Interstate 68

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interstate 68 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	116 mi[1] (187 km)
West end:	I-79 in Morgantown, WV
East end:	I-70/US 522/US 40 in Hancock, MD
< Corridor D E Corridor F > < MD 67 MD MD 68 > < WV 67 WV WV 68 >

Interstate 68 (abbreviated I-68) is an Interstate Highway in the United States. It runs from Morgantown, West Virginia, at Interstate 79 to Hancock, Maryland, at Interstate 70. During its construction, the route was designated U.S. Highway 48. Upon its completion as a 4-lane highway around 1989, US 48 was de-commissioned for the second time and was re-designated I-68. Interstate 68 is also known as Corridor E of the Appalachian Development Highway System. It is also known as the National Freeway in Maryland, named after the old National Road (US 40), which parallels I-68 east of exit 14 (Keysers Ridge). I-68 was fully completed in 1991.

The road is promoted by the Maryland State Highway Administration as an alternate to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, with signage on I-70 that informs motorists that I-68 is an alternate route to "Ohio and Points West".

[edit] Route description

[edit] West Virginia

The interstate crosses Preston and Monongalia Counties, in a highly rural route. Just west of the West Virginia/Maryland border, FCI Hazelton can be seen to the north. Between Bruceton Mills and Cheat Lake, the most dramatic mountain on the interstate is crossed, known as Cooper's Rock. This mountain can become impassable in a heavy snow. At the base of the mountain on the west side is the Lakeview Resort.

[edit] Maryland

The section through downtown Cumberland, Maryland features a long bridge, known as the "crosstown bridge" that completely spans the city. Immediately west of the bridge, the interstate goes through an area known as "Moose Curve" where it makes an abrupt "S" turn to avoid the Potomac River, which flows immediately to the south of the road at that point. For the next several miles, the interstate proceeds over Haystack Mountain, one of the few remaining syncline fold mountains in the Appalachian Chain (suggesting it was once one of the highest). The interstate climbs past Frostburg, Maryland, crosses into Garrett County, enroute to the West Virginia line.

[edit] History

View heading east, 18 miles (29 km) from Cumberland, MD.

A 340-foot (104 m) deep cut in the top of Sideling Hill was made to allow the highway to pass through six miles (10 km) west of Hancock. This exposed a syncline, a trough-shaped fold in the rock of Sideling Hill. An exhibit center was built at the site, and it opened in 1991.

Initially designated U.S. Route 48, Interstate 68 was built over a period of thirty four years, from 1957 (when the section through Cumberland was built) until 1991, when the final section of the road was built in eastern Allegany County, at which point it was designated Interstate 68.^[1]

The Interstate 68 designation was originally intended to be applied to US 50 (the John Hanson Highway) from Interstate 95/Capital Beltway to Annapolis, Maryland. This section now carries the unsigned I-595 designation.

[edit] Future

The Mon-Fayette Expressway is a major highway project extending from I-376 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania via Uniontown, Pennsylvania and destined to end at I-68 in West Virginia near the Cheat Lake Interchange (Exit 10). Ground was broken in West Virginia in the 1990s during the tenure of Governor Cecil Underwood. When completed, the WV portion of the highway will be designated as WV 43. The official name of this highway in Pennsylvania is the James J. Manderino Highway.^[2]

Interstate 268 has been proposed as a designation for the West Run Expressway, a planned northeast bypass of Morgantown, West Virginia, connecting to I-79 in Pennsylvania.

Ohio and West Virginia have jointly projected the completion of the interstate to Moundsville, West Virginia and on to connect to I-70 in Ohio. This would allow traffic to completely bypass I-70 in Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The two states began this project by building an interstate quality bridge across the Ohio River at Moundsville.

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	Mile[3][4]	#	Destinations	Notes
Monongalia		0.0		I-79 – Fairmont, Washington	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		1.1	1	US 119 (University Avenue) – Downtown Morgantown
	Morgantown	4.0	4	WV 7 – Sabraton
		6.9	7	To WV 705 (via CR 857) / Pierpont Road – Morgantown Municipal Airport
		10.0	10	CR 857 (Fairchance Road) – Cheat Lake
Preston	Coopers Rock State Forest	14.5	15	CR 73/12 – Coopers Rock
		22.6	23	WV 26 – Bruceton Mills
		28.5	29	CR 5 (Hazelton Road)
		31.6/0.0	State line
Garrett
	Friendsville	3.8	4	MD 42 – Friendsville
		13.8	14A	US 219 south – Oakland	West end of US 219 overlap
		13.8	14B	US 40 west – Uniontown	West end of US 40 overlap
	Grantsville	19.2	19	MD 495 – Grantsville, Swanton
		22.2	22	US 219 north – Meyersdale	East end of US 219 overlap
		24.0	24	Lower New Germany Road
		29.8	29	MD 546 – Finzel
Allegany	Frostburg	33.3	33	Midlothian Road (MD 736) – Frostburg
		35.0	34	MD 36 – Westernport, Frostburg
		39.2	39	US 40 Alt. – La Vale	No eastbound exit
		39.9	40	To US 220 south (truck route) / Vocke Road (MD 658, Campground Road
			41	MD 49 / Seton Drive	Westbound exit only
	Cumberland	42.3	42	US 220 south / Greene Street – McCoole, Keyser	West end of US 220 overlap
		43.6	43A	To WV 28 Alt. / Beall Street – Ridgeley	No eastbound exit
			43A	To WV 28 Alt. / Johnson Street	Eastbound exit and entrance
		43.9	43B	MD 51 (Industrial Boulevard) – Cumberland Airport
			43C	Downtown Cumberland
		44.2	43D	Maryland Avenue
		44.9	44	US 40 Alt. west (Baltimore Avenue) / Willow Brook Road (MD 639)
		45.8	45	Hillcrest Drive (MD 952)
			46	Naves Cross Road (MD 144)	Westbound exit and entrance
		46.5	47	US 220 north (MD 144) – Bedford	East end of US 220 overlap; signed as exit 46 eastbound
		51.3	50	Pleasant Valley Road (MD 948D)
		52.5	52	MD 144 east (National Pike)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		55.6	56	MD 144 (National Pike) – Flintstone
		62.9	62	US 40 Scenic east / Fifteen Mile Creek Road
		64.2	64	M.V. Smith Road
		68.7	68	Orleans Road
		71.6	72	To US 40 Scenic / High Germany Road, Swain Road
Washington		73.6	74	To US 40 Scenic east / Mountain Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			Sideling Hill Cut
		77.2	77	US 40 Scenic west to MD 144 / Woodmont Road
	Hancock	81.1	82A	US 522 south – Hancock, Winchester	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		81.1	82B	I-70 east / US 40 east – Hagerstown	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		81.1	82C	I-70 west / US 522 north – Breezewood	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance

[edit] See also

• Interstate Highways in West Virginia
• Sideling Hill

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Roads to the Future - National Freeway (I-68)
• Economic Development History of Interstate 68 in Maryland

edit Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)
4	5	8	10	12	15	16	17	19	20	22	24	25	26	27	29	30
35	37	39	40	43	44	45	49	55	57	59	64	65	66	68	69
70	71	72	73	74	75	76 (W)		76 (E)		77	78	79	80	81	82
83	84 (W)		84 (E)		85	86 (W)		86 (E)		87	88 (W)		88 (E)		89	90
91	93	94	95	96	97	99	(238)		H-1		H-2		H-3
Unsigned			A-1		A-2		A-3		A-4		PRI-1		PRI-2		PRI-3
Lists		Primary			Main - Intrastate - Suffixed - Future - Gaps
		Auxiliary			Main - Future - Unsigned
		Other			Standards - Business - Bypassed

v • d • e Appalachian Development Highway System A  •  A-1  •  B  •  B-1  •  C  •  C-1  •  D  •  E  •  F  •  G  •  H  •  I  •  J  •  K  •  L  •  M  •  N  •  O  •  O-1  •  P  •  Q  •  R  •  S  •  T  •  U  •  V  •  W  •  X  •  X-1