INTERSTATE 595 (MARYLAND)

'Interstate 595' (abbreviated 'I-595') is an unsigned number for a section of US 50 (the John Hanson Highway) from the Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495) east of Washington, D.C. to MD 70 at Annapolis, Maryland.
US 50/I-595 has an HOV lane in each direction from west of the Beltway to east of US 301, a distance of eight miles. Unlike other HOV lanes in the Washington area, which are restricted during rush hours, the HOV lanes on I-595 are restricted at all times. [1]
It is the longest unsigned Interstate highway at 20 miles (32 km) in length. It was left unsigned because people were already familiar with US 50.

Contents

Counties traversed

Route description

Former proposed I-595

Junction list

History

Reasons for lack of signage

External links

Counties traversed

★ Prince George's

★ Anne Arundel

Route description

The existing US 50 freeway east from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway upgrades silently into I-595 within the Capital Beltway interchange. East of the interchange, I-595 is 10 lanes wide; beyond the MD 704 interchange, it narrows to eight lanes, with the innermost two being HOV lanes.
Up to and slightly beyond the US 301/MD 3 interchange, I-595's driving lanes are made of concrete; the remaining roadway beyond there is made of asphalt. Within the US 301 interchange, the HOV lanes that began at the Capital Beltway come to an end, and US 301 joins US 50 and I-595, forming a three-route concurrency.
The central portion of the route runs through undeveloped forest and parkland, meeting MD 424 three miles east of US 301. After reaching Interstate 97, the route widens significantly into a local/express configuration, with I-595 on the express lanes and connectors to and from I-97 on the local lanes; within this interchange, MD 665 begins, providing a freeway spur directly into downtown Annapolis.
The route now runs through the Annapolis urban area, meeting MD 450 after one mile and the southern portion of MD 2 after another mile. Continuing southeast, the route (which is now a four-route concurrency of US 50, US 301, I-595 and MD 2) eventually reaches the MD 70 interchange, where I-595 'officially' terminates. However, the physical roadbed was fully upgraded to the western edge of the Severn River Bridge.

Former proposed I-595

In the early 1980s, the same route number was proposed for a connector in Baltimore from Interstate 95 to what was then called Interstate 170, which was left stranded from the rest of the interstate system by the cancellation of Interstate 70 within the city limits of Baltimore. That connector was never built, and Interstate 170 has been redesignated as part of U.S. Highway 40.

Junction list

Because I-595 is a secret route that is completely concurrent with US 50, the latter's exit numbers are used.

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
begins on at
Prince George's	Landover
		0.0	7	I-95/I-495 / Capital Beltway - Baltimore, Richmond VA	continues west of
		0.29	8	Maryland Route 704 / Martin Luther King Jr. Highway - Capitol Heights (to MD 450)
	Bowie	6.68	11	Maryland Route 197 / Collington Rd. - Bowie State University (to US 301)
		8.08	13	US 301/Maryland Route 3 / Robert Crain Hwy. - Crofton to Glen Burnie (to I-97), Upper Marlboro	runs south; runs north
joins and
Anne Arundel		11.5	16	Maryland Route 424 / Davidsonville Rd. - Davidsonville and Crofton
	Annapolis	16.28	21	Interstate 97 north/Maryland Route 665 east - Baltimore, Annapolis	terminates at
		18.0	22	Maryland Route 450 / Defense Highway - Crofton
		18.45	23	Maryland Route 2 south / Solomons Island Rd. - Edgewater	silently joins
		19.72	24	Maryland Route 70 east / Rowe Blvd.-Bestgate Rd. - Downtown Annapolis	continue east of
ends on / at

History

The John Hanson Highway, US 50's route between Washington D.C. and Annapolis, was constructed in 1957, and ran from New York Avenue at the Tuxedo Interchange just outside Washington D.C. to MD 2 Ritchie Highway north of Annapolis, connecting to the western approach to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The highway was four lanes throughout, and connected to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, I-495 and US 301 at full cloverleaf interchanges.

Due to the increasing use of the highway and the dangerous conditions at the interchanges with the Capital Beltway and US 301, the highway was reconstructed to Interstate standards from 1990 to 1995 between the Capital Beltway and MD 70 in Annapolis, using funding released from the cancellation of Interstate highway segments within Baltimore. Originally, it was intended to designate the reconstructed highway as 'Interstate 68', but with the completion of the National Freeway in far western Maryland in 1991, the Maryland State Highway Administration chose instead to designate that route as I-68, leaving the John Hanson Highway to be designated as I-595.

Reasons for lack of signage

In January 2001, highway historian Scott Kozel e-mailed and asked the Maryland State Highway Administration why I-595 was not signed. Their response was, ''"we did not feel that either the posting in the field or the noting on a map would serve any useful purpose for the traveling public"''. [2]

External links

★ I-595 @ MDRoads.com

★ Scott M. Kozel's ''Roads to the Future'' article on I-595

★ US 50 HOV Project from Md. State Highway Administration

★ Map showing existing and proposed Baltimore interstates; I-595 would have combined I-170 with the unbuilt portion of I-70 south to I-95