History of Interstate 95 in Maryland

The I-95 was constructed in several phases. The first part to open was the Woodrow Wilson Bridgeacross the Potomac River on the south side of Washington DC Then, in 1963, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway was opened, then a 50-mile toll road from Baltimore to the Delaware border. In 1964, the Washington DC bypass on the east side of the city opened to traffic. Originally, traffic between Washington and Baltimore was on the Baltimore – Washington Parkway (SR-295), which was built in the 1940s. It wasn’t until 1971 that parallel I-95 opened to traffic here. In 1977, I-95 was no longer planned across Washington DC, but was routed over the eastern beltway, which opened in 1964. The last section to be constructed was the route through Baltimore. By the 1980s, opposition to highways in Baltimore was intensifying, but I-95 was still being completed.Fort McHenry Tunnel under the Patapsco River, completing I-95 in Maryland. This was also one of the last links of the entire I-95 to be opened. In 1993, the toll was lifted northeast of Baltimore, with the exception of the bridge over the Susquehanna at Havre de Grace, which is still a toll road.

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Later adjustments

In the period 2006-2009, the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge was replaced by a wider bridge, and the interchange with I-295 was also converted. In July 2014, a parallel structure was commissioned at Laurel, between SR-200 and SR-198.

Express Lanes

Because I-95 is a crucial link along the east coast of the United States, it was necessary to widen the highway. Between 2006 and 2014, 13 kilometers between Exit 62 and milepost 70 were widened from 2×4 to 4+2+2+4 configuration, using express lanes where tolls have to be paid. This project cost $1.2 billion. The express lanes opened on December 6, 2014.

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Opening history

From Unpleasant Length Date
exit 0 Exit 3 5 km 21-12-1961
Exit 60 exit 110 80 km 24-11-1963
Exit 3 Exit 27 39 km 16-08-1964
Exit 27 Exit 49 35 km 00-00-1971
Exit 49 exit 53 6 km 00-00-1981
exit 53 Exit 54 2 km 00-00-1984
Exit 54 Exit 60 10 km 23-11-1985

Northeast Freeway

The original plans for I-95 did not envision a route through the Capital Beltway (I-495), but through the city of Washington, a more direct route. This plan was canceled in 1977, and then I-95 went through the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and I-495 looped east around the city.

Unfinished connections

The I-95 has no less than 4 connections that have never been completed, three of which are in the city of Baltimore. The first northbound is the College Park Interchange, where I-95 exits from I-495 toward Baltimore. This clearly shows that Interstate 95 was originally supposed to run south, through Washington rather than around it. In 1986 the entire node was adapted and all connecting arches are now back in use.

The other 3 are in the city of Baltimore, Exit 50C was the planned terminus of Interstate 70, Exit 57C was the planned terminus of Interstate 83, and Exit 60B was the planned south end of the Windlass Freeway.

Future

In time, the express lanes northeast of Baltimore will also have to be widened to 4+2+2+4 lanes over a contiguous section of 24 kilometers to Exit 85. In June 2018, it was announced that a 10-mile extension to Abingdon will begin construction in mid-2019. Thereafter, the remaining 30 miles from Aberdeen to the Delaware border will have to be widened from 2×3 to 2×4 lanes. This project also includes the reconstruction of the long bridge over the Susquehanna River at Havre de Grace. It is not yet known when this will be implemented. The connecting section through Maryland was widened to 2×4 lanes in the early 1980s and partly to 2×5 lanes in 2007.

Toll

I-95 ‘John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway’ east of Baltimore.

I-95 lane fork for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on the south side of Washington, DC

Portions of I-95 are toll roads, the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore, the express lanes northeast of Baltimore, and the bridge over the Susquehanna River. All toll routes are administered by the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Cash and cards can still be paid at the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore and the bridge over the Susquehanna River at Havre de Grace. At the Fort McHenry Tunnel, the same rates apply as alternative toll connections in the region, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895) and Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695). At the Hatem Bridge over the Susquehanna River, unusually high discounts are available for regular users.

express lanes

An E-ZPass is required on the express lanes northeast of Baltimore, vehicles without a transponder will receive a (higher) bill. When the express lanes opened in 2014, the toll for ‘video toll’ was $1 higher than for E-ZPass users. Unlike some express lanes, the toll rates here are not variable based on traffic volume, but based on predetermined time slots (rush hour, rush hour, at night).

Traffic intensities

The intensities are after the mentioned connection.

# AADT 2013
Exit 0 Woodrow Wilson Bridge 201,000
Exit 2 164,000
Exit 9 Allentown Road 188,000
Exit 11 Pennsylvania Avenue 212,000
Exit 17 Landover Road 227,000
Exit 19 221,000
Exit 22 Baltimore-Washington Parkway 217,000
Exit 25 223,000
Exit 27 193,000
Exit 31 Intercounty Connector 192,000
Exit 35 North Laurel 192,000
exit 38 195,000
exit 43 193,000
exit 46 176,000
exit 47 179,000
Exit 49 Baltimore Beltway 187,000
Exit 51 Washington Boulevard 168,000
Exit 55 Fort McHenry Tunnel 119,000
Exit 57 Boston Street 124,000
exit 61 104,000
exit 62 167,000
Exit 64 Baltimore Beltway 177,000
Exit 67 White Marsh Boulevard 166,000
Exit 74 Mountain Road 153,000
Exit 77 Bel Air 124,000
Exit 85 Aberdeen 91,000
Exit 89 Havre de Grace 81,000
Exit 100 North East 82,000
Exit 109 Elkton 68,000

History of Interstate 95 in Maryland