Wabash Avenue (Planned Interstate 795)
Wabash Avenue provides a six-lane boulevard between Cool Spring Lane and Patterson Avenue in northwestern Baltimore. The surface street begins as a one-way street from the north end of Hilton Road. From there the roadway travels northwest to Dorithan Road where northbound joins southbound as a divided highway. Stub ends exist both at Hilton Road (south end) and Vincennes Avenue (north end). A disjointed segment of Wabash Avenue spurs north from Maryland 26 (Liberty Heights Avenue) to a point just south of the Hilton Road transition into the northern portion of Wabash Avenue.
Interstate 795 stems northwest from the Baltimore Beltway (Interstate 695) to the Baltimore County suburbs of Owings Mill and Reistertown while also providing a high-speed route between Maryland 140 and Interstate 695. The four to six lane freeway was constructed throughout the mid-1980s, first between Interstate 695 and Owing Mills, than from there to Reistertown. Meanwhile a planned extension inside the beltway entailed a routing roughly parallel to the Baltimore Metro subway line. The Northwest Expressway was to have continued through Sudbrook Park to the Mount Hope and Forest Park sections of Baltimore city.
The Northwest Expressway extension within the beltway was ultimately curtailed both as a freeway and surface boulevard. All that was constructed was the six-lane concrete boulevard of Wabash Avenue between Patterson Avenue and Hilton Road. What was built however was the Baltimore Subway line along the same corridor reserved for Interstate 795. Pictured here are scenes along Wabash Avenue showing what was actually built in the 1970s and 80s. 
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Hilton Road northbound on the approach to Wabash Avenue in the Forest Park neighborhood. Hilton Road ends at Wabash Avenue. Wabash Avenue was to have continued north from Maryland 26 through to Hilton Road. However the segment between Hilton Road and Dorithan Road was never completed and a stub end to Wabash Avenue exists at Hilton Road to the right. Photo taken 10/13/04. |
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Wabash Avenue northbound at Cool Spring Lane. Southbound traffic defaults onto Dorithan Road southbound beyond Belle Avenue. Cool Spring Lane provides a through route between Garrison Avenue, Interstate 83 (Jones Falls Expressway), Roland Avenue, and other north-south arterials. Photo taken 10/13/04. |
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Six lanes of Wabash Avenue continue north from Cold Spring Lane. The Baltimore Metro transit line comes into view as it parallels Wabash Avenue to the east. Photo taken 10/13/04. |
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Continuing on Wabash Avenue northbound after Lewin Avenue in Forest Park Baltimore. Lewin Avenue is discontinuous between Wabash Avenue and Maryland 140 (Reistertown Road) due to the Baltimore Metro line and its companion CSX Railroad corridor. Photo taken 10/13/04. |
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Northbound at the signalized intersection with Garrison Boulevard. The Baltimore Metro transit line parallels Wabash Avenue almost directly above the northbound lanes. The CSX Railroad line crosses Garrison Boulevard at-grade otherwise. Garrison Boulevard loops through Forest Park and Windsor Hills in northwest Baltimore. Photo taken 10/13/04. |
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One block west of Garrison Boulevard at Belvedere Avenue on Wabash Avenue northbound. Again a railroad signal coincides with the traffic lights on Wabash Avenue for the adjacent CSX Railroad crossing. Belvedere Avenue provides a through route between Wabash Avenue to Maryland 140, Maryland 129 (Park Heights Avenue), Pimlico Race Track, and Northern Parkway. Photo taken 10/13/04. |
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Wabash Avenue turns westerly at the intersection with Eldorado Avenue. Eldorado Avenue flows southbound between Wabash Avenue to Maryland 26 (Liberty Heights Avenue) and Carleview Road. To the right is the Eldorado Avenue end at Haywood Avenue and the Rodgers Avenue Station of the Metro. Haywood Avenue otherwise continues northeast to Pimlico Race Track. Photo taken 10/13/04. |
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