Maryland Route 121

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Maryland Route 121 marker

Maryland Route 121
Clarksburg Road

Maryland Route 121 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDSHA
Length: 3.96 mi[1] (6.37 km)
Major junctions
South end: MD 117 in Boyds
  I-270 in Clarksburg
North end: Stringtown Road in Clarksburg
Location
Counties: Montgomery
Highway system
← MD 119 MD 122 →

Maryland Route 121 (MD 121) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Clarksburg Road, the highway runs 3.96 miles (6.37 km) from MD 117 in Boyds north to Stringtown Road between Interstate 270 (I-270) and MD 355 in Clarksburg. MD 121 connects Boyds and Clarksburg in northern Montgomery County. The highway was paved from Clarksburg to Boyds in the early to mid-1910s. MD 121 was extended to north of Clarksburg in the late 1920s and early 1930s. MD 121 was relocated through Clarksburg in the mid-1950s when I-270 was constructed through the area. The highway's northern end was rolled back to MD 355 in the mid-1970s. MD 121 was relocated in Boyds in the mid-1980s. The highway's northern end was moved to its present terminus just north of I-270 when Stringtown Road was constructed in the mid-2000s. In addition to the Boyds–Clarksburg route, MD 121 has also included three disjoint segments in Dawsonville and Germantown. All three of these routes were segments of the original MD 119.

Route description

MD 121 begins at a T intersection with MD 117 in the village of Boyds. MD 117 heads west along Barnesville Road and south along a continuation of Clarksburg Road, which passes under CSX's Metropolitan Subdivision next to the Boyds station on MARC's Brunswick Line. MD 121 heads north as a two-lane road that crosses the Tenmile Creek branch of Little Seneca Lake. The highway passes through the hamlet of Burdette and intersects Old Baltimore Road, which provides access to Black Hill Regional Park to the east. On the southern edge of the developed area of Clarksburg, MD 121 has a four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with I-270 (Eisenhower Memorial Highway). Just north of the route's bridge across of the freeway, the highway expands to a four-lane divided highway and reaches its northern terminus where the ramp from northbound I-270 merges onto northbound MD 121. The divided highway continues as Stringtown Road, a county highway that serves as one of the main streets through the developed part of Clarksburg and intersects MD 355 (Frederick Road).[1][2]

History

The first segment of MD 121 was constructed as a macadam road from Clarksburg to north of Tenmile Creek by 1910.[3][4] The highway was extended south as a 14-foot-wide (4.3 m) macadam road south to Boyds by 1915.[5][4] Both stretches of the Boyds–Clarksburg road were built by Montgomery County with state aid.[3][5] In 1929 and 1930, MD 121 was extended north from U.S. Route 240 (now MD 355) as a concrete road along Clarksburg Road to Burnt Hill Road.[6][7] This concrete road was extended along Burnt Hill Road to Kingsley Road between 1932 and 1934.[8][9] Washington National Pike (now I-270) was constructed through Clarksburg and the freeway's interchange with MD 121 was built between 1952 and 1954.[10] In conjunction with the freeway construction, MD 121 was relocated west of the center of the village, leaving behind what are now Redgrave Place south of MD 355 and Spire Street north of MD 355.[10][11] MD 121 was removed from Burnt Hill Road and Clarksburg Road north of MD 355 between 1975 and 1977.[12][13] Between 1984 and 1987, MD 121 was relocated at its southern end at Boyds due to the construction of Little Seneca Lake.[14][15] The state highway had previously met MD 117 west of that highway's railroad underpass at a T intersection through which MD 117 formed the east–west primary road through the intersection.[11] MD 121's northern terminus was rolled back to the northern end of the I-270 interchange in 2007 when county-maintained Stringtown Road was completed from the I-270 interchange to MD 355. The disconnected part of Clarksburg Road west of Stringtown Road and south of MD 355 became MD 121A.[16]

An aerial view of the interchange between I-270 and MD 121 in Clarksburg

MD 121 has had three disjoint segments in Germantown and Dawsonville that have never connected with the main Boyds–Clarksburg route. The first segment built was along Sugarland Road near Dawsonville. The concrete road was built from MD 28 south to near Montevideo Road in 1923.[17] The highway was extended south beyond Montevideo Road to near Dry Seneca Creek in 1929 and 1930.[6][7] Also in Dawsonville, a concrete road was built north from MD 28 along White Ground Road in 1933.[18] The third segment was Schaeffer Road from MD 117 south to near the Maryland SoccerPlex; that highway consisted of macadam and concrete segments built in 1929 and 1930.[6][7] By 1939, the state highways along Sugarland Road, White Ground Road, and Schaeffer Road were all part of MD 119, a number now used for Great Seneca Highway through Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Germantown.[1][19] In 1952, White Ground Road and Schaeffer Road were designated MD 121.[20] The following year, Sugarland Road became MD 121 as well. Thus, in 1953, there were four separate portions of MD 121.[21] In 1956, MD 121 along Sugarland Road was transferred to county maintenance.[22] That same year, Schaeffer Road became MD 119 again for a short time until it was turned over to Montgomery County in 1958.[22][23] The 1.00-mile (1.61 km) segment of MD 121 along White Ground Road was transferred to county maintenance in 1999.[24]

Junction list

The entire route is in Montgomery County.

LocationMile[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Boyds0.000.00 MD 117 (Barnesville Road/Clarksburg Road) to MD 28 – Barnesville, GermantownSouthern terminus
Clarksburg3.836.16 I-270 (Eisenhower Memorial Highway) – Frederick, WashingtonI-270 Exit 18
3.966.37Stringtown Road north to MD 355 – Hyattstown, GermantownNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Auxiliary route

MD 121A is the designation for the 0.46-mile (0.74 km) segment of Clarksburg Road that is disconnected from the mainline of MD 121. The highway begins at a cul-de-sac adjacent to MD 121's northern terminus just north of its I-270 interchange. Just north of the cul-de-sac, MD 121A meets the western end of Gateway Center Drive, which links the route with Stringtown Road. The highway continues north to MD 355 (Frederick Road) in Clarksburg, an intersection from which Clarksburg Road continues north as a county highway.[1][25] MD 121A was assigned in 2007 when MD 121 was cut in two by the construction of Stringtown Road by Montgomery County.[16]

See also

  • Portal icon Maryland Roads portal

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Highway Information Services Division (2012). Highway Location Reference. Maryland State Highway Administration. Retrieved 2013-08-11. 
  2. ↑ Google Inc. "Maryland Route 121". Google Maps (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=MD-121+N%2FClarksburg+Rd&daddr=Clarksburg+Rd&hl=en&sll=39.2335,-77.2831&sspn=0.004064,0.010504&geocode=FYjoVQId9U1k-w%3BFXCmVgIdLMBk-w&t=h&mra=ls&z=13. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Maryland Geological Survey. Map of Maryland (Map) (1910 ed.).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Maryland Geological Survey. Map of Maryland: Showing State Road System and State Aid Roads (Map) (1921 ed.).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Weller, O.E.; Parran, Thomas; Miller, W.B.; Perry, John M.; Ramsay, Andrew; Smith, J. Frank (May 1916). Annual Reports of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1912–1915 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. p. 124. Retrieved 2013-08-13. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Uhl, G. Clinton; Bruce, Howard; Shaw, John K. (October 1, 1930). Report of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1927–1930 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. p. 220. Retrieved 2013-08-13. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Maryland Geological Survey. Map of Maryland Showing State Road System: State Aid Roads and Improved County Road Connections (Map) (1930 ed.).
  8. ↑ Byron, William D.; Lacy, Robert (December 28, 1934). Report of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1931–1934 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. p. 345. Retrieved 2013-08-13. 
  9. ↑ Maryland Geological Survey. Map of Maryland Showing State Road System: State Aid Roads and Improved County Road Connections (Map) (1935 ed.).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 McCain, Russell H.; Bennett, Edgar T.; Kelly, Bramwell (November 12, 1954). Report of the State Roads Commission of Maryland (1953–1954 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Roads Commission. pp. 160, 162, 165. Retrieved 2013-08-13. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 United States Geological Survey. Germantown, MD quadrangle (Map). 1:24,000. 7 1/2 Minute Series (Topographic) (1954 ed.).
  12. ↑ Maryland State Highway Administration. Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map) (1975–76 ed.).
  13. ↑ Maryland State Highway Administration. Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map) (1977 ed.).
  14. ↑ Maryland State Highway Administration. Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map) (1987 ed.).
  15. ↑ Staff (2012). "NBI Structure Number: 100000150021010". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 2013-08-13. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Highway Information Services Division (2007). Highway Location Reference. Maryland State Highway Administration. Retrieved 2013-08-13. 
  17. ↑ Maryland Geological Survey. Map of Maryland: Showing State Road System and State Aid Roads (Map) (1923 ed.).
  18. ↑ Maryland Geological Survey. Map of Maryland Showing State Road System: State Aid Roads and Improved County Road Connections (Map) (1933 ed.).
  19. ↑ Maryland State Roads Commission. General Highway Map: State of Maryland (Map) (1939 ed.).
  20. ↑ Maryland State Roads Commission. Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map) (1952 ed.).
  21. ↑ Maryland State Roads Commission. Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map) (1953 ed.).
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Maryland State Roads Commission. Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map) (1956 ed.).
  23. ↑ Maryland State Roads Commission. Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map) (1958 ed.).
  24. ↑ Highway Information Services Division (1999). Highway Location Reference. Maryland State Highway Administration. Retrieved 2013-08-13. 
  25. ↑ Google Inc. "Maryland Route 121A". Google Maps (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Clarksburg+Rd&daddr=Clarksburg+Rd&hl=en&ll=39.23704,-77.282124&spn=0.016254,0.042014&sll=39.233466,-77.282188&sspn=0.008127,0.021007&geocode=FVCpVgId5MBk-w%3BFRrCVgIdUMhk-w&t=h&mra=ls&z=15. Retrieved 2013-08-13.

External links

Route map: Google / Bing
KML file (edit)
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