Interstate 395 (Maryland)
Interstate 395 (I-395) is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Cal Ripken Way, the highway runs 1.33 miles (2.14 km) from I-95 north to Howard Street and Camden Street in Baltimore. I-395 is a spur that heads north from I-95 over the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River toward Downtown Baltimore, where it provides access to the Inner Harbor and the Baltimore Convention Center. The Interstate also serves the Camden Yards Sports Complex, which contains M&T Bank Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Ravens and Baltimore Orioles, respectively. I-395 has an unsigned 0.65-mile (1.05 km) spur designated I-395A that serves as the southernmost portion of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, an urban arterial that provides a western bypass of downtown Baltimore. The Interstate and its spur are maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) and are a part of the National Highway System.[2]
Route description
I-395 begins at a directional T interchange with I-95 that is entirely elevated above the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River, an estuary that receives Gwynns Falls just west of the interchange. The two-lane ramps from northbound I-95 to northbound I-395 and southbound I-395 to southbound I-95 pass over ramps from southbound I-95 to the southbound Baltimore-Washington Parkway and from the northbound parkway to northbound I-95. The one-lane ramp from southbound I-395 to northbound I-95 splits from the southbound I-95 ramp where the Interstate becomes a viaduct over land. I-395, which carries six lanes, passes to the west of the Federal Hill neighborhood and to the east of M&T Bank Stadium and begins to parallel the Baltimore Light Rail and CSX's Baltimore Terminal Subdivision], which carries MARC's Camden Line.[1][3]
East of the stadium, two-lane flyover ramps from northbound I-395 to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and from the boulevard to southbound I-395 leave and join the mainline. I-395 curves to due north as a four-lane freeway that gains one additional lane in each direction as the viaduct ends and the highway approaches its signed, limited access terminus at Conway Street adjacent to Camden Station, the northern terminus of the Camden Line. The train station is just to the east of the B&O Warehouse, which is just to the east of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Conway Street heads east toward Light Street and the Inner Harbor. I-395 officially continues one block north along the western edge of the Baltimore Convention Center to a northern terminus at Camden Street adjacent to Sports Legends at Camden Yards, which is in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's original Camden Station building. The roadway continues north as Howard Street through downtown Baltimore.[1][3]
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which is unsigned I-395A, curves west from its flyover ramps at I-395 to pass between the two stadiums. The four-lane freeway has one exit: a northbound ramp to Lee Street, which provides access to several parking lots at the Camden Yards Sports Complex. Both directions of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard receive a ramp from northbound Russell Street; there is also a ramp from southbound Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to southbound Russell Street. I-395A officially ends at the west end of the highway's bridge over Russell Street. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard continues north as a six-lane divided city-maintained street that passes along the western edge of downtown Baltimore on its way to connections with U.S. Route 40 and I-83.[1][4]
History
In 1969, the Design Concept Team, a multi-discipline group assembled in 1966 by the city government to help design freeway routings that would not disrupt the city's fabric, published the Baltimore 3-A Interstate and Boulevard System. In the 3-A system, I-395 was planned as a freeway spur from I-95 to the south edge of the central business district, connecting to a new route named City Boulevard (now known as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard). As routed in the 3-A System, I-95 would act as a bypass of the central business district, with I-395 providing direct access.[5] On May 30, 2008, the Eastern Branch was officially dedicated for Cal Ripken, Jr., the Hall of Fame baseball player who played for the Baltimore Orioles from 1981 to 2001 and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. The Eastern Branch is now called Cal Ripken Way from I-95 to Conway Street.[6]
Exit list
The entire route is in Baltimore.
See also
- U.S. Roads portal
- Maryland portal
References
- ^ a b c d e "Highway Location Reference: Baltimore City" (PDF). Maryland State Highway Administration. 2005. http://www.marylandroads.com/Location/2005_BALTIMORECITY.pdf. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (August 2003) (PDF). National Highway System: Baltimore, MD (Map). http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/nhs/maps/md/baltimore_md.pdf. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ a b Google, Inc. Google Maps – Interstate 395 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Exit+53&daddr=W+Conway+St&hl=en&geocode=FTcxVwIddrVu-w%3BFXBtVwId9OJu-w&mra=ls&sll=39.275785,-76.62473&sspn=0.030032,0.077162&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=14. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Interstate 395A (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Unknown+road&daddr=S+Martin+Luther+King+Jr+Blvd&hl=en&geocode=FcFGVwId6dtu-w%3BFcRiVwId7tBu-w&mra=ls&sll=39.281276,-76.621914&sspn=0.003754,0.009645&ie=UTF8&ll=39.27768,-76.617022&spn=0.015016,0.038581&t=h&z=15. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ Kozel, Scott. Roads to the Future: Baltimore Early Expressway Planning URL accessed 17:55, 5 February 2007.
- ^ Sharrow, Ryan (2008-05-28). "Stretch of Interstate 395 to be designated 'Ripken Way'". Baltimore Business Journal (Baltimore: Alter Communications). http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/05/26/daily11.html. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
External links
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