Maryland Route 32

Maryland Route 32
Old Washington Road, Sykesville Road, Savage Road, Patuxent Freeway Maintained by MDSHA
Length:	51.79 mi[1] (83.35 km)
East end:	I-97 near Crownsville
Major junctions:	MD 3 near Crownsville MD 198 in Fort Meade MD 295 near Fort Meade US 1 near Savage I-95 near Guilford US 29 near Columbia I-70 near West Friendship MD 26 in Eldersburg MD 97 near Westminster
North end:	Washington Road in Westminster
Highways in Maryland < MD 31 MD 33 > State highways - Minor - Former - Turnpikes

Maryland Route 32 is a highway in central Maryland that connects Westminster, in Carroll County, to Millersville in Anne Arundel County (near Annapolis), via Howard County.

The route serves as an outer bypass of Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, and provides a direct link between Interstate 70 and the state capital of Annapolis, Maryland. It serves as one of the major east–west routes for the town of Columbia and also serves Fort Meade.

Counties traversed

• Carroll County
• Howard County
• Anne Arundel County

Route description

Patuxent Freeway

The route, known here as the Patuxent Freeway and signposted east–west, begins at a grade-separated junction with Interstate 97 near Millersville. The northbound carriageway splits from I-97 north, just past Millersville Road, and descends steeply to pass beneath the mainline of I-97. On the opposite side, the southbound carriageway parallels I-97 south for a short distance before merging. Just beyond the split with I-97, the route interchanges with Maryland Route 3 (known here as Robert Crain Highway) at a six-ramp partial cloverleaf, with the leaf ramp for MD 3 south to MD 32 south and the outer ramp for MD 32 north to MD 3 north both missing (the former is not needed and the latter is replaced by I-97 north).

After interchanging with MD 3, MD 32 passes to the north of Gambrills before looping to the north around Odenton and entering Fort Meade, interchanging with Maryland Route 170 near the top of the loop and Maryland Route 175 near its entry into Fort Meade proper. Roadworks completed by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) in 2004-2005 provided interchanges for two access roads into the fort, primarily to remove at-grade intersections and replace them with interchanges. Additionally, part of Maryland Route 198 was closed and diverted onto an existing bridge, which was massively upgraded into a grade-separated interchange (today's Exit 8). The completion of these works has resulted in a fully limited-access freeway route within the confines of Fort Meade, part of which is maintained by the U.S. government. This portion of MD 32 is still known as Savage Road.

After exiting Fort Meade, MD 32 immediately interchanges with the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (secretly changing names in quick succession from Savage Road to Annapolis Junction Road to Patuxent Freeway), then crosses the Capital Subdivision of CSX (formerly the B&O Washington Branch) parallel to Guilford Road, entering Howard County. MD 32 also has an interchange for the Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) station at Savage, just beyond the Anne Arundel County line. Beyond here, the route continues parallel to Guilford Road, encountering U.S. 1 and Interstate 95 near Savage. After interchanging with I-95, the route enters Columbia and crosses Guilford Road before the easement widens noticeably for a future express-local carriageway split through Exits 14 and 15. This widened easement for MD 32 crosses the Little Patuxent River between both exits.

After interchanging with U.S. 29, the route crosses the Middle Patuxent River for the first time on another very wide easement, before turning northwest and running parallel to the river and to Guilford Road, its original route. It skirts the edge of Columbia before entering Clarksville and interchanging with Maryland Route 108.

Sykesville Road

Beyond MD 108, the route's dual carriageway narrows to two lanes and the highway becomes signposted north–south (despite the change in signage, the Maryland State Highway Administration considers the route north–south throughout). At the convergence point of the two carriageway, MD 32 enters a mandatory headlight use area, put in place to minimize risk of head-on collision. North of Clarksville, the route parallels Ten Oaks Road, a local thoroughfare. Running roughly due north, the highway passes to the east of Dayton and skirts the edge of the MDOT SHA Dayton Maintenance Shops before passing through Glenelg. Beyond Glenelg, the route becomes suburban in character and has a large number of curb cuts and service roads; south of Glenelg there are none as far as Clarksville, with access controls ending two miles north of the convergence.

After crossing the Middle Patuxent River a second time the route intersects Maryland Route 144 and Interstate 70 in quick succession; just to the south of the former, the route exits the mandatory headlight use area, widens again to dual carriageway and remains so to a point just beyond I-70, where it narrows again to a four-lane cross section. After crossing Maryland Route 99 the outer lanes are dropped and the route is two lanes again, with many curb cuts and service roads evident. Still continuing due north, the route eventually intersects Maryland Route 851, its former routing through Sykesville, before crossing the B&O Old Main Line, the Patapsco River South Branch, and a local road into Carroll County.

In Carroll County, MD 32 serves as a bypass of Sykesville, passing to its east and meeting MD 851 northeast of that town before turning north again and entering Eldersburg, intersecting Maryland Route 26. Beyond here, the route passes through suburban neighborhoods before entering the Liberty Reservoir watershed and crossing the northern arm of that reservoir (fed by Morgan Run) on a truss bridge. After crossing the reservoir, the route narrows again and becomes a heavily curved, twisting two-lane country road. After meeting the southern terminus of Maryland Route 91 in Gamber, the route passes through many semi-rural neighborhoods and farms before intersecting with Maryland Route 97, a highway it parallels beyond this point. North of this intersection, the route meets Maryland Route 854, an unsigned former alignment of MD 97.

Old Washington Road

Beyond MD 854, MD 32 is known as Old Washington Road, and changes again into a two-lane city street. Passing to the east of Carroll Community College and Westminster High School, the route enters the outer suburban area of Westminster. After turning east, then north again to skirt the edge of Carroll General Hospital, state maintenance ends at the Westminster city line, near Bennett Avenue (milepost 51.7); there is no signage indicating the terminus, and the only trailblazer in the area is on the southbound side within the city limits. Beyond the city limit the road is a city-maintained street that continues onward, intersecting Green Street and terminating at Main Street.

Burntwoods Road Interchange

Near Glenelg, the route interchanges with three separate local thoroughfares - Burntwoods Road, Pfefferkorn Road, and Ten Oaks Road (a former alignment of MD 32). The interchange, completed in early 2009, replaced three separate signalled intersections on a northeast-southwest curve with a grade-separated interchange containing three separate traffic circles. The new interchange also allows direct access between all three local roads, without having to make any use of the MD 32 mainline. Despite being grade-separated, MD 32 maintains two lanes through the interchange on a four-lane easement through the interchange. The construction of the interchange also resulted in the closure of many small driveways and service roads and the addition of access controls on MD 32 between Triadelphia Road and West Ivory Road.

Aluminum bridge on the Patapsco River, Maryland 32

Points of interest

Route 32 Bridge

The Sykesville bypass, an alignment built to remove traffic from downtown Sykesville, is famous for the presence of a unique type of bridge built using aluminum instead of steel. This bridge spans a minor road, the B&O main line and the Patapsco River near Sykesville.

The bridge is one of only seven bridges in the U.S. that use aluminum for the bridge substructure. It is even more distinctive due to the use of a triangular aluminum girder framework, of which only three examples exist (this bridge is the longest of the three). The bridge was constructed in the late 1950s/early 1960s, during a time of severe steel shortage. The lack of steel led to the use of aluminum as an experimental material for bridge construction. Modern bridges are not built using aluminum due to the high cost, despite advantages such as lack of weight and sufficient protection against deterioration to not require regular painting.

When the bridge's aluminum construction was discovered in the 1990s, it was added to the Historic Bridge Inventory maintained by MDOT SHA. Subsequently, it was found that the use of steel to support the aluminum girders was resulting in galvanic corrosion of the girders. After determining that repairs using existing technology would result in damaging the bridge further, the bridge was bypassed by a new bridge; construction began in the fall of 2002 and finished on May 17, 2004.

With the approval of the Maryland Historic Trust, the SHA permitted the original bridge to be retained as a historic landmark. The SHA also created a small exhibit beneath the bridge, accessible via a minor road.

History

The route began as a countryside road, running from U.S. Route 140 in Westminster to the state line near Emmitsburg. It was later bypassed by MD 97 (this bypass would later be designated MD 140). Eventually it was extended south of Westminster over Sykesville Road as far as Maryland Route 144 (formerly U.S. Route 40), and eventually as far as U.S. 1 (via Ten Oaks Road, a short section of Clarksville Pike, and Guilford Road), all before World War II. The northern terminus was rolled back to MD 140 in Westminster, cutting off a former segment now numbered MD 832; the route was further truncated to the southern city limits of Westminster at an indeterminate time. The southern terminus was extended south of U.S. 1 sometime in the 1950s or 1960s via Annapolis Junction Road to interchange with the Baltimore-Washington Parkway northwest of Fort Meade; south of the interchange, the state route ended, with the road continuing into the fort.

Between a business park near the interchange with I-95 and Fort Meade, the former route of MD 32, now known as Guilford Road, was once designated Maryland Route 732. Before MD 32's arrival, the roadway north of U.S. 1 was once designated Maryland Route 106. A small spur from Guilford Road, named Glen Oaks Lane, is still designated Maryland Route 432, but is not signed.

Before the completion of the current freeway segment between Clarksville and U.S. 29, a second segment of Guilford Road, running to the south of the current freeway segment, was designated and signed as MD 32. In Clarksville, the route overlapped MD 108 for a short distance before joining its current limited-access alignment in the vicinity of Exit 20. Prior to the rerouting of U.S. 29, this concurrency would have consisted of U.S. 29 and MD 32.

Safety

Recent crashes and incidents on MD 32 in Howard and Carroll counties has led to persistent calls for funding to substantially improve safety on the two-lane segments of MD 32. An advocacy group called "Make Route 32 Safe" has been created with the express purpose of advocating improvements to the highway^[2]. MDOT SHA has responded in part by improving the highway at the intersection with Amberwoods Way, where a recent crash resulted in the death of a local resident. [1]

Junction list

For inventory purposes, the Maryland State Highway Administration treats MD 32 entirely as a north–south road, even though the portion between MD 108 and I-97 is signed east–west.

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Anne Arundel	Crownsville	0.0	1A	Interstate 97 south - Crownsville, Annapolis, Bay Bridge	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		0.66	1B	Maryland Route 3 north (to Interstate 97 north) - Baltimore	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		0.8	1C	Maryland Route 3 south - Gambrills, Bowie
	Gambrills	2.8	3	Burns Crossing Road - Gambrills, Odenton (to MD 175)	unsigned spur of (32AA)
	Odenton	4.54	4	Maryland Route 170 / Telegraph Road - Severn, Odenton
		6.08	6	Maryland Route 175 / Annapolis Road - Odenton, Fort Meade
	Fort Meade	8.39	8	Maryland Route 198 west / Laurel-Fort Meade Rd. - Laurel, Fort Meade
		changes jurisdiction from MDOT SHA to U.S. Government
		9.21	9	Samford Road - NSA	employee-only exit
		changes jurisdiction from U.S. Government to MDOT SHA
			10A-B	Canine Road - NSA (to Colony Seven Road)
		10.41	10A-B	Baltimore Washington Parkway - Washington, D.C., Baltimore (to MD 295)
	Annapolis Junction	11.11		Guilford Road (to National Business Parkway)	westbound exit and entrance
Howard		11.79	11	Maryland Route 732R / Dorsey Run Road (to Henkels Lane, Guilford Road, National Business Parkway)	Guilford Road is former route of
	Savage	12.96	12	U.S. Route 1 / Baltimore-Washington Blvd. - Laurel, Elkridge	split into 12A and 12B
	Guilford	14.54	13	Interstate 95 - Washington, DC, Baltimore	split into 13A and 13B
	Columbia	16.33	14	Broken Land Parkway	split into 14A and 14B on eastbound only
		16.88	15	Eden Brook Drive-Shaker Drive
		17.76	16	U.S. Route 29 / Columbia Pike - Washington, DC; Columbia	split into 16A and 16B
		18.95	17	Cedar Lane-Sanner Road (to Guilford Rd.)
	Clarksville	20.7	19	Maryland Route 732V / Great Star Drive	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		21.9	20	Maryland Route 108 / Clarksville Pike - Highland, Columbia	former route of
	freeway ends; route continues as two lanes
		24.13		Linden Church Rd. E - to Broadwater Ln.-Greenberry Ln.	access controls on end here
		24.29		Linden Church Rd. W - to Ten Oaks Rd.
		25.69		MDOT SHA Dayton Maintenance Shop	emergency-signalled intersection
	Glenelg	27.38	26	Maryland Route 932B west / Burntwoods Rd. - to MD 97	new grade-separated interchange completed in early 2009; also links to Ten Oaks Road and Pfefferkorn Road
		29.03		Rosemary Lane - to Triadelphia Rd.
	West Friendship	30.5		Maryland Route 144 / Frederick Rd. - Lisbon, Ellicott City	former route of
		31.0		Interstate 70/US 40 - Frederick, Baltimore	grade-separated interchange between routes
		31.8		Maryland Route 99 east / Old Frederick Rd. - Mount Hebron (to US 29)	Old Frederick Rd. continues west of
		34.78		Maryland Route 851 north / West Friendship Rd. - Sykesville	old alignment of through Sykesville
crosses B&O Railroad next to aluminum bridge
Carroll	Sykesville	35.53		Sandosky Rd./Raincliffe Rd.	provides access to Northrop Grumman facility
		36.39		Maryland Route 851 south / Springfield Ave. - Sykesville, Springfield Mental Hospital	connects to old alignment of through Sykesville
	Eldersburg	38.4		Maryland Route 26 / Liberty Rd. - Woodbine, Randallstown
		38.74		Bartholow Rd./Londontown Blvd. - Liberty High School (to MD 97)
	Louisville	42.18		Bollinger Mill Rd. east
	Gamber	43.4		Maryland Route 91 north / Gamber Rd. - Finksburg (to MD 140)
		48.9		Maryland Route 97 / New Washington Rd. - Westminster, Cooksville
	Fenby	49.3		Maryland Route 854B south / Old Washington Rd.	former route of
	Westminster	51.67		Bennett Ave. east
ends at Westminster city limits

Related routes

• Maryland Route 97
• Maryland Route 140
• Maryland Route 832
• Maryland Route 851

See also

• List of Maryland state highways

References

External links

• MD 32 @ MDRoads.com
• Photos of the Route 32 Bridge
• Rare design wins a new life for old Howard County bridge
• MD 32 Patuxent Freeway project page @ MDOT SHA
• Burntwoods Road Interchange project page @ MDOT SHA