U.S. Route 140

U.S. Route 140
U.S. Route 140
	US 140 highlighted over a modern map
Route information
	Auxiliary route of US 40
Existed	1926–January 1979
Major junctions
South end	; US 1 / US 40 Truck in Baltimore, MD ;
North end	US 15 in Gettysburg, PA
Location
Country	United States
States	Maryland, Pennsylvania
Counties	MD: City of Baltimore, Baltimore, Carroll ; PA: Adams
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System ; List ; Special ; Divided ;

Last updated February 19, 2024

U.S. Route 140 (Pennsylvania "Legislative Route 42") was a U.S. highway connecting Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to Baltimore, Maryland. The route was deleted from the system in 1979; today the road's route is followed by portions of Pennsylvania Route 97, Maryland Route 97, and Maryland Route 140.

Route description

This route description features US 140 as it existed in 1945, with references to today's highways to provide context.

Baltimore to Westminster

US 140 began at the intersection of US 1 (North Avenue) and Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore. Pennsylvania Avenue continues southeast from the intersection and would have connected US 140 with US 40, which then followed Franklin Street through downtown Baltimore. US 140 headed northeast on Pennsylvania Avenue three blocks to Fulton Street, where the U.S. Highway joined Reisterstown Road at its southern end. US 140 intersected Gwynns Falls Parkway and MD 26 (Liberty Heights Avenue), which were both boulevards. US 140 itself became a divided highway and passed along the edge of Druid Hill Park to Park Circle, which was then a traffic circle, where the highway met the southern end of MD 129 (Park Heights Avenue) and also Druid Park Drive. From Park Circle, US 140 became an undivided street that followed MD 140's out of the city of Baltimore.

US 140 continued along MD 140's modern course all the way to Reisterstown. In the center of Pikesville, the U.S. Highway met Old Court Road at staggered intersections, neither of which were the modern course of the crossroad. Old Court Road heading east, which was part of MD 133, used what is now Walker Avenue to connect with modern Old Court Road; Old Court Road west from US 140 used Naylors Lane. North of Pikesville, the U.S. Highway met the eastern end of MD 400 (Mount Wilson Lane), which led to Mount Wilson State Hospital. US 140 intersected MD 130 (Greenspring Valley Road) and the Greenspring Valley Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Garrison, then passed under the Western Maryland Railway and over Gwynns Falls at Owings Mills. The U.S. Highway met the southern end of MD 30 (Hanover Pike) in the center of Reisterstown, where the highway turned northwest onto Westminster Pike.

US 140's course out of Reisterstown featured sharper corners than MD 140's modern course; the U.S. Highway used Amy Brent Way through the I-795–MD 140 interchange and the paralleling road east of the Woodfield Court intersection. US 140 veered northwest from the present alignment, briefly following Glen Falls Road before crossing the North Branch of the Patapsco River— Liberty Reservoir had not yet been created—on a road that no longer exists. The highway continued along Old Westminster Pike on the southbound side of modern MD 140. In Finksburg, US 140 intersected MD 91, which followed what is now MD 879 (Old Gamber Road and Cedarhurst Road). The U.S. Highway briefly followed modern MD 140 then Old Westminster Pike, which now acts as a service road for northbound MD 140. Near the hamlet of Sandyville, US 140 began to follow Old Westminster Pike on the southbound side of MD 140.

Westminster to Gettysburg

Shortly before the highway entered the town of Westminster, it met the northern end of MD 683 (Poole Road). The U.S. Highway entered Westminster as Main Street, which had an intersection with MD 559 (Manchester Avenue) immediately after its junction with MD 32 (Washington Road). US 140 and MD 32 continued northwest to the center of town. There, the highways had in rapid succession an intersection with MD 31 (Railroad Avenue), which headed toward Manchester; a grade crossing of the Western Maryland Railway (now Maryland Midland Railway); and an intersection with the northern end of MD 27 (Liberty Street). US 140, MD 31, and MD 32 followed Main Street two more blocks before US 140 split north onto Pennsylvania Avenue; MD 31 and MD 32 continued on Main Street to where they diverged toward New Windsor and Taneytown, respectively.

US 140 followed Pennsylvania Avenue north out of Westminster and continued along Littlestown Pike. The U.S. Highway followed what is today MD 97 with only minor deviations through an intersection with MD 496 (Bachman Valley Road) and Union Mills before entering Pennsylvania south of Littlestown. US 140 followed its modern course along Queen Street through Littlestown, where it had a grade crossing of the Pennsylvania Railroad line between Frederick and Hanover and intersected PA 194 (King Street). The U.S. Highway followed Baltimore Pike all the way to its and US 140's northern terminus in Gettysburg at US 15 (now US 15 Business). US 15 headed south on Steinwehr Avenue and north along Baltimore Street toward the central square of Gettysburg, where the U.S. Highway intersected US 30.

History

US 140 was first signed with the inception of the U.S. Highway numbering system in 1926. The route received numerous realignments over the years. In 1977, plans were made for US 140 to be decommissioned, with the route to be replaced by MD 140 between Baltimore and Westminster, MD 97 between Westminster and the Pennsylvania state line, and PA 97 between the Maryland state line and Gettysburg.^[2] This proposal was made in order to eliminate short routes from the U.S. Highway System.^[3] The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials approved the removal of the US 140 designation on October 28, 1977.^[4] At one point, the section between MD 30 in Reisterstown and Westminster was to become a part of MD 9, which would continue northwest to Emmitsburg; MD 140 was to be designated between Baltimore and Reisterstown. In December 1978, the borough of Littlestown protested the renumbering of US 140 to PA 97.^[3] US 140 was decommissioned on January 1, 1979 and became MD 140 between Baltimore and Westminster, MD 97 between Westminster and the state line, and PA 97 within Pennsylvania.^[3]^[5]

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.

Junction list

This table shows the intersections of US 140 as they existed in 1945.

State	County	Location	Destinations	Notes
Maryland	Baltimore City		US 1 (North Avenue) / Pennsylvania Avenue south – Washington, Philadelphia	Southern terminus of US 140; intersection of US 1 and Pennsylvania Avenue
			MD 26 west (Liberty Heights Avenue)
			MD 129 north (Park Heights Avenue) / Druid Park Drive	Park Circle
	Baltimore	Pikesville	MD 133 east (Old Court Road) / Old Court Road west – Rockland	Near intersection of MD 140 and Old Court Road
		Pikesville	MD 400 west (Mount Wilson Lane) – Mount Wilson State Hospital	Intersection of MD 140 and Mount Wilson Lane
		Garrison	MD 130 east (Greenspring Valley Road) – Brooklandville
		Reisterstown	MD 127 east (Chatsworth Avenue) – Glyndon	Intersection of MD 140 and Chatsworth Avenue
		Reisterstown	MD 30 north (Hanover Pike) – Hampstead, Manchester
	Carroll	Finksburg	MD 91 (Gamber Road) – Gamber, Hampstead	Intersection of Old Westminster Pike and Old Gamber Road
		Westminster	MD 683 south (Poole Road)	Intersection of Main Street and Poole Road
			MD 32 south (Washington Road) – Sykesville	Intersection of Main Street and Washington Road; south end of concurrency with MD 32
			MD 559 east (Manchester Avenue)	Intersection of Main Street and Manchester Avenue
			MD 31 east (Railroad Avenue) – Manchester	Intersection of Main Street and MD 27; south end of concurrency with MD 31
			MD 27 south (Liberty Street) – Mount Airy	Near intersection of Main Street and MD 27
			MD 31 west / MD 32 north (Main Street) – New Windsor, Taneytown	Intersection of Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue; north end of concurrencies with MD 31 and MD 32
			MD 496 east (Bachmans Valley Road)	Intersection of MD 97 and MD 496
Mason–Dixon line			Maryland – Pennsylvania state line
Pennsylvania	Adams	Littlestown	PA 194 (King Street) – Hanover, Taneytown	Intersection of PA 97 and PA 194
Pennsylvania	Adams	Gettysburg	US 15 (Baltimore Street/Steinwehr Avenue) to US 30 – Harrisburg, Frederick, York, Chambersburg	Northern terminus of US 140; intersection of Baltimore Street and US 15 Business (Steinwehr Avenue)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Related Research Articles

Reisterstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 795 (Maryland)</span> Highway in Maryland

Interstate 795 (I-795), also known as the Northwest Expressway, is a nine-mile (14 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway linking Baltimore's northwestern suburbs of Pikesville, Owings Mills, and Reisterstown, Maryland, to the Baltimore Beltway (I-695). The route bypasses Maryland Route 140, carrying part of the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA)'s Baltimore Metro SubwayLink in its median for a four-mile (6.4 km) stretch, and provides direct access to the former Owings Mills Mall. It never connects to its parent, I-95, except via I-695.

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Maryland Route 97 (MD 97) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs 55.27 mi (88.95 km) from U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Silver Spring, Montgomery County, north to the Pennsylvania border in Carroll County, where the road continues into that state as Pennsylvania Route 97 (PA 97). Throughout most of Montgomery County, MD 97 is known as Georgia Avenue, which continues south from the southern terminus along US 29 into Washington, D.C. It is a suburban four- to six-lane divided highway from Silver Spring north to Olney. From here, the route continues as a rural two-lane undivided road north through Brookeville and into Howard County. MD 97 continues through Carroll County where it passes through the county seat of Westminster. The route intersects many major roads, including Interstate 495 north of Silver Spring, MD 28 and MD 200 in Norbeck, I-70/US 40 near Cooksville, MD 26 in Dorsey Crossroads, and MD 27, MD 32, and MD 140 in the Westminster area.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 94</span> State highway in Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 94 is a 30-mile (48 km) long north–south state highway located in southern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at the Mason–Dixon line, where PA 94 continues into Maryland as Maryland Route 30. The northern terminus is at PA 34 south of Mount Holly Springs. PA 94 heads north-northwest from the state line through southwestern York County, where it passes through Hanover and intersects PA 116/PA 194 in the center of town. Past Hanover, the route heads into rural areas and crosses into the eastern portion of Adams County. Here, PA 94 intersects U.S. Route 30 east of New Oxford, PA 394 in Hampton, PA 234 north of Hampton, and US 15 in York Springs. The route heads into Cumberland County and crosses South Mountain, reaching its end at PA 34. PA 94 is designated as the 94th Infantry Division Memorial Highway for its entire length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 97 (Adams County)</span> State highway in Adams County, Pennsylvania, US

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Maryland Route 140 is a 49-mile (79 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from U.S. Route 1 and US 40 Truck in Baltimore northwest to the Pennsylvania border, where the road continues into that state as Pennsylvania Route 16. MD 140 passes through the northern part of central Maryland, connecting Baltimore, Pikesville, Reisterstown, Westminster, Taneytown, and Emmitsburg.

Maryland Route 26 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Liberty Road, the state highway runs 44.10 miles (70.97 km) from U.S. Route 15 in Frederick east to MD 140 in Baltimore. MD 26 connects Frederick and Baltimore with the highway's namesake of Libertytown in eastern Frederick County, the suburban area of Eldersburg in southern Carroll County, and the western Baltimore County suburbs of Randallstown, Milford Mill, and Lochearn. The highway also serves as a major thoroughfare in the western part of Baltimore, where the street is named Liberty Heights Avenue. MD 26 is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration outside of Baltimore and by the Baltimore City Department of Transportation within the city.

Maryland Route 194 (MD 194) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 23.87 miles (38.42 km) from MD 26 in Ceresville north to the Pennsylvania state line near Taneytown, where the highway continues as Pennsylvania Route 194 (PA 194) toward Hanover. MD 194 is the main highway between Frederick and Hanover; the state highway connects the towns of Walkersville and Woodsboro in northeastern Frederick County with Keymar and Taneytown in northwestern Carroll County. MD 194 was blazed as a migration route in the 18th century and a pair of turnpikes in Frederick County in the 19th century, one of which was the last private toll road in Maryland. The state highway, which was originally designated MD 71, was built as a modern highway in Frederick County in the mid-1920s and constructed as Francis Scott Key Highway in Carroll County in the late 1920s and early 1930s. MD 194 received its modern route number in 1956 as part of a three-route number swap. The state highway's bypasses of Walkersville and Woodsboro opened in the early 1980s and mid-1990s, respectively.

Maryland Route 30 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Hanover Pike, the highway runs 19.16 miles (30.84 km) from MD 140 in Reisterstown north to the Pennsylvania state line near Melrose, where the highway continues as Pennsylvania Route 94. MD 30 is a major, two-lane regional highway in western Baltimore County and northeastern Carroll County. Locally, the highway serves the towns of Manchester and Hampstead; the latter town is bypassed by the highway but served by a business route. Regionally, MD 30 connects Reisterstown and Baltimore with Hanover, Pennsylvania.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 194</span> State highway in Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 194 is a 31-mile-long (50 km) north–south state highway located in south-central Pennsylvania. The southern end is at the Maryland state line, where it continues south as Maryland Route 194, and the northern terminus is at the intersection with PA 74 near the borough of Dillsburg. PA 194 heads northeast from the state line through rural areas in southeastern Adams County, intersecting PA 97 in Littlestown. The route continues into the southwestern section of York County and passes through Hanover, where it forms a concurrency with PA 116 and crosses PA 94 in the downtown area. Past here, PA 194 heads north and crosses back into the eastern portion of Adams County, passing through rural land and intersecting U.S. Route 30 in Abbottstown and PA 234 in East Berlin. The route heads into the northwestern portion of York County and passes through Franklintown before coming to its northern terminus.

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Maryland Route 130 is a state highway located in Baltimore County in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Greenspring Valley Road, the state highway runs 5.57 miles (8.96 km) from MD 140 in Garrison east to MD 25 in Brooklandville. MD 130 passes through the Green Spring Valley, an affluent area around the upper reaches of Jones Falls that contains Stevenson University. The state highway was paved by 1910 except for a gap near Stevenson that was closed in the mid-1930s.

Maryland Route 64 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 13.33 miles (21.45 km) from U.S. Route 40 in Hagerstown east to the Pennsylvania state line near Ringgold, where the highway continues north as Pennsylvania Route 997. MD 64 is an L-shaped route in northeastern Washington County, connecting Hagerstown with Smithsburg, Cavetown, and Chewsville and Smithsburg with Ringgold and Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. The state highway is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration except for the municipally-maintained portion within the city limits of Hagerstown. MD 64 was once a turnpike between Hagerstown and Smithsburg. The state highway was constructed from Smithsburg to the Pennsylvania state line in the mid 1910s and from Hagerstown to Smithsburg in the early 1920s. MD 64 was reconstructed in its entirety in the 1950s, resulting in bypasses of all four communities east of Hagerstown the highway serves.

Maryland Route 128 is a state highway located in Baltimore County in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Butler Road, the state highway runs 7.62 miles (12.26 km) from MD 30 in Reisterstown east to MD 25 at Butler. MD 128 was constructed in the early 1930s east of Glyndon. The state highway was extended west to MD 30 in the late 1940s concurrent with the removal of the parallel MD 127 in Reisterstown. An intermediate section of MD 128 was maintained by Baltimore County and MD 127 temporarily returned to its old route between 1970 and 1987.

Maryland Route 496 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Bachmans Valley Road, the state highway runs 7.23 miles (11.64 km) from MD 97 near Pleasant Valley east to MD 30 in Melrose. MD 496 was constructed from Pleasant Valley to Bachman Mills in the mid-1930s. The state highway was completed to Melrose in the late 1940s.

References

↑ "Signs of the Times". The Gettysburg Times. January 8, 1979. p. 1. …U.S. Route 140 has become Pa. Route 97 in Adams County.
↑ Staff (June 14, 1977). "Route 140 May Change to Route 97". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg Times Publishing. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
1 2 3 "Route 140 Is Scheduled To Become Pa. 97 Jan 1, Littlestown Protests". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg Times Publishing. December 11, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved September 30, 2015– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (October 28, 1977). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda" (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 488. Retrieved September 30, 2015– via Wikisource.
↑ Maryland State Highway Administration (1979). Maryland: Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map) (1979–1980 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Highway Administration.

External links

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Endpoints of historic US 140

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[1] "Signs of the Times". The Gettysburg Times. January 8, 1979. p. 1. …U.S. Route 140 has become Pa. Route 97 in Adams County.

[140_to_97-2] Staff (June 14, 1977). "Route 140 May Change to Route 97". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg Times Publishing. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved 2014-01-10.

[1978news-3] 1 2 3 "Route 140 Is Scheduled To Become Pa. 97 Jan 1, Littlestown Protests". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg Times Publishing. December 11, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved September 30, 2015– via Newspapers.com.

[aashto1977-4] Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (October 28, 1977). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda" (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 488. Retrieved September 30, 2015– via Wikisource.

[MD_1979_map-5] Maryland State Highway Administration (1979). Maryland: Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map) (1979–1980 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Highway Administration.

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