on a new alignment,
and the U.S. 40 designation moved there as well, with the old
U.S. 40 becoming, well, Md. 144.
You can read more about Md. 144 on the MDRoads site:
TheOneKEA
Ronnie Dobbs wrote:
> Another question: why the number 144? Why not an x40?
If all of US 140 had become MD 9, rather than the segment planned as
such after US 140 was decommissioned in 1963, I suspect that old US 40
in eastern Maryland could have been plausibly referred to as MD 140.
As it is, MD 144 was probably chosen because it sounds similar to US
40. All I want to know is why it was chosen.
TheOneKEA
SPUI wrote:
> My guess is timing - I-70 was built earlier than I-68, and is very close
> to old US 40 east of Frederick. On the other hand, I believe I-68 west
> of Cumberland was built as US 48, and US 40 stayed on the old road until
> recently.
As other posters have stated, I-68 was originally signed as US 48, and
was multiplexed with various portions of US 40 as each freeway segment
opened.
ALT US 40 does make sense in western Maryland because the route is very
much an alternate - it isn't very close to I-68 in general and often
runs a long way away from the route to serve various small towns. But I
also think that a single ALT US 40 route from Ellicott City to
Frederick would make just as much sense, especially since it is very
much a parallel, alternate route - it's just closer to I-70 between
Ellicott City and Frederick.
Scott M. Kozel
>
> The (signed) U.S. 48 ended in Cumberland back then.
>
> > My second trip was in the early 1990s and I cannot remember the extent
> > of US 48 then either. The year I was on it was about six months before it
> > became I-68 because construction on the area east of cumberland was
> > still ongoing but about to be wrapped up.
>
> U.S. 40 and U.S. 48 were both signed on the "new" highway as the
> sections between Cumberland and Hancock (I-70) were being
> completed (it is now signed as I-68/U.S. 40).
Depends on the exact definition of "early 1980s". As of the 1983 MDOT
SHA map, the "new" National Freeway highway sections between Cumberland
and Hancock were still signed as US-40. See --
http://www.roadstothefuture.com/US48_1983_Map_XL.jpg
http://www.roadstothefuture.com/I68_MD.html
The entire 8.7-mile Sideling Hill section of the National Freeway was
completed in 1986, and it was designated as US-48 upon opening, and that
completed the National Freeway between Green Ridge State Forest and
I-70, so that is likely when that whole segment was renumbered to US-48.
The National Freeway 19-mile Cumberland-Green Ridge section had
construction started in May, 1987, and the $182 million section was
completed on August 2, 1991, and on that day the whole of Appalachian
Corridor "E" between I-79 at Morgantown WV and I-70 at Hancock MD, was
designated as Interstate I-68, and the US-48 designation was removed.
--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com
Phil
from Cumberland to Hancock, there were a couple of severe
tractor-trailer accidents on the hill into downtown Cumberland from the
current I-68/US-40 alignment (Exit 44). Public protest caused (or at
least helped) get the old alignment through downtown Cumberland and
into LaVale through the Narrows redesigned as Alt-40 so out-of-town
travelers would not be confused by the apparent split in US-48/US-40 at
Exit 44.
As far back as I can remember (early 1970's), the segment of old US-40
over Town Hill (Green Ridge State Forest) has been designated Scenic
US-40 - and I suspect this is because of all of the diversions between
old and new US-40 alignments, this is the largest, resulting in a
decrease in business along old US-40.
Just my $0.02
Phil DeLaney
Parkersburg, WV
MBHockey13
c...@os2bbs.com wrote:
> One small section, running
> from (roughly) the eastern corporate limits of Frederick (Exit 56) to
> Ijamsville (Exit 59), was left as an arterial highway signed U.S. 40
> until the early 1990's, when I-70 was constructed on a new alignment,
> and the U.S. 40 designation moved there as well, with the old
> U.S. 40 becoming, well, Md. 144.
>
Looking at Rand McNally, it shows that section of I-70 between Exits 56
& 59 without an US-40 multiplex, and it shows that parallel segment as
still being US-40. Does R McN have it wrong? It wouldn't be the first
time...
c...@os2bbs.com
> & 59 without an US-40 multiplex, and it shows that parallel segment as
> still being US-40. Does R McN have it wrong? It wouldn't be the first
> time...
The 2004 Maryland Highway Location Reference for Frederick County
indicates that U.S. 40 is multiplexed ("XREF" in the Highway Location
Reference) from the U.S. 40/I-70/I-270 interchange in Frederick all the
way east to the Carroll County/Frederick County border near Mount Airy.
So, yes, R McN is wrong.
The section of "Old" U.S. 40 is now signed as Md. 144, and shown in
the HLR as Md. 144FA (Old National Pike).
Highway Location Reference (note - the .pdf files on these pages
are big):
http://tinyurl.com/dbfcb