MD 140 is a part of the main National Highway System from I-795 in Reisterstown to US 15 in Emmitsburg. The highway has two segments where it serves as an intermodal connector: from Patterson Avenue in Baltimore to I-695 in Pikesville and from Painters Mill Road to Owings Mill Boulevard in Owings Mills. The remaining portions of MD 140 between its southern terminus in Baltimore and I-795 are classified as National Highway System principal arterials.[1][2][3][4]
Baltimore to Reisterstown
View north along MD 140 in Pikesville
MD 140 begins as a one-way pair of streets at North Avenue northwest of downtown Baltimore. Northbound MD 140 follows Fulton Avenue, which is a two-way street on both sides of North Avenue, and the southbound route follows one-way Monroe Street. US 40 Truck follows North Avenue through the pair of intersections, northbound US 1 enters from the south on Fulton Avenue and turns east onto North Avenue, and southbound US 1 enters from the east on North Avenue and turns south onto Monroe Street. Northbound MD 140 follows four-lane divided Fulton Avenue north for three blocks between the Penn North neighborhood to the east and Mondawmin on the west. The route reaches a four-way intersection with Pennsylvania Avenue and Reisterstown Road, which head southeast and northwest, respectively. Fulton Avenue veers northeast while MD 140 turns northwest onto Reisterstown Road. The highway passes along the southwest side of the Parkview/Woodbrook neighborhood and intersects Gwynns Falls Parkway just before Monroe Avenue splits off as a one-lane ramp from southbound Reisterstown Road. Monroe Avenue immediately expands to two lanes and intersects the parkway, heads southeast, then veers south toward southbound MD 140's terminus at North Avenue. One block north of the convergence of the one-way pair, the state highway intersects Liberty Heights Avenue, which heads west as MD 26, on the east side of Mondawmin Mall. Adjacent to the MD 140–MD 26 intersection is the Mondawmin station of MTA Maryland's Baltimore Metro SubwayLink.[1][5]
MD 140 northbound viewed from MD 940 in Owings Mills
MD 140 continues northwest as a six-lane boulevard along the northeast edge of the Liberty Square neighborhood. The highway has an oblique intersection with MD 129 (Auchentoroly Terrace)—there is no direct access from northbound MD 140 to southbound MD 129 or from northbound MD 129 to southbound MD 140—after which the two state highways run concurrently along the west side of Druid Hill Park. MD 140 and MD 129 diverge at a five-way intersection with Druid Park Drive that does not allow direct access from southbound MD 140 to northbound MD 129. MD 140 continues northwest as a four-lane undivided highway paralleled by MD 129 (Park Heights Avenue) one block to the east through the Park Circle neighborhood. MD 140 passes the Louisa May Alcott School and enters Central Park Heights, where the state highway intersects Cold Spring Lane before veering west along the northern edge of the Towanda-Grantley and Lucille Park neighborhoods and the southern edge of Langston Hughes neighborhood. At Belvedere Avenue, MD 140 veers northwest and enters a commercial area within the Woodmere neighborhood. The highway intersects Northern Parkway and passes between the neighborhoods of Glen to the northeast and Reisterstown Station on the southwest. Within the latter neighborhood is the Reisterstown Road Plaza shopping center and its attendant Metro SubwayLink station. MD 140 passes along the edge of the Falstaff neighborhood before leaving the city of Baltimore south of Seven Mile Lane.[1][5]
MD 140 continues northwest through Pikesville as a four-lane undivided highway that passes the Pikesville Armory, Suburban Club Golf Course, the Maryland State Police headquarters, and Druid Ridge Cemetery and intersects Old Court Road. North of that county highway, the state highway gains a center turn lane and meets I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) at a single-point urban interchange. MD 140 meets the western end of MD 130 (Greenspring Valley Road) and passes the campus of Garrison Forest School in Garrison. Within Owings Mills, the state highway has a one-quadrant interchange with Owings Mills Boulevard, passes under the boulevard and CSX's Hanover Subdivision, and passes by the Owings Upper Mill complex. Shortly after entering Reisterstown, MD 140 intersects Franklin Boulevard and Cherry Hill Road and passes by Franklin High School and historic St. Michael's Church. The highway veers north, its name changes to Main Street, and it reduces to two lanes, with occasional center turn lanes, as it enters the Reisterstown Historic District. At the north end of the downtown area, the roadway continues north as MD 30 (Hanover Pike) and MD 140 turns northwest onto two-lane undivided Westminster Pike, now signed as an east-west highway.[2][5]
Reisterstown to Emmitsburg
MD 140 westbound near its split with MD 97 northbound near Westminster
On the western edge of Reisterstown, MD 140 (now an east-west highway) has an intersection with the northern end of I-795 (Northwest Expressway) and MD 795, an unnamed and unsigned connector between this intersection and the intersection of MD 30 and MD 128 on the northern edge of Reisterstown. The state highway splits into a pair of flyover ramps that connect with ramps to and from I-795 west of the MD 795 intersection. The eastbound ramp is two-way west to Mitchell Drive, which provides access to the Reisterstown Sportsplex. The ramps merge and MD 140 continues northwest as a four-lane divided highway with a narrow median. West of Woodfield Court and Brian Daniel Court, which westbound MD 140 accesses via a ramp to Gores Mill Road, the median changes to a center left-turn lane. The highway descends into the valley of the North Branch of the Patapsco River and crosses the river and the Baltimore–Carroll county line at the northern end of the river's impoundment, Liberty Reservoir. MD 140 continues northwest as Baltimore Boulevard, now again a four-lane divided highway. The first of several segments of the highway's old alignment, Old Westminster Pike, splits to the southwest as the highway approaches Finksburg, where the highway intersects MD 879, which heads north as Cedarhurst Road and south as Old Gamber Road, and MD 91, which heads north as Emory Road and south as Gamber Road. Access from eastbound MD 140 to northbound MD 91 is via a jughandle in the southwest quadrant of the intersection.[2][5]
Old Westminster Pike first closely parallels the westbound side of MD 140 and then splits west from the eastbound direction and parallels the state highway at a distance. MD 140 expands to six lanes and passes through a commercial area as it enters the city of Westminster. The highway intersects Malcolm Drive, which heads south as MD 97, and continues northwest concurrent with that state highway. The two highways pass the TownMall of Westminster just east of their partial cloverleaf interchange with MD 27 (Manchester Road), just west of which they cross over the Maryland Midland Railway. MD 140 and MD 97 become College View Boulevard at Sullivan Road; the highways diverge at a partial cloverleaf interchange where MD 97 heads north as Littlestown Pike and Pennsylvania Avenue heads south into the Westminster Historic District. MD 140 continues west as four-lane College View Boulevard, which becomes undivided three-lane (one lane westbound, two lanes eastbound) Taneytown Pike at its intersection with the northern end of MD 31 (New Windsor Road), which provides access to McDaniel College. There is no access from eastbound MD 31 to westbound MD 140; that movement is provided by WMC Drive to the west.[2][5]
MD 140 eastbound in northwestern Carroll County
MD 140 heads northwest as a partially controlled access two-lane road. At Meadow Brook Farm and Roop's Mill on the western edge of the city of Westminster, the highway crosses Meadow Branch of Big Pipe Creek and has an intersection with Hughes Shop Road and the eastern end of MD 832 (Old Taneytown Road). MD 140 parallels MD 832 to the north as the main highway bypasses Frizzelburg and crosses Richardson Road, Bear Branch, and the mainstem of Big Pipe Creek. The two state highways reunite at a roundabout on the eastern edge of the city of Taneytown. Antrim Boulevard forms the southwest leg of the roundabout and MD 140 continues northwest along Baltimore Street into the Taneytown Historic District. The state highway passes to the north of the historic home Antrim and has a grade crossing of the north–south line of the Maryland Midland Railway before intersecting MD 194, which heads north as York Street and south as Frederick Street. MD 140 becomes Taneytown Pike again on leaving Taneytown and crosses Piney Creek.[2][5]
MD 140 crosses the Monocacy River to enter Frederick County. The highway crosses Cattail Branch and Middle Creek and enters the town of Emmitsburg just east of the highway's extended interchange with US 15 (Catoctin Mountain Highway). East of the U.S. Highway, MD 140 has a four-way intersection with Harney Road and Emmit Gardens Drive, which is unsigned MD 904H (Emmit Gardens Drive) and leads to a right-in/right-out interchange with northbound US 15. MD 140 becomes Main Street and crosses over the U.S. Highway, then has a four-way intersection with Silo Hill Road and unsigned MD 904F, another section of Emmit Gardens Drive that leads to the right-in/right-out ramps with southbound US 15. MD 140 crosses Flat Run and enters the Emmitsburg Historic District. In the center of town, the highway intersects US 15 Business (Seton Avenue). MD 140 leaves the town and gains the name Waynesboro Pike for the short distance northwest to the Pennsylvania state line. Waynesboro Pike continues northwest as PA 16 across South Mountain toward Waynesboro.[2][5]
History
Until 1979, MD 140 was US 140. Before US 140 was deleted, it was where MD 140 is today. At the divergence of MD 140 and MD 97 northwest of Westminster, the two routes were swapped after the deletion of the U.S. route; MD 97 now follows US 140's old route to Pennsylvania, while MD 140 follows MD 97's original route to Taneytown and US 15. As a result, MD 140 follows the bypass of the original MD 32 between Westminster and Taneytown that was first designated as part of MD 97.
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.[6] This proposal was made in order to eliminate short routes from the U.S. Highway System.[7] The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials approved the removal of the US 140 designation on October 28, 1977.[8] 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.[7] US 140 was decommissioned on January 1, 1979 and became MD 140 between Baltimore and Westminster; MD 140 also ran along the former alignment of MD 97 between Westminster and Emmitsburg; MD 97 replaced US 140 between Westminster and the Pennsylvania border.[7][9]
Junction list
MD 140 is signed north–south from US 1 in Baltimore to MD 30 in Reisterstown and east–west from MD 30 to the Pennsylvania state line.
^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.
Old Main Streets Scenic Byway
PA 16 near Emmitsburg
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