U.S. Route 219 in Maryland

Infobox road
marker_

state=MD
highway_name=
name_notes=
type=US
route=219
alternate_name=
section=


length_mi=48.40
length_round=2
length_ref=
length_notes=
established=1934
decommissioned=
direction_a=South
starting_terminus=
beltway_city=
junction=
cities=Oakland
direction_b=North
ending_terminus=
counties=Garrett
system=
previous_type=MD
previous_route=218
next_type=US
next_route=220
browse=

U.S. Route 219 in Maryland is a rural highway in Western Maryland. It crosses the West Virginia state line in a rural area and serves as a major north-south route in Garrett County, connecting the major town of Oakland to Interstate 68. It crosses into Pennsylvania in another rural area near the town of Grantsville.

Its southern portion is known throughout as Garrett Highway.

Route description

Garrett Highway

US 219 crosses into Maryland near Backbone Mountain and assumes the name of Garrett Highway. It runs northeast through the 'corner' of Garrett County, intersecting US 50 after a few miles. It continues northeast through the rural countryside to the major town of Oakland, where it turns west at the western terminus of MD 135. Running through Oakland east of Oakland Golf Course the route turns north again at the eastern terminus of MD 39.

Continuing northeast, the route reenters extremely rural countryside, soon reaches the western shore of Deep Creek Lake, a major tourist attraction and natural feature. Closely hugging the shore of the lake, the route enters a heavily developed area, serving as a suburban arterial. It crosses the lake to the west of Deep Creek Lake State Park. Continuing along the lake shore, it serves the town of McHenry, passing to the east of Marsh Run Cove south of the town. The route turns northeast again at the southern terminus of MD 42, passing well to the west of Garrett County Airport.

Returning to the rural countryside, US 219 soon reaches the town of Accident, where it serves as the town's Main St. Exiting the town, the highway becomes moderately curved, winding its way through a mountainous portion of the county and continuing in a northeasterly direction, until it intersects Interstate 68 at a full cloverleaf (Exit 14). Here, US 219 and US 40 join Interstate 68 and follow it east, passing to the south of Grantsville and interchanging with MD 495 south of the town.

Chestnut Ridge Road

North of Little Meadow Lake, US 219 separates from I-68 and US 40 at a diamond interchange (Exit 22), joining Chestnut Ridge Road. The route runs due north away from I-68, intersecting Alt US 40 near High Point. Continuing through rural countryside once more, the route crosses into Pennsylvania about 3 miles north of I-68, running into the town of Salisbury, Pennsylvania.

Points of interest

*Candyland
*Oakland Golf Course
*Little Yok Number 1 Reservoir
*Deep Creek Lake
* [http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/deepcreeklake.html Deep Creek Lake State Park]
*Marsh Run Cove
*Garrett County Airport

Junction list

History

Originally, US 219 ended in Grantsville at US 40 (now Alt US 40). However, by 1939 it was decided to extend US 219 south of Grantsville, via Accident and Oakland, into West Virginia. The route chosen for this extension was signed as Maryland Route 37; after the extension, MD 37 had been completely replaced by US 219.

Future work

Two major expansions are currently being planned for US 219 in Maryland.

Chestnut Ridge Road Bypass

The segment of US 219, known as Chestnut Ridge Road, between Interstate 68 and the Pennsylvania state line (a distance of 2.54 miles) is currently under study by the Maryland State Highway Administration as part of a larger study being conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to fully upgrade all of US 219 between I-68 and US 22, thereby providing a fully limited-access grade-separated freeway corridor between both Interstates and fostering increased trade and other economic benefits for rural Pennsylvania.

The Spring 2006 newsletter published by the project team contains diagrams of the alternate routes currently under study for the new US 219 freeway. It additionally describes the following news about the project: US 219 REVIEW. [http://www.sha.state.md.us/WebProjectLifeCycle/GA646_11/htdocs/Documents/Newsletters/Newsletter%20No.%205_%20Spring%2006_2006.pdf Newsletter No. 5 Spring 2006] URL accessed 09:45, 26 January 2007.]

*The project team has developed two alternatives for terminating the new US 219 freeway at I-68. One interchange provides a high-speed free-flowing terminus, with directional ramps from US 219 to both directions of I-68. The other interchange is a trumpet interchange, maintaining the free-flow aspect, but with tighter curves and lower speeds. Studies conducted by the project show that both interchanges will satisfy traffic levels until 2030, and both interchanges will be carried forward through the remaining aspects of the project's research and development of the new route.
*Plans originally existed for local interchanges between the new US 219 freeway and local roads between Salisbury, Pennsylvania and I-68, but under two of the alternatives being studied for the project, they have been deleted due to lack of reliable indications that they would provide any benefits to local traffic, given the existing interchange between I-68 and US 219 and its close proximity to the project area.
*The width of the freeway median within Maryland has been decreased to 36 feet, in order to minimize land acquisition and potential environmental damage.
*The route has been shifted near the southern terminus of the US 219 freeway in order to make better use of the existing right-of-way owned by MDOT SHA.

Oakland Bypass

US 219 through downtown Oakland is a congested 2-lane street that carries a mixture of residential and through traffic. To alleviate this congestion, the SHA is studying a small bypass of Oakland that would continue the direct alignment of US 219 south of Oakland, across MD 135 to the existing highway northeast of Oakland near the town's local Wal-Mart. The bypass will be 2.4 miles long and will accommodate pedestrians and bicycles.

According to the Summer 2005 newsletter published by the SHA, the bypass will have the following features: MDOT SHA. [http://www.sha.state.md.us/WebProjectLifeCycle/GA599_21/htdocs/Documents/Newsletters/2005-06-07%20US%20219%20Oakland%20Project%20-%20NL(rev).pdf Summer 2005 newsletter] URL accessed 09:36, 26 January 2007]

*At the intersection between Dennett Road and the bypass, a traffic circle will be constructed to act as a traffic calming measure for southbound motorists entering the residential area south of Dennett Road.
*The southern end of the bypass will be extended beyond its original terminus at MD 135 to a point south of Oak St., near the MD 825A intersection, where a second traffic circle will be built to act as a traffic calming measure for northbound motorists approaching Oakland.
*The northern end of the bypass will have a seamless connection to the existing route of US 219; the old route into Oakland will be reachable via a connector road between the former and the bypass. This modification was made to provide better access to Wal-Mart and to improve motorist safety.

The project is not scheduled to begin construction until 2010, with the design of the road expected to be finished in 2007.

Notes

US 219 leads to the town of Thomas, West Virginia, and is part of the route from western and central Maryland to Blackwater Falls State Park, Canaan Valley Resort State Park and the Monongahela National Forest.

ee also

*Interstate 68
*U.S. Route 40 in Maryland
*U.S. Route 40 Alternate

References

External links

* [http://www.mdroads.com/routes/us219.html US 219 @ MDRoads.com (currently incomplete)]
* [http://www.sha.state.md.us/WebProjectLifeCycle/ProjectInformation.asp?projectno=GA6461111 US 219 Freeway project page @ MDOT SHA]
* [http://www.sha.state.md.us/WebProjectLifeCycle/ProjectInformation.asp?projectno=GA5992111 US 219 Oakland Bypass project page @ MDOT SHA]
* [http://www.roadlodging.com/road/Maryland/United_States_219/road_lodging.html Lodging on Maryland's segment of US 219]
* [http://www.us219.com/south/index.html US 219 South project page @ PennDOT]