Interstate 97 (abbreviated I-97) is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It runs from Annapolis at the overlapped section of U.S. Route 50 (US 50), US 301, and the unsigned I-595 to Baltimore at Interstate 695 (Baltimore Beltway). Originally seen as a spur route, to be designated Interstate 297, it was planned to be built along the Maryland Route 3 (MD 3) corridor, but the proposed route was canceled because of local opposition.[2] Completed in 1993, I-97 is the shortest two-digit Interstate highway in the 48 contiguous states (barring only the island state of Hawaii's Interstate H-2 at 8 miles (13 km) and Interstate H-3 at 15 miles (24 km)), the only two-digit Interstate on the U.S. mainland entirely within one county (again, excepting Hawaii's entire Interstate system, contained within Honolulu County), and the only two-digit interstate highway on the U.S. mainland that does not connect to any other two-digit interstate highways.
Route description [edit]
Interstate 97 begins at US 50/US 301/unsigned I-595 with a pair of collector distributor roadways feeding directly into I-97 at a directional-T interchange. To the south, the same C/D roads become Maryland Route 665 as a direct freeway spur into Annapolis. Directly afterward, I-97 passes over Maryland Route 450 with no interchange. The road continues northwest, weaving through a heavily wooded area with very few interactions with other roads. Its first interchange is with Maryland Route 178, though it is only accessible from the southbound carriageway, and traffic only enters into the northbound. There are no northbound off-ramps until exit 7, where the route interchanges with the ends of both Maryland Route 3 and Maryland Route 32. Within this interchange, Interstate 97 turns to the northeast and follows the former Maryland Route 3, shifting from a rural Interstate with few exits to a more urban one.
Along the former MD 3 corridor that Interstate 97 now follows, development begins to grow closer to the highway, and the route's road surface changes from asphalt to concrete for the remainder of the route. In Glen Burnie the route interchanges with Maryland Route 3 Business, a former alignment of MD 3 that now no longer connects directly to its parent route. Beyond this, it interchanges with Maryland Route 100, another important freeway in Anne Arundel County. It passes through the interchange with Maryland Route 648 a little while later, which also contains the tracks for the Baltimore Light Rail, located nearby Cromwell Station.
Interstate 97 ends outside of Baltimore at an interchange with the Baltimore Beltway, one of a series of interconnected interchanges which includes Maryland Route 2 and a spur of Interstate 895. The main carriageways become the I-895 spur, while the ramps to the westbound Beltway become the latter route's main travel lanes.
An older version of the I-97 shield as used in Maryland, still commonly seen along the route
Exit list [edit]
The entire route is in Anne Arundel County.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
External links [edit]
Route map: Google / Bing
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US 50 / US 301 near Annapolis
I-695 near Baltimore
I-895 near Baltimore
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MD 178 (Generals Highway) – Crownsville
MD 3 south (Robert Crain Highway) / MD 32 west (Patuxent Freeway) – Bowie, Odenton, Columbia
MD 3 Bus. north (Robert Crain Highway) / New Cut Road south – Glen Burnie
MD 174 (Quarterfield Road)
MD 100 (Paul T. Pitcher Highway) – Gibson Island, Ellicott City
MD 176 (Dorsey Road) / MD 162 (Aviation Boulevard) – Glen Burnie, BWI Airport
MD 648 (Baltimore–Annapolis Boulevard) – Ferndale, Glen Burnie
