Suitland Parkway

Suitland Parkway
Route information
Maintained by NPS
Length:	9.10 mi[1] (14.65 km)
Existed:	1944 – present
Restrictions:	No commercial vehicles[2]
Major junctions
West end:	I-295 in Washington, D.C.
	MD 5 in Suitland, Maryland MD 458 in Suitland, Maryland MD 337 in Forestville, Maryland
East end:	MD 4 in Forestville, Maryland
Highway system
Numbered Highways in Washington, D.C. Maryland highway system Interstate US State Scenic Byways Turnpikes
Suitland Parkway
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Suitland, Maryland
Coordinates	38°50′49″N 76°58′5″W / 38.84694°N 76.96806°W / 38.84694; -76.96806Coordinates: 38°50′49″N 76°58′5″W / 38.84694°N 76.96806°W / 38.84694; -76.96806
Area	418.9 acres (169.5 ha)
Built	1944
Governing body	National Park Service
Part of	Parkways of the National Capital Region MPS
NRHP Reference #	95000604[3]
Added to NRHP	June 2, 1995[3] Parkways of the National Capital Region MPS]

The Suitland Parkway is a parkway in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. Conceived in 1937, it was built during World War II to provide a road connection between military facilities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and opened on December 9, 1944. It connected Camp Springs (now Andrews Air Force Base) in Prince George's County with Bolling Air Force Base and the Pentagon.^[4]

The Suitland Parkway is 9.35 miles (15.05 km) long. Its eastern terminus is at Pennsylvania Avenue (Maryland Route 4), just outside the Capital Beltway and near Andrews Air Force Base . Its western terminus is at Interstate 295 and the northbound approach to the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.

The parkway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also part of the National Highway System. The eastern half was a two-lane limited-access road, and the western half a four-lane divided limited-access road. In the early 1990s the eastern half was doubled in size to match the western half.^[5]

Route description

Sign for Suitland Parkway

The Suitland Parkway begins at an interchange with I-295 and South Capitol Street in Washington, D.C., heading southeast as a four-lane divided highway. The road intersects Firth Sterling Avenue SE at a traffic light and a railroad line at-grade before passing near residential areas as a limited-access road and curving to the south. The parkway comes to a westbound exit for Sheridan Road SE and an eastbound entrance from Sumner Road SE. that provides access to Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. At the intersection of Sheridan Road SE and Pomeroy Road SE, a bike path begins and runs parallel to the westbound lanes of the parkway through the remainder of Washington, D.C. Past this, the Suitland Parkway curves east through woods and reaches a traffic light with Stanton Road SE. The road curves southeast and comes to a full interchange with Alabama Avenue SE, with access to and from the westbound direction of the parkway provided by Irving Street SE. Following this, the parkway heads east into woods.^[6]

At the bridge that carries Southern Avenue SE over the parkway, the Suitland Parkway enters Prince George's County in Maryland. The road heads northeast into Temple Hills, coming to traffic light with MD 637 north of the Naylor Road station on Washington Metro's Green Line. Left turns are prohibited at the MD 637 intersection. A short distance later, the parkway comes to an interchange with MD 5. Past this interchange, the Suitland Parkway continues east and passes under the Green Line, with the median widening as it continues southeast through woods. The median narrows again as the road comes to an interchange with MD 458 in Suitland near the Suitland station on the Green Line. Past MD 458, the parkway median widens again and the road continues through woodland a short distance to the southwest of the Green Line. The road has an at-grade intersection with Meadowview Drive, which heads south into a residential development, before the subway line passes over the parkway to head south. The Suitland Parkway curves east and the median narrows as the road comes to an interchange with Suitland Road. The road continues east through more woods with nearby development, with the median widening as the road comes to a traffic light with MD 337. It is at this point that southbound MD 337 splits from the westbound Suitland Parkway. The parkway passes under I-95/I-495 without an interchange before northbound MD 337 merges onto the eastbound direction of the parkway via a ramp. At this point, the Suitland Parkway passes to the north of Joint Base Andrews and comes to an interchange that provides access to the north gate of the base. A short distance later, both MD 337 and the Suitland Parkway end at a traffic light with MD 4 in Forestville.^[6]

Commercial vehicles, such as trucks, are prohibited from the entire length of the Suitland Parkway.^[2]

Exit list

State	County	Location	Mile[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
District of Columbia	City of Washington		0.00	0.00	South Capitol Street north – Downtown	Western terminus; At-grade intersection
			0.20	0.32	I-295 (Anacostia Freeway)	Interchange; Eastbound exit and entrance; Exits 3A-B on I-295
			0.30	0.48	Firth Sterling Avenue SE	At-grade intersection
			0.80	1.29	Sheridan Road SE to Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE	Interchange; Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			1.60	2.57	Stanton Road SE	At-grade intersection
			2.20	3.54	Alabama Avenue SE	Interchange; Via Irving Street SE westbound
Maryland	Prince George's	Temple Hills	3.10	4.99	MD 637 (Naylor Road)	At-grade intersection, No left turns
			3.20	5.15	MD 5 (Branch Avenue)	Interchange
		Suitland	4.70	7.56	MD 458 (Silver Hill Road)	Interchange
			5.60	9.01	Meadowview Drive	At-grade intersection
			6.60	10.62	Suitland Road	Interchange
		Forestville	8.00	12.87	MD 337 south (Forestville Road)	At-grade intersection; Western terminus of concurrency with MD 337
			8.50	13.68	Allentown Road	Interchange; Eastbound entrance only
			9.00	14.48	Joint Base Andrews North Gate	Interchange
			9.10	14.65	MD 4 (Pennsylvania Avenue) / MD 337	Eastern terminus; At-grade intersection Northern terminus of MD 337
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Maryland Roads portal
• Washington, D.C. portal

References

External links

• Suitland Parkway, Prince George's County, Inventory No.: PG:76A-22, including photo in 1990, at Maryland Historical Trust website
• Suitland Parkway, from the National Park Service
• Suitland Parkway, Suitland vicinity, Prince George's, MD, also and at the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Topics Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types Lists by county Allegany Anne Arundel Baltimore County Calvert Caroline Carroll Cecil Charles Dorchester Frederick Garrett Harford Howard Kent Montgomery Prince George's Queen Anne's Somerset St. Mary's Talbot Washington Wicomico Worcester Lists by city Baltimore: (Central North and Northwest West and Southwest East and Northeast South and Southeast) Other lists Bridges National Historic Landmarks Category:National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Portal:National Register of Historic Places