U.S. Route 40 Alternate (Keysers Ridge–Cumberland, Maryland)

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Mountain Maryland Scenic Byway
Major junctions
West end US 40 in Keysers Ridge
Major intersections
East end I-68 / US 40 / US 220 in Cumberland
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMaryland
CountiesGarrett, Allegany
Highway system

U.S. Route 40 Alternate (Alt US 40) is the

U.S. Highway designation for a former segment of U.S. Route 40 (US 40) through Garrett and Allegany counties in Maryland. The highway begins at US 40 near exit 14 on Interstate 68 (I-68) and runs 31.80 miles (51.18 km) eastward to Cumberland, where it ends at exit 44 on I-68.[4] Alt US 40 is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration
(MDSHA).

The highway is known as National Pike because it follows the original alignment of the historic

LaVale
.

When the National Freeway was built in western Maryland paralleling the old National Road, parts of US 40 were bypassed. The part of the bypassed road between Keyser's Ridge and Cumberland became Alt US 40, and other bypassed sections east of Cumberland became Maryland Route 144 (MD 144) and U.S. Route 40 Scenic. Although Alt US 40 has diminished in importance from its original status as the National Road with the construction of I-68, it remains an important route for local traffic and serves as the Main Streets of Grantsville and Frostburg.[4]

Route description

Alt US 40 runs from Keyser's Ridge to Cumberland, following part of the route of the National Road through some of Maryland's most mountainous terrain in Garrett and Allegany counties. The highway is a part of the National Highway System as a principal arterial from the eastern junction with MD 36 in Frostburg to the intersection of Mechanic Street and Henderson Avenue in Cumberland.[1][5]

Garrett County

US 40 Alt westbound just west of MD 546 near Finzel

Alt US 40 branches from

Casselman River Bridge State Park, centered on the stone arch bridge which originally carried the National Road over the Casselman River.[9]

US 40 Alt eastbound past MD 495 in Grantsville

Continuing eastward from Grantsville, Alt US 40 intersects

US 219 Bus. a short distance north of exit 22 on I-68, before passing under the US 219 freeway.[4]
East of this intersection, traffic decreases, with an AADT of 1,681, the lowest traffic density along the entire route. The US 219 Bus. intersection is at the top of a hill known as Chestnut Ridge.

East of Chestnut Ridge, the highway passes over Meadow Mountain at a height of 2,789 feet (850 m).

MD 946, which intersects Alt US 40 near the top of Little Savage Mountain.[6] Just east, the route crosses the larger Big Savage Mountain at an elevation of 2,847 feet (868 m) before entering Allegany County.[11]

Allegany County

After continuing into Allegany County, Alt US 40 descends Savage Mountain into Frostburg, where it passes through the town as Main Street.[4] Main Street in Frostburg has the highest traffic density on the route, with an AADT of 15,022. For comparison, the parallel section of I-68 between exits 33 and 34 has an AADT of 20,931.[12] In west Frostburg, the highway intersects MD 36, which then follows the same road as Alt US 40 for about a mile, separating from Alt US 40 in east Frostburg.[13] In central Frostburg, Main Street intersects MD 936, an old alignment of MD 36.[4] Continuing eastward from Frostburg, traffic density decreases, to an AADT of 13,585 at the MD 55 intersection, staying between 13,000 and 15,000 for the remainder of the highway.[12] Alt US 40 passes through Eckhart Mines, where it intersects MD 638, which connects with MD 36 north of Frostburg.[4] In the eastern part of Eckhart Mines, the highway intersects MD 743, which is an old alignment of US 40 which was bypassed by the roadway which became Alt US 40.[14]

Alt US 40 passing through the Narrows in Cumberland

East of Eckhart Mines, Alt US 40 passes through

MD 658, which intersects Alt US 40 east of the exit 39 interchange.[4] The highway expands to a four-lane road near its intersection with MD 53, then narrows to a two-lane road near its intersection with MD 658.[12] East of the intersection with MD 658, Alt US 40 turns northward, passing through LaVale toward the Narrows, bypassing Haystack Mountain to the north, as opposed to I-68, which passes directly over Haystack Mountain, paralleling Braddock Road (MD 49).[4]

View west from the east end of US 40 Alt. at I-68/US 40/US 220 in Cumberland

Northeast of LaVale, Alt US 40 intersects MD 36 at the northern terminus of MD 36.[4] Alt US 40 then passes through the Narrows, a gap between Haystack Mountain and Wills Mountain carved by Wills Creek, into Cumberland, where it follows Henderson Avenue and Baltimore Avenue to exit 44 on I-68, where Alt US 40 ends. The roadway continues eastward as MD 639.[4]

History

The roadway which became Alt US 40 in

LaVale. The toll-gate house in LaVale is the last remaining toll-gate house on the National Road in Maryland.[13] Several historic bridges from the National Road, since bypassed by newer bridges, are still present along the route of Alt US 40, including the Casselman Bridge over the Casselman River in Grantsville and a bridge in Clarysville.[13]

Braddock Road and the National Road

Alt US 40 in Garrett County

In 1755, during the French and Indian War, British troops under the command of General Edward Braddock completed the arduous task of building a road westward from Fort Cumberland. They largely followed an Indian trail known as Nemacolin's Path, expanding it to a 12-foot-wide (3.7 m) road using only hand tools. The road construction was part of the Braddock Expedition, which was the British campaign to seize Fort Duquesne from the French and Indian forces. Although the military expedition was a failure, the road continued to be used afterwards. However, with little maintenance being done on the road, it decayed over time until by the early nineteenth century little remained of the road.[7] The route followed by Alt US 40 today is very similar to the route followed by Braddock's Road, with the exceptions of various realignments that have been done to the road over the years. For example, Braddock's Road crossed directly over Haystack Mountain west of Cumberland rather than following the Cumberland Narrows as later roads did.[15]

The National Road, the first road funded by the

U.S. federal government, was authorized by the United States Congress in 1806, and ran from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois. Construction started in 1811, and by 1837 the road reached Vandalia.[7] Many sites from the National Road remain along Alt US 40, in particular the LaVale toll gate house, built in 1836. Following the completion of the National Road in 1837, the federal government ceded the road to the states to operate as a toll road, and toll gate houses such as the one in LaVale were built along its path in preparation for the transfer.[16] Tolls continued to be collected along the National Road at the LaVale toll house until the late nineteenth century. The LaVale toll house is the first of its kind to be built along the National Road, and it is the last standing toll house along the National Road in Maryland.[17] The LaVale toll house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[17]

Realignments

The western end of US 40 Alt at US 40 in Keysers Ridge

Multiple realignments of the road that is now Alt US 40 have occurred since it was originally built as the National Road. Most such realignments are minor, such as to bypass an old bridge, but some have significantly affected the path of the road. One such realignment occurred in 1834, when a new route for the National Road was built through the Cumberland Narrows. The previous route had followed the Braddock Road, a route which is now followed by MD 49.[15] The route following Braddock Road passed over Haystack Mountain and was much steeper than the newer route through the Narrows. The route through the Narrows allowed the road to bypass this steep mountain ascent. The stone arch bridge built across Will's Creek for the new alignment remained in service until 1932, when a new bridge which is the present bridge across Will's Creek replaced it. The old bridge was torn down during the construction of the Will's Creek flood control system in the 1950s.[18]

Another realignment of Alt US 40 occurred in Eckhart Mines, where in 1969 the road, then designated as US 40, was realigned to the north, bypassing the section of the highway through Eckhart Mines, which has a lower speed limit and sharp curves.[14] The speed limit on the old alignment is 25 miles per hour (40 km/h), and the new alignment has a speed limit of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) along most of the bypass. The new alignment intersects the old alignment, designated as MD 743, on the east end between MD 638 and MD 55. The west end of the old alignment meets MD 36 just south of its intersection with Alt US 40. MD 638, which prior to the realignment ended at US 40, was not truncated, and thus ends at MD 743.[12]

Historic bridges

The Casselman River Bridge as it appeared in 1979

There are several historic bridges along the National Road that are still present near the current route of Alt US 40. Among them are the Casselman River bridge in Grantsville, and the bridge over Braddock Run, a tributary of

Casselman River Bridge State Park.[9]

Another historic bridge stands in Clarysville, near the intersection of Alt US 40 and MD 55. This bridge, which crosses Braddock Run, was built in 1812, with later work being done in 1843.[13] The stone arch bridge, located just south of the current alignment of Alt US 40, was restored in 1976.[13]

Origins of Alt US 40

Prior to the construction of

US 48, was extended westward through the 1970s, reaching West Virginia in 1976.[21] The portions of US 40 that were bypassed between Cumberland and Keysers Ridge became U.S. Route 40 Alternate, which first appeared on MDSHA maps in the early 1980s.[2][3] At this time, US 40 was realigned to follow the US 48 freeway, sharing the freeway with US 48. In 1991 the freeway was completed from Hancock to Morgantown, West Virginia. The US 48 designation was retired, and on August 2, 1991, the freeway became I-68.[22]

Junction list

CountyLocationmi[6][12]kmDestinationsNotes
Deep Creek Lake, Oakland
Western terminus of US 40 Alt.
Grantsville5.308.53
 MD 669 north (Springs Road) – Springs, PA, Salisbury, PA
5.599.00

 MD 495 south (South Yoder Street) to I-68 – Oakland
8.7114.02
US 219 Bus. to I-68 / US 40 – Meyersdale, PA, Somerset, PA
MD 946
north (Finzel Road)
AlleganyFrostburg19.6631.64
 MD 36 north (Mount Savage Road)		West end of MD 36 overlap
20.1332.40
 MD 936 south (Grant Street, Old Upper Georges Creek Road) – Midland
20.7333.36

 MD 36 south (Upper Georges Creek Road) to I-68		East end of MD 36 overlap
Eckhart Mines21.5934.75 MD 638 (Parkersburg Road) – Mount Savage
21.8635.18
 MD 743 west (Old National Pike)
Clarysville22.4036.05
 MD 55 south (Vale Summit Road) – Vale Summit, Midland
LaVale24.8039.91


 MD 53 south to I-68 east
25.1540.48

 I-68 west / US 40 west (National Freeway) – Frostburg		I-68 Exit 39
25.6441.26
MD 658 south (Vocke Road) to I-68
east
Cumberland28.8246.38
 MD 36 south (Mount Savage Road) – Mount Savage
31.8051.18 I-68 / US 40 / US 220 (National Freeway) – Frostburg, HagerstownEastern terminus of US 40 Alt, I-68 Exit 44
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

  •  
    Maryland Roads portal

References

  1. ^ a b Highway Information Services Division (December 31, 2013). Highway Location Reference. Maryland State Highway Administration. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Map of Maryland (Map). Maryland State Highway Administration. 1983. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  3. ^ a b State of Maryland State Highway System (Map). Maryland State Highway Administration. 1980. Archived from the original on August 26, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-8018-5980-8
    .
  5. ^ National Highway System: Cumberland, MD (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. October 1, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Highway Location Reference: Garrett County" (PDF). Maryland State Highway Administration. 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  7. ^
    ISBN 0-8018-5155-6
    . Retrieved October 11, 2008.
  8. ISBN 1-60354-019-9
    .
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Casselman River Bridge State Park History". Maryland Department of Natural Resources. 2008. Archived from the original on April 27, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  10. U.S. Geological Survey
    . 1981.
  11. ISBN 978-0-607-90687-5
    .
  12. ^ a b c d e "Highway Location Reference: Allegany County" (PDF). Maryland State Highway Administration. 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  13. ^
    ISBN 0-8018-5156-4
    .
  14. ^ a b Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects (2001). "Maryland Historic National Road Scenic Byway Corridor Partnership Plan: Chapter 4" (PDF). Maryland Department of Planning. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2009. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
  15. ^ a b Lowdermilk, William (1878). History of Cumberland. Harvard University. p. 336.
  16. ^ "LaVale Toll House". National Park Service. 2004. Retrieved September 6, 2008.
  17. ^ a b "National Register Listings in Maryland: La Vale Toll Gate House". Maryland Historical Trust. 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2008.
  18. ^ Whetzel, Dan (2004). "The Cumberland Narrows: Portal to the National Road" (PDF). Mountain Discoveries. 3 (1): 12–19. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  19. ^ "C & O Canal". National Park Service. 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  20. ^ "Casselmans Bridge, National Road". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2008.
  21. ^ a b "Economic Development History of Interstate 68 in Maryland". Federal Highway Administration. 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  22. Washington Post
    . Retrieved October 11, 2008.

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