Airport Loop
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The Airport Loop is the name given to the segments of Maryland Route 162, Maryland Route 170 and Maryland Route 176 that surround the Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
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[edit] Route description
The Airport Loop designation is well-signed on eastbound Interstate 195 when approaching BWI Airport. Exiting from I-195 onto MD 170 north, the Airport Loop runs through the northern edge of the airport limits, crossing the Maryland Transit Administration's Baltimore Light Rail line east of I-195. It provides access to the many parking lots and access roads in the northern sector of the airport, and is the primary access road into the BWI Cargo terminal. At the eastern corner of the airport, within the long-term parking lots, MD 170 diverges onto Camp Meade Road, and the Airport Loop follows MD 162.
MD 162 curves sharply to the south at Andover Rd. and continues south along the eastern edge of the airport, acting as a local neighborhood arterial. It skirts the eastern edge of the airport, passing close to a series of small-craft hangars off the edge of the main runways, and eventually terminates on MD 176 Dorsey Road just west of that route's interchange with Interstate 97.
Turning west onto MD 176, the Airport Loop runs along the southern edge of the airport, passing north of Friendship Park and providing access to a southern long-stay parking lot. Continuing west, the route provides access to the many business parks, company offices and light manufacturers that are present. It intersects the northern terminus of MD 652 to the west of the business area, and turns to the northwest, acting again as a residential arterial until reaching MD 170 again.
The Airport Loop designation returns to MD 170 and runs north along the western edge of the airport, paralleling the Amtrak main line between Baltimore and Washington D.C. It intersects Mathison Way, an access road leading to the southern edges of the main runways, and then interchanges with Stoney Run Road, a short connector to the rental car lots west of the railroad. The route then turns northeast, passing between a Northrop Grumman campus and the parking lots for the same before reaching I-195.
[edit] BWI Trail
The pedestrian companion to the Airport Loop is the BWI Trail, a 12-mile biking/hiking trail that completely encircles BWI Airport and is reachable from the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail. Sections of the trail first opened in July 1994. It is believed to be the only one of its type in the entire United States.
[edit] Trailblazer
The trailblazer assemblies used to mark each route as it follows the Airport Loop consist of a single large sign plate with the cardinal direction, the shield for the route, and a blue sign on top reading "Airport Loop". [1]
