Canal Parkway | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maryland Route 61 | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by MDSHA | ||||
Length | 1.94 mi [1] (3.12 km) | |||
Existed | 2001–present | |||
Tourist routes | Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Scenic Byway | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | WV 28 in Cumberland | |||
North end | MD 51 in Cumberland | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Maryland | |||
Counties | Allegany | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Canal Parkway, which carries the unsigned Maryland Route 61 (MD 61) designation, is a state highway and automobile parkway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The road begins at the West Virginia state line at the North Branch Potomac River opposite Wiley Ford, where the highway continues south as West Virginia Route 28 (WV 28). The parkway runs 1.94 miles (3.12 km) north to MD 51 within the city of Cumberland. Canal Parkway provides a connection between downtown Cumberland and the South Cumberland neighborhood and with Greater Cumberland Regional Airport, which is located in Mineral County, West Virginia.
Canal Parkway was constructed as part of a broad group of projects to revitalize the North Branch Potomac River waterfront of Cumberland, centered on the historical Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O Canal). The parkway was constructed both as a scenic highway and to improve access to South Cumberland and the airport, which were often cut off from the rest of Cumberland by flooding or traffic jams at the sole connecting point, a railroad underpass on Virginia Avenue. New bridges over the North Branch Potomac River and the C&O Canal were built in 1992 and 1997, while the portion of Canal Parkway from the canal crossing toward downtown Cumberland was constructed between 1999 and 2001.
Canal Parkway begins at the West Virginia state line on a bridge across the North Branch Potomac River between Wiley Ford and the southern edge of the city of Cumberland. The roadway continues south as WV 28 through Wiley Ford toward Greater Cumberland Regional Airport. Canal Parkway heads north as a two-lane highway, crossing the C&O Canal and its towpath on a Warren truss bridge. The state highway gains a median and intersects River Avenue, part of the old connection from Cumberland to Wiley Ford that serves the South Cumberland neighborhood. No trucks are allowed on the road north of River Avenue. Canal Parkway continues north between the C&O Canal to the west and an industrial area to the east, both of which are shielded from view by trees and walls. Beyond Elder Street, the state highway reduces to a two-lane road without a median. [1] [2]
As the parkway is approached by CSX's Cumberland Terminal Subdivision railroad line west of the Cumberland rail yard, the parkway ceases to be shielded by trees. Canal Parkway rises onto a retaining wall above the level of the C&O Canal to the west and on level with the railroad that begins to closely parallel the state highway to the east. The state highway's elevation allows views of the North Branch Potomac River and Knobly Mountain to the west but discourage views of the adjacent C&O Canal and MD 51 (Industrial Parkway), which parallels the east side of the railroad. Canal Parkway descends from the retaining wall to cross a rail spur from the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision that heads north to Canal Place. The two directions of the state highway split for a partial interchange with MD 51, with the northbound lane passing under MD 51's overpass of the railroad. The northbound lane of Canal Parkway has a right-in/right-out interchange with Wineow Street before merging with westbound MD 51 a short distance south of downtown Cumberland. [1] [2]
Wiley Ford is named for a shallow spot in the North Branch Potomac River just east of the present bridge over the river. [3] The first bridge at Wiley Ford was constructed around 1908; a replacement bridge was built in the late 1950s. [4] [5] Traffic heading to Wiley Ford from downtown Cumberland travelled Virginia Avenue south from Oldtown Road, the old alignment of MD 51, then followed River Avenue southwest to its present intersection with Canal Parkway, then south across the river along Ford Avenue, which followed the same alignment as Canal Parkway today. [6] In addition to the route suffering from the standard problems of travelling through city streets, Virginia Avenue passed under the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad tracks via a low, narrow underpass that was vulnerable to flooding and, due to its location immediately south of Virginia Avenue's intersections with MD 51, was the frequent site of traffic jams. A problem at the underpass isolated South Cumberland south of the tracks from the rest of the city and required a lengthy detour through West Virginia. The same problems also hindered access to Greater Cumberland Regional Airport from the city. [7]
Canal Parkway was constructed as part of a broad group of projects to revitalize the North Branch Potomac River waterfront south of downtown Cumberland starting in 1989. [7] These projects included:
The first section of Canal Parkway to be built was the reconstruction of Ford Avenue from the West Virginia state line to River Avenue. A new bridge over the North Branch Potomac River was completed in 1992. [12] A new bridge over the C&O Canal was completed in 1997, eliminating an at-grade crossing of the highway and the C&O Canal towpath. [13] Construction of Canal Parkway from River Avenue to MD 51 was underway by 1999 and completed in 2001, at which time the highway received the unsigned MD 61 designation. [14] [15]
The entire route is in Cumberland, Allegany County.
mi [1] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.00 | 0.00 | WV 28 south – Wiley Ford, Greater Cumberland Regional Airport | West Virginia state line at North Branch Potomac River; southern terminus | ||
1.94 | 3.12 | MD 51 west (Industrial Boulevard) – Downtown Cumberland | Northern terminus; eastbound exit from and westbound entrance to MD 51 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
MD 61 originally had two auxiliary routes. Both routes were transferred to municipal maintenance in 2005. [16]
U.S. Route 340 is a spur route of US 40, and runs from Greenville, Virginia, to Frederick, Maryland. In Virginia, it runs north–south, parallel and east of US 11, from US 11 north of Greenville via Waynesboro, Grottoes, Elkton, Luray, Front Royal, and Berryville to the West Virginia state line. A short separate piece crosses northern Loudoun County on its way from West Virginia to Maryland.
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Clara Barton Parkway is an automobile parkway in the U.S. state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. The highway runs 6.8 miles (10.9 km) from MacArthur Boulevard in Carderock, Maryland, east to Canal Road at the Chain Bridge in Washington. Clara Barton Parkway is a two- to four-lane parkway that parallels the Potomac River and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O) in southwestern Montgomery County, Maryland, and the far western corner of Washington. The parkway provides access to the communities of Cabin John and Glen Echo and several units of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The Maryland portion of the George Washington Memorial Parkway was constructed from Carderock past Interstate 495 (I-495) to Glen Echo in the early to mid-1960s. The parkway was proposed to continue west to Great Falls and east to Georgetown. However, these proposals never came to fruition and the parkway was extended only to the Chain Bridge in the early 1970s. The Maryland portion of the George Washington Memorial Parkway was renamed in 1989 for Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, and whose original headquarters is located in Glen Echo.
West Virginia Route 28 is a north–south route through the Potomac Highlands of the U.S. state of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 39 in Huntersville. The northern terminus is at the Maryland state line in Wiley Ford, where the route continues into Cumberland as Canal Parkway upon crossing the North Branch Potomac River.
West Virginia Route 480 is a 5.64-mile-long (9.08 km) state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Known for most of its length as Kearneysville Pike, the highway extends from WV 115 in Kearneysville north to the Maryland state line at the Potomac River in Shepherdstown, from where the highway continues as Maryland Route 34. The route is one of the main north–south highways of northern Jefferson County and passes through the campus of Shepherd University. WV 480 was originally established in the early 1920s as West Virginia Route 48. The highway was paved in the mid-1920s, which included a different routing through Shepherdstown. WV 48's present routing through the town was established in the late 1930s when the first James Rumsey Bridge was completed; that bridge was replaced with the current bridge in the mid-2000s. WV 48 was renumbered to WV 480 in the mid-1970s after U.S. Route 48 was established in West Virginia and Maryland.
Maryland Route 135 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Maryland Highway, the state highway runs 29.00 miles (46.67 km) from U.S. Route 219 in Oakland in Garrett County east to US 220 in McCoole in Allegany County. MD 135 is the main link between the towns of Oakland, Mountain Lake Park, Loch Lynn Heights, and Deer Park on the Appalachian Plateau and the communities of Bloomington, Luke, Westernport, and McCoole in the upper valley of the North Branch Potomac River. These groups of towns are separated by Backbone Mountain.
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Maryland Route 17 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway begins at the Virginia state line at the Potomac River in Brunswick, where the highway continues south as Virginia State Route 287. MD 17 runs 29.49 miles (47.46 km) north from the Brunswick Bridge to the Frederick–Washington county line near Wolfsville. The state highway serves as the main north–south highway of the Middletown Valley of western Frederick County. MD 17 connects Brunswick and Wolfsville with Rosemont, Burkittsville, Middletown, and Myersville. The state highway also connects those communities with the valley's main east–west highways, which include U.S. Route 340, US 40 Alternate, Interstate 70 (I-70), and US 40.
Maryland Route 144 is a collection of state highways in the U.S. state of Maryland. These highways are sections of old alignment of U.S. Route 40 between Cumberland and Baltimore. Along with US 40 Scenic, US 40 Alternate, and a few sections of county-maintained highway, MD 144 is assigned to what was once the main highway between the two cities, connecting those endpoints with Hancock, Hagerstown, Frederick, New Market, Mount Airy, Ellicott City, and Catonsville. MD 144 has seven disjoint sections of mainline highway that pass through the Appalachian Mountains in Allegany and Washington counties and the rolling Piedmont of Frederick, Carroll, Howard, and Baltimore counties.
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