John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway

Infobox road
marker_

state=MD
highway_name=John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway
maint=MDSHA


system=Interstate Highway System
commons="This article describes a portion of Interstate 95 in Maryland. For the portion of Interstate 95 in Delaware that shares the same name, see Delaware Turnpike."

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (also known as JFK Memorial Highway) is a 50-mile section of Interstate 95 traversing northeastern Maryland from the northern Baltimore city line to the Delaware state line, where it meets the Delaware Turnpike.

Completed in 1963, the highway and the adjoining 11-mile-long Delaware Turnpike were dedicated by President John F. Kennedy on Thursday, November 14, 1963, at a ceremony at the Mason-Dixon Line. The roads were renamed as a memorial to him after his assassination in Dallas, Texas, eight days later, on November 22, 1963.

Route description

Interstate 95, eight lanes wide, travels out of Baltimore on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. After two miles, the route encounters Interstate 695 at a unique double-crossover interchange. Within this interchange, the carriageways of I-95 and I-695 narrow to six lanes and cross over each over and run on the left within the interchange nexus, allowing left exit ramps and left entrance ramps to accommodate four of the eight movements in lieu of flyovers. Beyond the interchange, both sets of carriageways cross over each other again and resume right-hand running.

Continuing to the northeast, parallel with the Chesapeake Bay, the route encounters MD 43 near White Marsh. After passing through Gunpowder Falls State Park, the route interchanges with MD 152 north of Joppatowne, then with MD 24, providing access to Bel Air and Edgewood. Within the MD 24 interchange, I-95 narrows to six lanes and remains this wide to the Delaware border.

Just beyond the MD 543, I-95's carriageways split apart to provide space for Maryland House, I-95's second service area. Maryland House is a full service rest area that offers food, fuel and other amenities, and opened with the toll highway in 1963. Beyond Maryland House, the route encounters the MD 22 interchange in Aberdeen, providing access to the Aberdeen Proving Ground. South of the Susquehanna State Park, I-95 encounters the southern end of the remaining tolled portion of the highway at the MD 155 interchange, providing access to Havre de Grace and US 40.

North of this interchange, I-95 becomes a true toll route as it passes through the Susquehanna State Park before crossing the Susquehanna River on the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge. The bridge crosses between bluffs high above the river valley, and is posted with warning signs: "Subject to Crosswinds". Just beyond the bridge, the northbound carriageway widens out into a toll plaza; southbound traffic is not charged a toll, but southbound truck traffic may need to stop at a nearby weigh station. At the northern end of the plaza, I-95 interchanges with MD 222 in Perryville, becoming a free-access route again within the interchange.

Still paralleling the northern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, I-95's carriageways split apart again to encounter its third service area in Maryland, Chesapeake House. This service area opened in 1975 (after the highway was widened from four to six lanes in 1972), and offers the same amenities as Maryland House. Now past the northern tip of the bay, north of Elk Neck State Park, the route encounters MD 272, which provides access to the towns of North East and Rising Sun. Having turned east, the route now runs straight towards the Delaware border, passing under MD 213 north of Elkton with no access offered. Finally, I-95's run through Maryland comes to an end after it interchanges with MD 279, a wide access route into Elkton and Newark, Delaware. Passing over the Delaware state line, it becomes the Delaware Turnpike and encounters a two-way toll plaza (which is not warned of by the MD 279 interchange).

Fast facts

*Construction dates: January 1962 – November 1963
*Annual traffic: 29 million vehicles (both directions)
*Width: Eight mainline lines between Baltimore and MD 24; six mainline lanes between MD 24 and Delaware

History

Despite the route's inclusion in the Interstate Highway System in the mid-1950s, the construction of the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. beltways had diverted most of the state funds that would have been used to build it. To relieve traffic on U.S. Route 40, it was decided to finance construction using a bond issue. The Maryland State Roads Commission, the predecessor to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA), floated $73 million in revenue bonds to provide funds to start construction of the route, which began in January 1962.

Between 1963 and 1993, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway was a tolled facility for the entire length of the roadway in both directions. The mainline toll plaza is situated just north of the Tydings Bridge, but the southbound direction had its toll removed in 1991. Tolls are still collected for northbound traffic at this location. Additionally, ramp tolls were collected at many of the interchanges until they were abolished by an act of the legislature in 1981. The highway and bridge are maintained by the MdTA.

Exits on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway were originally numbered consecutively, beginning with exit 1. As a result, Interstate 95 in Maryland had multiple conflicting sequences of exit numbers. In the mid-1980s, the exits were re-numbered according to a statewide, mileage-based numbering system, so that they now range from Exit 2 (I-295 north) on the Capital Beltway to Exit 109 (MD 279) on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway.

Exit list

Expansion plans

Due to the heavy use of this route by commuters and through traffic, the Maryland Transportation Authority has begun the process of significantly expanding the highway to increase its capacity. The expansion plans are divided into short, individual sections; in 2001, the MdTA began public studies to determine the best way to expand the highway to meet current and future needs. After four years of study, the MdTA issued its results for Section 100, the southernmost section.

ection 100

Section 100 is an eight-mile segment of the JFK Highway that runs between Exit 62 (Interstate 895) and milepost 70. This segment is currently eight lanes wide (a 4-4 configuration) and carries approximately 165,000 vehicles per day (expected to increase to 225,000 vehicles per day by 2025). The plan is to widen this segment to twelve lanes (a 4-2-2-4 configuration), with the center lanes designated as express toll lanes. In addition, the interchange between the JFK Highway and the ) will also be significantly modified from its current cloverleaf configuration, and the interchange at Exit 62 will be reconfigured so that I-95 will replace I-895 as the straight-ahead route, thus eliminating the need for southbound I-95 traffic to weave to the right and cross over.

The project is expected to cost $1.2 billion. It began in 2006 and is expected to be completed in 2011.

ection 200

Section 200 is a 15-mile segment from milepost 70 to Exit 85 (MD 22). This segment is also currently eight lanes wide (a 4-4 configuration) as far as Exit 77 (MD 24), and is currently six lanes wide (a 3-3 configuration) between Exit 77 and Exit 85. Like Section 100, this segment will likely be widened into a 4-2-2-4 configuration as far as Exit 80 (MD 543). Between Exit 80 and Exit 85, the remainder will likely be widened from a 3-3 configuration to a 4-4 configuration. While the MdTA has not yet finalized plans for this segment, a project is currently underway to improve the MD 24 interchange as part of any future works; this project began in 2006 and will be completed in 2009.

ection 300

Section 300 is a three-mile segment from Exit 77 to Exit 80. Plans for its widening are described above.

ection 400

Section 400, the longest segment, is 30 miles long and stretches from Exit 80 to the Delaware border. This segment is currently six lanes wide (a 3-3 configuration) and is likely to be widened into a 4-4 configuration. This segment will require major reconstruction of the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge.

ee also

*Interstate 95 in Maryland
*Highways along the BosWash corridor

References

External links

* [http://www.mdta.state.md.us/mdta/servlet/dispatchServlet?url=/TollFacilities/JFKHighway.jsp Maryland Transportation Authority - John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway webpage]
* [http://www.mdta.state.md.us/mdta/servlet/dispatchServlet?url=/I95MasterPlan/I95MasterPlan.jsp MdTA I-95 Master Plan Study]
* [http://www.mdta.state.md.us/mdta/servlet/dispatchServlet?url=/I95section100/i95-sect100_home.jsp I-95 Section 100 Widening]
* [http://www.dcroads.net/roads/jfk/ Steve Anderson's DCroads.net: John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (I-95)]
* [http://www.roadstothefuture.com/I95-MD-JFK-Highway.html Scott M. Kozel's "Roads to the Future" article on the JFK Highway]