Interstate 170 (Maryland)
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Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Maryland | |||
Counties | City of Baltimore | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 170 (I-170) was the designation for a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) freeway in
Route description
I-170 would have begun at a
The ramps from Mulberry Street and to Franklin Street to connect with the portion of I-170 that was completed are now part of US 40. The ramps merge with the uncompleted freeway under Fulton Avenue (northbound US 1). Originally beginning and ending at Pulaski Street, these ramps have since been truncated to a now-continuous Payson Street. US 40 heads east as a six-lane freeway in a cut between Mulberry and Franklin streets. Along the way, it passes under eight roadway bridges and two pedestrian bridges (Stricker Street and Carrollton Avenue). East of the Schroeder Street underpass, the freeway reduces to four lanes at the eastbound ramp to Mulberry Street and the westbound ramp from Franklin Street, which connect the freeway with
History
Under the proposed routing of the
Planning
Several proposals were made during the 1940s and 1950s for an East–West Expressway through Baltimore. After nine different proposals were floated, in 1960 the city's Department of Planning published a proposal of its own. The route in the proposal (then designated as I-70N) would have begun in the western edge of the city, passing through
By 1969, the Design Concept Team, a multidiscipline group assembled in 1966 by the city government to help design freeway routings that would not disrupt the city's fabric, had replaced the 10-D System with the Baltimore 3-A Interstate and Boulevard System. In the 3-A system, I-170 was brought into existence, and was planned as a freeway spur from I-70 (which would continue south toward the current alignment of I-95) through the Franklin–Mulberry street corridor formerly followed by the East–West Expressway to the west edge of the central business district, connecting to a new route named Harbor City Boulevard (now known as
Construction
Construction began on I-170 in 1975 and was finished in 1979. The completed section runs mainly below street level, rising above it at the eastern end; the same was also true for the western end until it was leveled in late 2010. The wide median space was originally reserved for a once-proposed branch of the Baltimore Metro SubwayLink system; this rail line was never built, and more recent plans for the Red Line, a proposed light rail corridor that would have been built by 2016 (but was canceled in 2015) would have made use of the median. However, the Red Line was resurrected in 2023 (with the same plans as before), and construction may begin by 2027.
Cancelation
I-170's future was left in doubt after extended protest from environmental groups led to the cancelation of the segment of I-70 between Security Boulevard (exit 94) and I-170 (scrapped exit 96) on September 3, 1981. As a result of this cancelation, it was proposed to connect the existing I-170 to I-95 via the southern portion of the original proposed I-70 expansion, with the entire spur redesignated I-595; however, this segment was canceled on July 22, 1983, in the face of further opposition.
Future
Various proposals for the isolated highway stub have been floated: in addition to the proposed use of its public transit
Representative
Exit list
Had I-170 been completed in its entirety, it would have run as follows from I-70:
mi | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.00 | 0.00 | I-70 west to I-695 – Ellicott City, Frederick I-70 east to I-95 – Washington, D.C., New York City | Western terminus | ||
0.90 | 1.45 | US 1 (North Monroe Street / North Fulton Avenue) to US 40 | US 40 originally followed Franklin Street (westbound) and Mulberry Street (eastbound). | ||
2.16 | 3.48 | Martin Luther King Boulevard to US 1 / I-395 | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||
2.30 | 3.70 | MD 295 south (North Greene Street) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; eastern terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
See also
- Maryland Roads portal
References
- ^ Staff (December 31, 2005). "Highway Location Reference: Baltimore City" (PDF). Maryland State Highway Administration.
- ^ Kozel, Scott M. "Baltimore City Interstates: Cancellations". Roads to the Future. Self-published. Retrieved June 25, 2007.[unreliable source?]
- ^ a b Kozel, Scott. "Baltimore Early Expressway Planning". Roads to the Future. Self-published. Retrieved February 5, 2007.[unreliable source?]
- ^ Scale drawing of I-70, I-170, I-95, I-395 interchanges in Baltimore City
- ^ Weingroff, Richard. "Why Does I-70 End in Cove Fort, Utah?". Ask the Rambler. Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
- ^ Shen, Fern (September 24, 2010). "Highway to Nowhere Coming Down? Not Really". Baltimore Brew. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
- ^ "'Highway To Nowhere' Demolition Begins". Baltimore: WBAL-TV. September 10, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
- ^ Dresser, Michael (June 25, 2015). "Hogan Says No to Red Line, Yes to Purple". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ Bass, Karen (August 12, 2019). "Text - H.R.4101 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Build Local, Hire Local Act". www.congress.gov. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ Schmitt, Angie (August 14, 2019). "Federal Program Would Help Cities Tear Down Highways". Streetsblog USA. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ Lean, Spence (February 17, 2007). "Baltimore City's Past Present and Future: I-170 A Scar From a Dark Past". Baltimore City's Past Present and Future. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ Orr, Steve (July 7, 2018). "Inner Loop land to feature more apartments, city officials decide". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ Garrick, Norman (September 1, 2016). "Burying Rochester's Inner Loop, a 1950s Planning Disaster". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ "City of Rochester | Inner Loop East Project". www.cityofrochester.gov. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ Bass, Karen (August 12, 2019). "Actions - H.R.4101 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Build Local, Hire Local Act". www.congress.gov. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
External links
- I-170 at MDRoads.com
- Maryland Roads - US 40, former I-170
- Franklin-Mulberry Expressway (US 40 and unbuilt I-170 at DCRoads.net
- Ghosts of Baltimore
- Terminated Interstate 170 at AARoadtrips.com
- Good map of the existing and proposed aspects of Baltimore's highway systems
- Leaders celebrate funding for removal of 'highway to nowhere'
- Leaders vow to get rid of Baltimore's 'highway to nowhere'