Interstate 270 (Maryland)

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Interstate 270 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Highway
Length:	34.40 mi[1] (55.36 km)
Formed:	1975
North end:	I-70/US 40 near Frederick
Major junctions:	I-370 in Rockville I-270 Spur north of Bethesda
South end:	I-495/MD 355 north of Bethesda
Highways in Maryland < MD 269 MD 270 > State highways - Minor - Former - Turnpikes

Interstate 270 (abbreviated I-270) is a 34.4-mile spur Interstate highway that travels between Interstate 70 in Frederick, Maryland and Interstate 495 (the Capital Beltway) just north of Bethesda, Maryland. It is known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Highway and a portion of it is known as the Washington National Pike.

[edit] Route description

Interstate 270 near the connection with the Capital Beltway.

I-270 is a direct continuation of the 1950s Frederick Bypass, a four-lane freeway built to carry US 15 and US 40 around downtown Frederick. When driving on U.S. 15 south, staying on the main line freeway through the US 15/US 340 interchange and the I-70/US 40 interchange provides direct access to I-270.

The route between Frederick and Maryland Route 121 is a four-lane freeway that twists and turns through undeveloped land; approximately three miles outside Frederick the road crosses the scenic Monocacy River. Once I-270 reaches MD 121, the route widens to six lanes. This stretch is known as the Washington National Pike.

I-270 travels through Germantown, Gaithersburg, and Rockville, Maryland. Prior to Exit 4 (Montrose Road), the northbound carriageway widens into a local-express configuration. The southbound carriageway meets this configuration at Exit 8 (Shady Grove Road), where it too widens into a local-express configuration. Between Shady Grove Road and Montrose Road, I-270 is 12 lanes; each direction has a four-lane express roadway (including an HOV lane) and a two-lane local roadway.

A spur route, Interstate 370, provides access to a park and ride lot at the Shady Grove station of the Washington Metro.

After Montrose Road, the local-express split ends; Interstate 270 later divides into two six-lane, bidirectional branches about 2 miles north of its junction with the Capital Beltway. For southbound traffic, the eastern (main) branch merges with the inner loop of the Beltway at exit 35, and the western (spur) branch merges with the outer loop at exit 38.

[edit] History

The segment of I-270 between Frederick and MD 109 is one of the oldest freeways in Maryland; it was completed as part of U.S. 240 in 1953.

Under the original Interstate numbering system, I-270 was designated I-70S, and the western spur was designated I-270. When I-70S was redesignated I-270 in 1975, the western spur was known for a short time as Interstate 470, at least on a 1975 Virginia Department of Transportation map. The western spur is now signed and publicly known simply as Interstate 270 Spur, although Maryland State Highway Administration documents refer to it as Interstate 270Y.

A proposal to extend I-270 inside the Beltway into Washington, D.C. as the North Central Freeway, connecting directly to Interstate 95, was canceled because of community opposition.

[edit] Future

This article contains information about a planned or expected future road. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

According to the "Master Plan", another exit from I-270 will occur less than a mile north of current exit 26 to Maryland Route 80. The plan calls for an interchange onto Park Mills Road to accommodate the quickly expanding Urbana region.

The proposed Intercounty Connector would connect I-270 from the I-370 spur to I-95 near Laurel.

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	Mile [citation needed]	#	Destinations	Notes
Montgomery		0.0		I-495 east (Capital Beltway) – Silver Spring, College Park	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		0.0		MD 355 south – Bethesda	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		1.5	1A	MD 187 (Old Georgetown Road)	Southbound exit is via exit 1
			1B	Rockledge Drive	Signed as exit 1 southbound
		2.4	2	I-270 Spur to I-495 south – Washington, Northern Virginia	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Rockville	4.1	4	Montrose Road (MD 927)	Signed as exits 4A (east) and 4B (west)
		5.5	5	MD 189 (Falls Road)
		6.4	6	MD 28 (West Montgomery Avenue) – Rockville, Darnestown	Signed as exits 6A (east) and 6B (west)
		8.4	8	Shady Grove Road, Redland Road
		9.3	9	I-370 / Sam Eig Highway – Metro Station	Signed as exits 9A (east) and 9B (west)
	Gaithersburg	10.9	10	MD 117 (Clopper Road, West Diamond Avenue)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		11.5	11	MD 124 (Quince Orchard Road, Montgomery Village Avenue)	Northbound exit to MD 124 west is via exit 10
	Germantown	14.0	13	Middlebrook Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 13A (east) and 13B (west)
		14.7	15	MD 118 to MD 355 – Germantown	Signed as exits 15A (north) and 15B (south)
		15.8	16	MD 27 (Father Hurley Boulevard) – Damascus	Signed as exits 16A (east) and 16B (west)
		18.4	18	MD 121 – Boyds, Clarksburg
		22.3	22	MD 109 – Hyattstown, Barnesville
Frederick	Urbana	26.0	26	MD 80 – Urbana, Buckeystown
	Frederick	31.2	31	MD 85 (Market Street) – Frederick, Buckeystown	Signed as exits 31A (north) and 31B (south)
		32.6	32	I-70 (US 40 east) – Hagerstown, Baltimore	No exit number southbound
				US 15 north (US 40 west) – Frederick, Gettysburg	Continuation beyond I-70

[edit] Interstate 270 Spur

Interstate 270 Spur is a spur off of I-270 that connects I-270 and the Capital Beltway. It carries traffic headed southbound on I-270 to southbound I-495, and vice versa. It intersects with Democracy Boulevard and has an HOV exit onto Fernwood Drive. On I-270, exit 1 is Maryland Route 187 (Old Georgetown Road) and Rockledge Drive; on I-270 spur, exit 1 is Democracy Blvd.

[edit] See also

• Maryland Route 355
• U.S. Route 240

[edit] References

1. ^ Route Log - Auxiliary Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 2

[edit] External links

• I-270 @ MDRoads.com
• Interstate 270 (MD) on AARoads.com
• 2003 Highway Location Reference for Montgomery County, from Maryland State Highway Administration
• Frederick News Post Article

v • d • e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 70 Colorado: 270 • 470 (former) — Kansas: 470 • 670 — Missouri: 170 • 270 • 470 • 670 — Illinois: 270 — Ohio: 270 • 470 • 670 — West Virginia: 470 — Maryland: 170 (former) • 270 • 370

Browse numbered routes
< US 240	DC		I-295 >