Former Interstate 170

Former Interstate 170U.S. 40

Interstate 170 was the planned freeway spur for Downtown Baltimore from I-70 to the west. A 1.34 mile long section of the route was constructed in the late 1970s in a residential area west of Greene/Paca Streets (MD 295). Vastly below grade, the short freeway opened amid controversy in 1979. U.S. 40 remained on the parallel couplet of Franklin and Mulberry Streets until 1983 when I-170 was formally decommissioned. Construction of the freeway hastened the urban blight of the area community. The proposed MARC Red Line was envisioned to help improve the area, but it too was eventually canceled.

When plans for I-70 through Leakin and Gwynns Falls Park were dropped in 1981, it severed the connection with Interstate 170. Construction of that freeway was canceled due to the impacts to both Gwynn Falls Park and residential areas to the east. A subsequent proposal followed to incorporate the Franklin-Mulberry Expressway into a longer spur, Interstate 595 north from I-95 at Carroll Park. When I-595 was also cancelled, U.S. 40 was realigned onto the Franklin-Mulberry Expressway.

Former I-170 Guides

References:

  1. "'Highway to Nowhere' heads to the dump." The Baltimore Sun, September 10, 2010.
  2. Interstate 170 (Maryland). Wikipedia.org.

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Page Updated Friday November 04, 2022.