| U.S. Route 140 | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Existed: | 1926 – 1980 |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: | US 15 in Gettysburg, PA |
| East end: | US 1 / US 40 Truck in Baltimore, MD |
| Highway system | |
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United States Numbered Highways |
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U.S. Route 140 (Pennsylvania "Legisltative Route 42") was a U.S. highway connecting Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to Baltimore, Maryland. The route was deleted from the system in 1980; today the road's route is followed by portions of Pennsylvania Route 97, Maryland Route 97, and Maryland Route 140.
Though it had no historical significance in the battles fought at Gettysburg, it became important as the route to take to view the historic battlefields and cemetery there.
Contents |
The route began at what is now US 15 Business in Gettysburg. It travelled south out of the town on Baltimore Pike, running south on what is now Pennsylvania Route 97. US 140 passed through Littlestown before reaching the Maryland border, continuing on what is now Maryland Route 97, now Littleston Pike. It entered Westminster on Pennsylvania Avenue, and turned east on Old Westminster Pike, the original route of Maryland Route 140. The route then entered Reisterstown on Westminster Road and turned south on Main Street, which then becomes Reisterstown Road. The road passed through Owings Mills and entered Baltimore City, still carrying the Reisterstown Road moniker all the way south to North Avenue (US 1 / US 40 Truck) in the city. Here, the road's name changed to Pennsylvania Avenue, a diagonal street cutting a path all the way south to US 40 at the intersection of Greene and Franklin Streets.
US 140 was first signed with the inception of the U.S. Highway numbering system in 1926 and deleted in 1980. From Baltimore to Westminster, the road was then redesignated Maryland Route 140 (which continues northwestward from Westminster to meet US 15 in Emmitsburg). From Westminster northwest into Pennsylvania and on to Gettysburg, the road was redesignated Maryland Route 97 and Pennsylvania Route 97 respectively. Until that time, the route received numerous realignments which put those three routes on their current alignments.
The only freeway bypass of the original US 140 is Interstate 795, which runs from Reisterstown to the Baltimore Beltway. Regardless of the bypass, Maryland Route 140 is still the most direct route from Baltimore to the historical sites of Gettysburg.
| Browse numbered routes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ← PA 139 | PA | PA 141 → | ||
| ← MD 139 | MD | MD 140 → | ||