Route information | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained by MDSHA | ||||
Length | 9.95 mi [1] (16.01 km) | |||
Existed | 1927–present | |||
Tourist routes | Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Scenic Byway Antietam Campaign Scenic Byway | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | WV 480 near Shepherdstown, WV | |||
MD 65 in Sharpsburg | ||||
East end | ||||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Maryland | |||
Counties | Washington | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
Maryland Route 34 (MD 34) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Shepherdstown Pike, the state highway begins at the West Virginia state line at the Potomac River, where the highway continues south as West Virginia Route 480 (WV 480) through Shepherdstown. The state highway runs 9.95 miles (16.01 km) east to U.S. Route 40 Alternate (US 40 Alternate) in Boonsboro. MD 34 is the main east–west highway of southern Washington County, connecting Shepherdstown and Boonsboro with Sharpsburg and Keedysville. The state highway, which was preceded by the Boonsboro and Sharpstown Turnpike, was constructed as a modern highway in the late 1910s and early 1920s. MD 34's bypass of Keedysville opened around 1960. The western end of the state highway has had three bridges. A 19th-century bridge was destroyed in a 1936 flood and replaced by the James Rumsey Bridge in 1939. The present bridge, also named for James Rumsey, opened in 2005.
MD 34 begins at the West Virginia State line, where the highway crosses the Potomac River on the James Rumsey Bridge. The highway continues into Shepherdstown as WV 480. MD 34 heads east past an access ramp to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park as two-lane undivided Shepherdstown Pike through a mix of farmland and forest. The state highway descends into an underpass of Norfolk Southern Railway's Hagerstown District line, which crosses the state highway at an oblique angle then parallels the highway northeast past the historic home Mount Airy. MD 34 splits away from the railroad as the highway enters the town of Sharpsburg. The state highway's name changes to Main Street at its intersection with Mechanic Street. MD 34 passes through the Sharpsburg Historic District, which contains the Jacob Highbarger House, William Chapline House, Good-Reilly House, Joseph C. Hays House, Piper House, and Tolson's Chapel. At the eastern end of the town, the state highway intersects Church Street, which heads north as MD 65 through the main unit of Antietam National Battlefield and south as a county highway toward Burnside's Bridge. [1] [2]
MD 34 leaves the town of Sharpsburg and passes through the grounds of Antietam National Battlefield. The state highway passes Antietam National Cemetery and passes through open fields before leaving the federal reservation by crossing Antietam Creek on the Porterstown Bridge. MD 34 continues northeast, passing the Pry House Field Hospital Museum before heading through Keedysville. The old alignment of MD 34, MD 845, splits to the east to pass through the center of town as Main Street while MD 34 passes along the edge of town. MD 34 crosses Little Antietam Creek, crosses an abandoned Baltimore and Ohio Railroad grade, and passes the Doub Farm and Baker Farm before receiving the other end of MD 845, Keedy Drive. The state highway passes through a forested area before passing the Crystal Grottoes caverns. MD 34 continues east through farmland before entering the town of Boonsboro and crossing Beaver Creek. The state highway heads east through the town as Potomac Street before reaching its eastern terminus at US 40 Alternate (Main Street). The roadway continues east as St. Paul Street toward South Mountain. [1] [2]
The predecessor highway of much of MD 34 was a 19th-century turnpike called the Boonsboro and Sharpsburg Turnpike between the two eponymous towns via Keedysville. [3] [4] The modern state highway was constructed starting in 1918 with a section from Boonsboro to Keedysville. [5] By 1921, the paved highway was extended west to the Norfolk Southern Railway west of Sharpsburg. [6] The highway was completed to the Potomac River in 1923. [7] MD 34 was one of the original signed Maryland state numbered highways in 1927. [8] The state highway was relocated at its western end following the completion of a new bridge across the Potomac River in 1939. The underpass of the Norfolk Southern Railway between the Potomac River and Sharpsburg was completed around 1940. [9] MD 34 was reconstructed from the Potomac River to Sharpsburg in 1953 and 1954. [10] The state highway was rebuilt from Sharpsburg to Boonsboro between 1956 and 1958, including a new bridge over Antietam Creek. [11] MD 34's bypass of Keedysville opened around 1961; the old highway through town was designated MD 845. [12]
The original river crossing at Shepherdstown was a ford downstream from the modern bridge that had various names, including Boteler's Ford, Pack Horse Ford, Shepherdstown Ford, and Blackford's Ford. This ford was utilized by Confederate forces in their retreat from the Battle of Antietam. [13] Around 1755, Thomas Swearingen started a ferry that operated through 1849, when the first covered bridge was constructed across the river. [14] [15] The first covered bridge was destroyed by forces under Stonewall Jackson in 1861. [15] A second covered bridge was constructed in 1871 and lasted until it was destroyed by the same series of floods in 1889 that devastated Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The piers of the covered bridge remain immediately downstream from the modern bridge. [15] An iron bridge was constructed just upstream of the present bridge. [15] [16] This iron bridge was destroyed in the March 1936 series of floods that heavily damaged Pittsburgh. [17] A high-level Wichert continuous truss bridge was constructed at the site of the present bridge and opened July 15, 1939. [18] [19] The new bridge was dedicated to James Rumsey, an 18th-century pioneer of the steamboat, who demonstrated his invention on the Potomac River at Shepherdstown in 1787. [19] Finally, the present bridge, a steel girder span also named for Rumsey, was constructed starting in June 2003 immediately to the north of the 1939 bridge. [20] The new bridge opened July 15, 2005, exactly 66 years after the opening of the previous bridge, which was subsequently torn down. [21]
The entire route is in Washington County.
Location | mi [1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00 | WV 480 south (North Duke Street) – Shepherdstown | West Virginia state line at Potomac River; western terminus | |
Sharpsburg | 3.57 | 5.75 | MD 65 north (Church Street) / Church Street south – Hagerstown, Antietam National Battlefield | Southern terminus of MD 65 | |
Keedysville | 6.39 | 10.28 | MD 845 north (Main Street) | Southern terminus of MD 845 | |
7.61 | 12.25 | MD 845 south (Keedy Drive) | Northern terminus of MD 845 | ||
Boonsboro | 9.95 | 16.01 | US 40 Alt. (Main Street) / St. Paul Street east – Hagerstown, Middletown | Eastern terminus | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
Sharpsburg is a town in Washington County, Maryland. The town is approximately 13 miles (21 km) south of Hagerstown. Its population was 560 at the 2020 census.
Antietam Creek is a 41.7-mile-long (67.1 km) tributary of the Potomac River located in south central Pennsylvania and western Maryland in the United States, a region known as the Hagerstown Valley. The creek became famous as a focal point of the Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War.
Antietam National Battlefield is a National Park Service-protected area along Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Washington County, northwestern Maryland. It commemorates the American Civil War Battle of Antietam that occurred on September 17, 1862.
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.
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.
U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Walterboro, South Carolina, north to Painted Post, New York. In Maryland, the highway runs 37.85 miles (60.91 km) from the Virginia state line at the Potomac River in Point of Rocks north to the Pennsylvania state line near Emmitsburg. Known for most of its length as Catoctin Mountain Highway, US 15 is the primary north–south highway of Frederick County. The highway connects the county seat of Frederick with Point of Rocks, Leesburg, Virginia, and Charles Town, West Virginia, to the south and with Thurmont, Emmitsburg, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to the north. US 15 is an expressway throughout the state except for the portion south of MD 28. The highway is a freeway along its concurrency with US 340 and through Frederick, where the highway meets US 40 and Interstate 70 (I-70). US 15 has a business route through Emmitsburg.
U.S. Route 11 (US 11) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Rouses Point, New York. In Maryland, the federal highway runs 12.83 miles (20.65 km) from the West Virginia state line at the Potomac River in Williamsport north to the Pennsylvania state line near Maugansville. US 11 is the primary north–south surface highway in central Washington County, connecting Hagerstown with Williamsport to the south and Hagerstown Regional Airport to the north. The federal highway was once a major long-distance highway, but that role has been assumed by Interstate 81 (I-81), which parallels US 11 not only in Maryland but for most of its course from Tennessee to Upstate New York. US 11 is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration except for the municipally-maintained portions within the corporate limits of Williamsport and Hagerstown.
Maryland Route 66 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Mapleville Road, the state highway runs 12.84 miles (20.66 km) from U.S. Route 40 Alternate in Boonsboro north to MD 64 near Smithsburg. MD 66 parallels the western flank of South Mountain in eastern Washington County, connecting Boonsboro and Smithsburg with Interstate 70 (I-70) and US 40. MD 66 was constructed in the late 1920s and early 1930s from Boonsboro to Cavetown. The state highway was extended north through Smithsburg after MD 64 bypassed the town in the late 1950s.
Maryland Route 51 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Oldtown Road, the state highway runs 25.53 miles (41.09 km) from an interchange with Interstate 68 (I-68) in Cumberland south to the West Virginia state line at the Potomac River, where the highway continues east as West Virginia Route 9 toward Paw Paw. Around Cumberland, MD 51 is a major highway that provides a bypass of the South End neighborhood of that city and access to industrial areas along the North Branch Potomac River. South of North Branch, MD 51 is a rural highway connecting small communities along the river in southeastern Allegany County, including Oldtown. Documentation from the Maryland State Highway Administration depict the highway as following an east-west alignment, but all signage indicates a north-south road.
Maryland Route 60 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Leitersburg Pike, the state highway runs 7.27 miles (11.70 km) from the intersection of Potomac Avenue and Northern Avenue/Eastern Boulevard in Hagerstown east to the Pennsylvania state line near Leitersburg, where the highway continues north as Pennsylvania Route 316. MD 60 connects Hagerstown with Leitersburg and Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. MD 60 was paved over the course of an old turnpike from Hagerstown toward Waynesboro in the mid-1920s. The state highway was reconstructed in the mid-1950s, including the highway's bypass of Leitersburg.
Maryland Route 63 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 16.99 miles (27.34 km) from MD 65 in Fairplay north to the Pennsylvania state line near Cearfoss, where the highway continues as Pennsylvania Route 163. MD 63 is an L-shaped route that passes through central Washington County on the south and west sides of Hagerstown. The state highway connects with multiple local and long-distance highways that serve Hagerstown, including Interstate 81 (I-81) and U.S. Route 11 in Williamsport and I-70 and US 40 in Huyett. MD 63 also joins MD 68 in a concurrency through Williamsport.
Maryland Route 65 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Sharpsburg Pike, the state highway runs 11.75 miles (18.91 km) from MD 34 in Sharpsburg north to the southern end of Hagerstown, where the highway continues north as Potomac Street toward the downtown area. MD 65 connects central and southern Washington County and serves as the primary access point to Antietam National Battlefield. The state highway, which was originally laid out as a turnpike, was constructed in its modern form in the mid-1920s. MD 65 was rebuilt in the early 1950s and relocated through Antietam National Battlefield by the early 1980s.
Maryland Route 67 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Rohrersville Road, the state highway runs 12.20 miles (19.63 km) from U.S. Route 340 in Weverton north to US 40 Alternate in Boonsboro. MD 67 parallels the western flank of South Mountain in southeastern Washington County, connecting Boonsboro with Weverton and Rohrersville. In conjunction with US 340 and US 40 Alternate, MD 67 connects Hagerstown and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, a link that made the highway one of the original state roads marked for improvement in 1909. The first section of the state highway was constructed through Rohrersville around 1920. The remainder of the highway was built between Boonsboro and Weverton in the late 1920s and early 1930s. MD 67 was reconstructed with multiple relocations starting in the late 1950s, culminating in a relocation at the southern terminus to tie into the US 340 freeway in the late 1960s.
Maryland Route 68 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 18.50 miles (29.77 km) from U.S. Route 40 in Clear Spring east to US 40 Alternate in Boonsboro. MD 68 crosses central Washington County to the south of Hagerstown, connecting Clear Spring and Boonsboro with Williamsport, where the highway runs concurrently with MD 63. A small segment of MD 68 west of Boonsboro was constructed around 1920, using as part of the route two early 19th-century stone bridges. The remainder of the highway between Boonsboro and Williamsport was constructed in the second half of the 1920s. MD 68 was extended west from Williamsport to Clear Spring in the mid-1950s. The state highway was relocated south of Williamsport for the construction of Interstate 81 (I-81) in the mid-1960s. Since the early 1990s, I-68 has also existed in Washington County; signs on I-70 aim to avoid confusion between I-68 and MD 68.
U.S. Route 220 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Rockingham, North Carolina, to South Waverly, Pennsylvania. In Maryland, the federal highway runs 27.30 miles (43.94 km) from the West Virginia state line at the North Branch Potomac River in McCoole north to the Pennsylvania state line in Dickens. Known as McMullen Highway for much of its length in Maryland, US 220 is the primary north–south route in central Allegany County, connecting Cumberland with its southern suburbs and Keyser, West Virginia, to the south and Bedford, Pennsylvania, to the north. The federal highway is part of the National Highway System between the West Virginia state line and Maryland Route 53 in Cresaptown and between Interstate 68 (I-68), with which it is concurrent through Cumberland, and the Pennsylvania state line.
Maryland Route 249 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Piney Point Road, the state highway runs 9.84 miles (15.84 km) from St. George Island north to MD 5 in Callaway. MD 249 is the primary access to St. George Island and the communities of Piney Point, Tall Timbers, and Valley Lee on the Piney Point peninsula between the Potomac River and St. George's Creek in southern St. Mary's County. The state highway was constructed on the mainland in the early 1920s; the portion of the highway on St. George Island was completed in the early 1930s. MD 249 was reconstructed in the 1950s, including a new St. George Island Bridge.
U.S. Route 40 Alternate (US 40 Alternate) is an alternate route of US 40 in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs 22.97 miles (36.97 km) from Potomac Street in Hagerstown east to US 40 in Frederick. US 40 Alternate parallels US 40 and much of Interstate 70 (I-70) to the south through eastern Washington County and western Frederick County. The alternate route connects Hagerstown and Frederick with Funkstown, Boonsboro, Middletown, and Braddock Heights. US 40 Alternate crosses two major north–south components of the Blue Ridge Mountains that separate the Great Appalachian Valley and the Piedmont: South Mountain between Boonsboro and Middletown and Catoctin Mountain, which is locally known as Braddock Mountain, at Braddock Heights.
Maryland Route 845 is an unsigned state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Main Street, the state highway runs 1.23 miles (1.98 km) between intersections with MD 34 on either side of Keedysville in southern Washington County. MD 845, which is officially MD 845A, is the old alignment of MD 34 through Keedysville. The state highway was designated around 1960 when MD 34 bypassed the town.
Maryland Route 858 is a collection of unsigned state highways in the U.S. state of Maryland. These four highways are old segments of MD 67 between Rohrersville and Boonsboro in southeastern Washington County. These highways were designated when MD 67 was relocated in the early 1960s. The longest segment is MD 858F, which runs exactly 1 mile (1.6 km) between a pair of intersections with MD 67 in Rohrersville. In addition to the four existing highways, there are several county-maintained segments of old MD 67 between Rohrersville and Boonsboro and at Gapland, Brownsville, and Weverton south of Rohrersville.
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