U.S. Route 219 in Maryland

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U.S. Route 219
Length: 48.40 mi (77.89 km)
Formed: 1934
South end: US 219 at WV state line
Major
junctions:		 US 50 near Redhouse
MD 135 in Oakland
MD 39 in Oakland
MD 42 near McHenry
I-68 near Grantsville
US 40 near Grantsville

Alt US 40 near Grantsville
North end: US 219 at PA state line
Counties: Garrett
Major cities: Oakland
Highways in Maryland
< MD 218 US 220 >
State highways - Minor - Former - Turnpikes

U.S. Route 219 in Maryland is a rural highway in Western Maryland. It crosses the West Virginia state line in a rural area and serves as a major north-south route in Garrett County, connecting the major town of Oakland to Interstate 68. It crosses into Pennsylvania in another rural area near the town of Grantsville.

Its southern portion is known throughout as Garrett Highway.

Contents

[edit] Route description

Communities

[edit] Garrett Highway

US 219 crosses into Maryland near Backbone Mountain and assumes the name of Garrett Highway. It runs northeast through the 'corner' of Garrett County, intersecting US 50 after a few miles. It continues northeast through the rural countryside to the major town of Oakland, where it turns west at the western terminus of MD 135. Running through Oakland east of Oakland Golf Course the route turns north again at the eastern terminus of MD 39.

Continuing northeast, the route reenters extremely rural countryside, soon reaches the western shore of Deep Creek Lake, a major tourist attraction and natural feature. Closely hugging the shore of the lake, the route enters a heavily developed area, serving as a suburban arterial. It crosses the lake to the west of Deep Creek Lake State Park. Continuing along the lake shore, it serves the town of McHenry, passing to the east of Marsh Run Cove south of the town. The route turns northeast again at the southern terminus of MD 42, passing well to the west of Garrett County Airport.

Returning to the rural countryside, US 219 soon reaches the town of Accident, where it serves as the town's Main St. Exiting the town, the highway becomes moderately curved, winding its way through a mountainous portion of the county and continuing in a northeasterly direction, until it intersects Interstate 68 at a full cloverleaf (Exit 14). Here, US 219 and US 40 join Interstate 68 and follow it east, passing to the south of Grantsville and interchanging with MD 495 south of the town.

[edit] Chestnut Ridge Road

North of Little Meadow Lake, US 219 separates from I-68 and US 40 at a diamond interchange (Exit 22), joining Chestnut Ridge Road. The route runs due north away from I-68, intersecting Alt US 40 near High Point. Continuing through rural countryside once more, the route crosses into Pennsylvania about 3 miles north of I-68, running into the town of Salisbury, Pennsylvania.

[edit] Points of interest

[edit] Junction list

Location Mile Destinations Notes
continues from West Virginia
Redhouse 3.0 US 50 / George Washington Highway - Aurora WV, Gormania WV
Oakland 10.56
Maryland Route 826A north / SHA Dr. (aka US 219A)		 former alignment of , serves as access road to SHA garage
10.56
Maryland Route 826B west / Lumber City Rd.		 former alignment of
10.9
Maryland Route 135 east / Maryland Highway / Maryland Route 219 north / 9th St. - Deer Park, Bloomington, Luke		 turns west along Oak St.; is unsigned (associated with Oakland bypass)
11.47
Maryland Route 39 west / Oak St. - Hutton		 turns north along 3rd St.
11.96 Memorial Dr. east - Garrett County Hospital
17.7 Sand Flat Rd. south - Deer Park ( MD 135)
18.49 Mayhew Inn Rd. west - Swallow Falls State Park
Thayerville 19.56 Glendale Rd. east - Deep Creek Lake (to MD 495)
crosses Deep Creek Lake
McHenry 24.34 Mosser Rd. east - to Rock Lodge Rd. Rock Lodge Rd. east leads to
24.82 Sang Run Rd. west - Wisp Ski Resort, Golf Club at Wisp (to Cranesville Rd.)
25.88
Maryland Route 42 north / Friendsville Rd. - Friendsville (to I-68)
28.47 Bumble Bee Rd. south - to Airport Rd. (Garrett County Airport)
Accident 30.89 Accident Friendsville Rd.-Accident Bittinger Rd. - Friendsville
Kaese Mill 32.79 Bear Creek Rd. - to Fish Hatchery Rd. Fish Hatchery Rd. underpasses
33.73
Maryland Route 826E north / Accident Garage Rd.		 former route of
35.08
Maryland Route 826M south / Rabbit Hollow Rd. - to Bowman Hill Rd.
35.63
Maryland Route 826L north / Ryland Ct. (aka US 219G)
36.10
Maryland Route 826J north / Stockyard Rd. (aka US 219D)
36.68
Maryland Route 826J south / Stockyard Rd. (aka US 219E)
36.95
Maryland Route 948H north / Diesel School Rd.-Devils Half Acre Rd.		 associated with former (now )
37.42
Interstate 68 west / US 40 west / National Freeway - Friendsville, Morgantown WV		 grade-separated interchange between three routes; continues north on Garrett Highway to
and join (mileposts switch to series)
Grantsville 13.8 Maryland Route 495 / Bittinger Rd. - Bittinger (to ) grade-separated interchange between four routes
22.2
Interstate 68 east / US 40 east / National Freeway - Frostburg, Cumberland, Hancock		 grade-separated interchange between three routes
separates from and (mileposts return to series)
High Point 46.33
Alt US 40 / National Pike - Grantsville, Piney Grove
continues into Pennsylvania

[edit] History

Originally, US 219 ended in Grantsville at US 40 (now Alt US 40). However, by 1939 it was decided to extend US 219 south of Grantsville, via Accident and Oakland, into West Virginia. The route chosen for this extension was signed as Maryland Route 37; after the extension, MD 37 had been completely replaced by US 219.

[edit] Future work

 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.

Two major expansions are currently being planned for US 219 in Maryland.

[edit] Chestnut Ridge Road Bypass

The segment of US 219, known as Chestnut Ridge Road, between Interstate 68 and the Pennsylvania state line (a distance of 2.54 miles) is currently under study by the Maryland State Highway Administration as part of a larger study being conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to fully upgrade all of US 219 between I-68 and US 22, thereby providing a fully limited-access grade-separated freeway corridor between both Interstates and fostering increased trade and other economic benefits for rural Pennsylvania.

The Spring 2006 newsletter published by the project team contains diagrams of the alternate routes currently under study for the new US 219 freeway. It additionally describes the following news about the project: [1]

  • The project team has developed two alternatives for terminating the new US 219 freeway at I-68. One interchange provides a high-speed free-flowing terminus, with directional ramps from US 219 to both directions of I-68. The other interchange is a trumpet interchange, maintaining the free-flow aspect, but with tighter curves and lower speeds. Studies conducted by the project show that both interchanges will satisfy traffic levels until 2030, and both interchanges will be carried forward through the remaining aspects of the project's research and development of the new route.
  • Plans originally existed for local interchanges between the new US 219 freeway and local roads between Salisbury, Pennsylvania and I-68, but under two of the alternatives being studied for the project, they have been deleted due to lack of reliable indications that they would provide any benefits to local traffic, given the existing interchange between I-68 and US 219 and its close proximity to the project area.
  • The width of the freeway median within Maryland has been decreased to 36 feet, in order to minimize land acquisition and potential environmental damage.
  • The route has been shifted near the southern terminus of the US 219 freeway in order to make better use of the existing right-of-way owned by MDOT SHA.

[edit] Oakland Bypass

US 219 through downtown Oakland is a congested 2-lane street that carries a mixture of residential and through traffic. To alleviate this congestion, the SHA is studying a small bypass of Oakland that would continue the direct alignment of US 219 south of Oakland, across MD 135 to the existing highway northeast of Oakland near the town's local Wal-Mart. The bypass will be 2.4 miles long and will accommodate pedestrians and bicycles.

According to the Summer 2005 newsletter published by the SHA, the bypass will have the following features: [2]

  • At the intersection between Dennett Road and the bypass, a traffic circle will be constructed to act as a traffic calming measure for southbound motorists entering the residential area south of Dennett Road.
  • The southern end of the bypass will be extended beyond its original terminus at MD 135 to a point south of Oak St., near the MD 825A intersection, where a second traffic circle will be built to act as a traffic calming measure for northbound motorists approaching Oakland.
  • The northern end of the bypass will have a seamless connection to the existing route of US 219; the old route into Oakland will be reachable via a connector road between the former and the bypass. This modification was made to provide better access to Wal-Mart and to improve motorist safety.

The project is not scheduled to begin construction until 2010, with the design of the road expected to be finished in 2007.

[edit] Notes

US 219 leads to the town of Thomas, West Virginia, and is part of the route from western and central Maryland to Blackwater Falls State Park, Canaan Valley Resort State Park and the Monongahela National Forest.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ US 219 REVIEW. Newsletter No. 5 Spring 2006 URL accessed 09:45, 26 January 2007.
  2. ^ MDOT SHA. Summer 2005 newsletter URL accessed 09:36, 26 January 2007

[edit] External links

Preceded by
West Virginia
U.S. Route 219
Maryland		 Succeeded by
Pennsylvania