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Interstate 895 (Maryland)
Encyclopedia
Interstate 895 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state
of Maryland
. Known as the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, the highway runs 14.87 miles (23.9 km) between one junction with I-95
in Elkridge
and another interchange with I-95 on the east side of Baltimore. I-895 is a toll road
that crosses the Patapsco River
estuary via the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, connecting U.S. Route 1
(US 1), I-695
, and the Baltimore–Washington Parkway in the southwestern suburbs of Baltimore with US 40
on the east side of Baltimore. In conjunction with a pair of spurs, unsigned
I-895A and I-895B, I-895 provides access to the tunnel from I-97
and Maryland Route 2
(MD 2) in Glen Burnie
. The highway is designed for through traffic by having partial interchanges that require vehicles from almost all starting points to pass through the tunnel and the tunnel toll plaza, where a $3 toll is charged to passenger vehicles, before exiting the facility. I-895 and its spurs are maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority
(MdTA) and are a part of the National Highway System
for their entire length except for the part of I-895B between MD 2 and I-895A.
The idea of a crossing of the Patapsco River south of downtown Baltimore has been studied since the 1930s. In the early 1950s, the Maryland State Roads Commission
chose to construct a four-lane tunnel between the Canton and Fairfield neighborhoods of Baltimore and approach highways to connect the tunnel with major highways to Washington
, Annapolis
, Richmond
, and Philadelphia
. The tunnel and approach highways were constructed beginning in 1955 and opened in November 1957, opening a bottleneck for Baltimore through traffic, which formerly had to navigate the city streets. The Harbor Tunnel Thruway was connected with the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway in the early 1960s and the portion of I-95 south to Washington in the early 1970s. With these connections, I-895 was burdened with most of the through traffic passing through Baltimore. The congestion was not resolved until I-95 through Baltimore was completed when the eight-lane Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in November 1985. The transfer of most traffic to the new tunnel allowed the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel to be partially shut down for extensive maintenance in the late 1980s.
I-895 begins at Exit 46 of I-95 in Elkridge with single-lane ramps from I-95 north to I-895 north and I-895 south to I-95 south. The highway, which has a speed limit of 65 miles per hour (104.6 km/h), expands to four lanes on a viaduct over local roads and CSX
's Capital Subdivision and MARC
's Camden Line
. I-895 crosses the Patapsco River and US 1 (Washington Boulevard), then receives the ramps from Exit 1 with US 1 south before passing under I-195 with no access. I-895 continues east with a wide grass median and parallels the Patapsco River and a pair of transmission lines. The highway passes several industrial facilities in Halethorpe
as it crosses the Amtrak Northeast Corridor and MARC's Penn Line
and Herbert Run. I-895 meets I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) at Exit 3, then crosses Hammonds Ferry Road in Baltimore Highlands before Exit 4 with MD 295 (Baltimore–Washington Parkway), where the speed limit drops to 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h). The wide median reduces to a Jersey barrier
as the highway crosses MD 648
(Annapolis Road).
I-895 crosses marshland, the main line of the Baltimore Light Rail
, and the Patapsco River and curves to the northeast at Exit 6 for the southern approach, unsigned I-895B, in Brooklyn Park
. The highway enters the city of Baltimore and curves to the east over Patapsco Avenue before Exit 7 with MD 2 (Potee Street). I-895 parallels CSX's Curtis Bay Branch as the highway passes between an industrial area to the north and the Brooklyn
neighborhood. The highway crosses the Curtis Bay Branch on a steel truss bridge ahead of Exit 8A with Shell Road, which heads toward the Curtis Bay, Baltimore
neighborhood, and Exit 8B with Frankfurst Avenue, which leads to Hanover Street and downtown Baltimore
. I-895 passes through the 14-booth toll plaza for the tunnel, then receives exit ramps for Exit 9 with Childs Street. The speed limit decreases to 50 miles per hour (80.5 km/h) as the highway curves to the northeast through the Fairfield unit of the Port of Baltimore and descends into the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel.
I-895 surfaces from the tunnel adjacent to the toll plaza for the Fort McHenry Tunnel within the Canton neighborhood. The highway passes over several rail lines, then the Exit 10 ramp to Holabird Avenue diverges from I-895 north immediately before passing under I-95 (sharing no access with that Interstate). Now running north, as I-895 returns to ground level, the highway crosses Ponca Street and Boston Street and the speed limit increases to 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h) ahead of Exits 11A and 11B with Boston Street and O'Donnell Street, respectively. The highway crosses a rail line before passing through the Riverside neighborhood in a cut. I-895 passes under MD 150
(Eastern Avenue) ahead of Exit 12, a full interchange with Lombard Street just to the west of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
. The highway turns northeast and crosses both the Amtrak Northeast Corridor and CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision before Exit 13 with US 40 (Pulaski Highway) and MD 151
(Erdman Avenue). After crossing Herring Creek, I-895 meets Moravia Road at Exit 14. The highway crosses Moores Run before reaching its northern terminus at Exit 62 of I-95 (John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway) just west of the Baltimore city limits, with ramps from I-895 north to I-95 north and I-95 south to I-895 south.
. Another study in 1944 examined the idea of a bridge with limited-access approach roads running from US 1 in Elkridge to the Patapsco River crossing and from the bridge to US 40 near Erdman Avenue in east Baltimore. The financial resources for the project were established in 1947 when the Maryland General Assembly
passed an act allowing for the pooling of revenue bonds and toll receipts between the state's toll facilities—the existing Potomac River Bridge
and Susquehanna River Bridge
, and the upcoming Chesapeake Bay Bridge
—to finance the construction of the Patapsco River Crossing. Finally, a 1953 study examined three different routes—Canton-Fairfield, Canton-Fort McHenry
, and a Canton-Fort McHenry-Fairfield dual crossing option—and whether the crossing should be a bridge or tunnel.
In 1954, the SRC decided to construct a tunnel between Canton and Fairfield, with three approach highways: a west approach from US 1 in Elkridge, a south approach from MD 2 in Glen Burnie to connect with the west approach in Brooklyn Park, and a north approach from US 40 and Erdman Avenue in east Baltimore. The approach highways were to be limited-access with directional, partial interchanges so that only traffic intending to use the tunnel would use the approach roads. Any vehicles entering an approach road would not be able to exit until having passed through the tunnel and the tunnel toll facility.
Shortly after work began on the Patapsco Tunnel Project on April 7, 1955, several changes were made to the plans for the approach highways. The northern terminus at US 40 was altered to allow an extension from US 40 to the southern end of the future Northeastern Expressway (now John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway). As a result, additional connections with US 40 were planned for the area around present day Exit 14. In addition, the south approach was to have a tie-in to the Glen Burnie Bypass (now I-97) then under construction. The tunnel and approach highways were completed and opened November 29, 1957 as the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, respectively. The opening of the tunnel and approach roads removed a significant amount of traffic from the streets of Baltimore and eliminated 51 traffic lights from the route of motorists passing through the city.
and the Baltimore Beltway in 1971.
Since I-95 had not yet been completed through Baltimore, the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, which was designated I-895 in 1979, was the main route for traffic passing through Baltimore. As a result, the highway was very congested, and travel through Baltimore had once again become a bottleneck. Relief came with the completion of the eight-lane Fort McHenry Tunnel on I-95 on November 23, 1985. With most traffic diverted to the new tunnel, major reconstruction work began on the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. Traffic was reduced to one lane in each direction through the tunnel as each of the two tubes was renovated between 1987 and 1989. More recent changes include the elimination of the entrance ramp from Ponca Street at Exit 10, the expansion of Exit 12 to a full interchange to provide access to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in both directions, and the reconstruction of the northern interchange with I-95 in 2009 so I-895 enters and exits I-95 on the right side of the roadway.
in 2001. MdTA increased the toll for passenger vehicles to $2 in 2003. In May 2011, the agency announced the toll for the Harbor Tunnel Thruway and the two other harbor crossings would increase to $3 on October 1, 2011 and to $4 on July 1, 2013.
The Harbor Tunnel Thruway has had three different exit number systems throughout its existence. The first numbering scheme was in place by 1963. The northbound exits were numbered between 1 (Holabird Avenue) and 5 (US 40), while the southbound exits were numbered 1 (Hanover Street) to 7 (US 1). The second numbering scheme, which did not change the interchange numbers on the northern approach to the tunnel, was introduced in 1971. The exits on the western approach were renumbered 11 (Hanover Street) to 17 (US 1). Under both schemes, the Childs Street exit did not have a number and the Moravia Road interchange was numbered as Exit 1 of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. The third and present numbering scheme was enacted in 1991.
The entire length of I-895A is in Anne Arundel County
.
{| class=wikitable
!Mile
!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|0.00
|
|Southern terminus; highway continues south as I-97
|-
|0.21
|
|Northbound exit only
|-
|0.71
|
|Northern terminus; officially I-895B
The entire length of I-895B is in Anne Arundel County
.
{| class=wikitable
!Location
!Mile
!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=3|Glen Burnie
|0.00
|
|rowspan=1|Southern terminus; southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|0.80
|
|rowspan=1|I-695 Exit 3B; northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
|1.31
|
|rowspan=1|Officially I-895A; southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|rowspan=1|Brooklyn Park
|2.67
|
|rowspan=1|Northern terminus; I-895 Exit 6; northbound exit and southbound entrance
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. Known as the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, the highway runs 14.87 miles (23.9 km) between one junction with I-95
Interstate 95 in Maryland
Interstate 95 in Maryland is a major highway that runs diagonally from northeast to southwest, from Maryland's border with Delaware, to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, briefly entering the District of Columbia before reaching Virginia...
in Elkridge
Elkridge, Maryland
Elkridge is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The population was 22,042 at the 2000 census. Founded early in the 18th century, Elkridge is located at the confluence of three counties, the other two being Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties...
and another interchange with I-95 on the east side of Baltimore. I-895 is a toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
that crosses the Patapsco River
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River is a river in central Maryland which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore...
estuary via the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, connecting U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 in Maryland
U.S. Route 1 is the easternmost and longest of the major north–south routes of the United States Numbered Highway System, running from Key West, Florida to Fort Kent, Maine. In the U.S...
(US 1), I-695
Interstate 695 (Maryland)
Interstate 695 is a -long full beltway Interstate Highway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, USA. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway, but is colloquially referred to as either the Baltimore Beltway or 695...
, and the Baltimore–Washington Parkway in the southwestern suburbs of Baltimore with US 40
U.S. Route 40 in Maryland
U.S. Route 40 in the U.S. state of Maryland runs from western Maryland to Cecil County in the state's northeastern corner. With a total length of over , it is the longest numbered highway in Maryland. Almost half of the road overlaps with Interstate 68 or Interstate 70, while the old alignment...
on the east side of Baltimore. In conjunction with a pair of spurs, unsigned
Unsigned highway
An unsigned highway is a highway that has been assigned a route number, but does not bear conventional road markings that would normally be used to identify the route with that number...
I-895A and I-895B, I-895 provides access to the tunnel from I-97
Interstate 97
Interstate 97 is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It runs from Annapolis at the overlapped section of US 50, US 301, and the unsigned I-595 to Baltimore at the city's beltway...
and Maryland Route 2
Maryland Route 2
Maryland Route 2 is the longest state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from Solomons Island in Calvert County north to an intersection with U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 40 Truck in Baltimore...
(MD 2) in Glen Burnie
Glen Burnie, Maryland
Glen Burnie is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, and is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 67,639 at the 2010 census...
. The highway is designed for through traffic by having partial interchanges that require vehicles from almost all starting points to pass through the tunnel and the tunnel toll plaza, where a $3 toll is charged to passenger vehicles, before exiting the facility. I-895 and its spurs are maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority
Maryland Transportation Authority
The Maryland Transportation Authority is an independent state agency responsible for financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining eight toll facilities, currently consisting of two toll roads, two tunnels, and four bridges in Maryland...
(MdTA) and are a part of the National Highway System
National Highway System (United States)
The National Highway System is a network of strategic highways within the United States, including the Interstate Highway System and other roads serving major airports, ports, rail or truck terminals, railway stations, pipeline terminals and other strategic transport facilities.Individual states...
for their entire length except for the part of I-895B between MD 2 and I-895A.
The idea of a crossing of the Patapsco River south of downtown Baltimore has been studied since the 1930s. In the early 1950s, the Maryland State Roads Commission
Maryland State Highway Administration
The Maryland State Highway Administration is the state agency responsible for maintaining Maryland numbered highways outside of Baltimore City...
chose to construct a four-lane tunnel between the Canton and Fairfield neighborhoods of Baltimore and approach highways to connect the tunnel with major highways to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, and Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. The tunnel and approach highways were constructed beginning in 1955 and opened in November 1957, opening a bottleneck for Baltimore through traffic, which formerly had to navigate the city streets. The Harbor Tunnel Thruway was connected with the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway in the early 1960s and the portion of I-95 south to Washington in the early 1970s. With these connections, I-895 was burdened with most of the through traffic passing through Baltimore. The congestion was not resolved until I-95 through Baltimore was completed when the eight-lane Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in November 1985. The transfer of most traffic to the new tunnel allowed the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel to be partially shut down for extensive maintenance in the late 1980s.
Western approach
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
's Capital Subdivision and MARC
MARC Train
MARC , known prior to 1984 as Maryland Rail Commuter Service, is a regional rail system comprising three lines in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration , a Maryland Department of Transportation agency, and is operated under contract...
's Camden Line
Camden Line
The Camden Line is a MARC commuter rail line that runs between Union Station, Washington, D.C. and Camden Station, Baltimore, Maryland over the CSX Capital Subdivision. Service began along this route in 1835 as part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , making it the oldest passenger rail line in...
. I-895 crosses the Patapsco River and US 1 (Washington Boulevard), then receives the ramps from Exit 1 with US 1 south before passing under I-195 with no access. I-895 continues east with a wide grass median and parallels the Patapsco River and a pair of transmission lines. The highway passes several industrial facilities in Halethorpe
Halethorpe, Maryland
Halethorpe is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is near the University of Maryland, Baltimore County...
as it crosses the Amtrak Northeast Corridor and MARC's Penn Line
Penn Line (MARC)
The Penn Line is a MARC commuter rail line running from Union Station, Washington D.C. to Perryville, Maryland via Penn Station, Baltimore, Maryland on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. It is MARC's busiest and only electric line. Currently the line is the fastest commuter rail line in the country, with...
and Herbert Run. I-895 meets I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) at Exit 3, then crosses Hammonds Ferry Road in Baltimore Highlands before Exit 4 with MD 295 (Baltimore–Washington Parkway), where the speed limit drops to 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h). The wide median reduces to a Jersey barrier
Jersey barrier
A Jersey barrier or Jersey wall is a modular concrete barrier employed to separate lanes of traffic. It is designed to both minimize vehicle damage in cases of incidental contact while still preventing crossover in the case of head-on accidents....
as the highway crosses MD 648
Maryland Route 648
Maryland Route 648 is a collection of state highways in the U.S. state of Maryland. These highways are sections of Baltimore–Annapolis Boulevard, the old alignment of MD 2 between Annapolis and Glen Burnie. These segments were bypassed when MD 2 was moved to Governor Ritchie Highway, a...
(Annapolis Road).
I-895 crosses marshland, the main line of the Baltimore Light Rail
Baltimore Light Rail
The Maryland Transit Administration Light Rail is a light rail system serving Baltimore, Maryland, United States, and the surrounding suburbs.In downtown Baltimore it uses city streets...
, and the Patapsco River and curves to the northeast at Exit 6 for the southern approach, unsigned I-895B, in Brooklyn Park
Brooklyn Park, Maryland
Brooklyn Park is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 10,938 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Brooklyn Park, MD is located at ....
. The highway enters the city of Baltimore and curves to the east over Patapsco Avenue before Exit 7 with MD 2 (Potee Street). I-895 parallels CSX's Curtis Bay Branch as the highway passes between an industrial area to the north and the Brooklyn
Brooklyn, Baltimore
Brooklyn is one of the southernmost neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. It is located near Anne Arundel County along Maryland Route 2. Its main roads are Potee Street, Hanover Street, and Patapsco Avenue. Often mistaken as Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn shares the 21225 ZIP Code with Brooklyn Park and...
neighborhood. The highway crosses the Curtis Bay Branch on a steel truss bridge ahead of Exit 8A with Shell Road, which heads toward the Curtis Bay, Baltimore
Curtis Bay, Baltimore
Curtis Bay is a neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The neighborhood is located in a highly industrialized waterfornt area in the southern part of the city, and receives its name from the body of water in which it sits...
neighborhood, and Exit 8B with Frankfurst Avenue, which leads to Hanover Street and downtown Baltimore
Downtown Baltimore
Downtown Baltimore is the section of Baltimore traditionally bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the west, Mt. Royal Avenue to the north, President Street to the east and the Inner Harbor area to the south. It consists of four neighborhoods: Westside, City Centre, Inner Harbor, and...
. I-895 passes through the 14-booth toll plaza for the tunnel, then receives exit ramps for Exit 9 with Childs Street. The speed limit decreases to 50 miles per hour (80.5 km/h) as the highway curves to the northeast through the Fairfield unit of the Port of Baltimore and descends into the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel.
Northern approach
Maryland Route 150
Maryland Route 150 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as either Eastern Avenue or Eastern Boulevard, the state highway runs from U.S. Route 40 in Baltimore east to Graces Quarters Road in Chase in eastern Baltimore County. MD 150 connects Baltimore...
(Eastern Avenue) ahead of Exit 12, a full interchange with Lombard Street just to the west of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, formerly known as Francis Scott Key Medical Center, is a hospital and medical office center in East Baltimore.It is located along Eastern Avenue near Bayview Boulevard...
. The highway turns northeast and crosses both the Amtrak Northeast Corridor and CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision before Exit 13 with US 40 (Pulaski Highway) and MD 151
Maryland Route 151
Maryland Route 151 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as North Point Boulevard, the state highway runs from 7th Street in Sparrows Point north to U.S. Route 1 in Baltimore...
(Erdman Avenue). After crossing Herring Creek, I-895 meets Moravia Road at Exit 14. The highway crosses Moores Run before reaching its northern terminus at Exit 62 of I-95 (John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway) just west of the Baltimore city limits, with ramps from I-895 north to I-95 north and I-95 south to I-895 south.
Planning and construction
In 1938, the Maryland State Roads Commission (SRC) commissioned an engineering study titled Maryland's Primary Bridge Program to examine the feasibility of major bridges across significant transportation barriers, including a bridge crossing the Patapsco River southeast of the Inner HarborInner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
. Another study in 1944 examined the idea of a bridge with limited-access approach roads running from US 1 in Elkridge to the Patapsco River crossing and from the bridge to US 40 near Erdman Avenue in east Baltimore. The financial resources for the project were established in 1947 when the Maryland General Assembly
Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives...
passed an act allowing for the pooling of revenue bonds and toll receipts between the state's toll facilities—the existing Potomac River Bridge
Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge
The Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge is a , two-lane continuous truss bridge that spans the Potomac River between Newburg in Charles County, Maryland and Dahlgren in King George County, Virginia, USA....
and Susquehanna River Bridge
Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge
The Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge is a bridge carrying the traffic across the Susquehanna River on U.S. Route 40 between Havre de Grace and Perryville via Garrett Island in northeast Maryland. It is the oldest of the eight toll facilities operated and maintained by the Maryland Transportation...
, and the upcoming Chesapeake Bay Bridge
Chesapeake Bay Bridge
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is a major dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore region with the more urban Western Shore. The original span opened in 1952 and, at the time, with a length of , it was the world's longest...
—to finance the construction of the Patapsco River Crossing. Finally, a 1953 study examined three different routes—Canton-Fairfield, Canton-Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a star-shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay...
, and a Canton-Fort McHenry-Fairfield dual crossing option—and whether the crossing should be a bridge or tunnel.
In 1954, the SRC decided to construct a tunnel between Canton and Fairfield, with three approach highways: a west approach from US 1 in Elkridge, a south approach from MD 2 in Glen Burnie to connect with the west approach in Brooklyn Park, and a north approach from US 40 and Erdman Avenue in east Baltimore. The approach highways were to be limited-access with directional, partial interchanges so that only traffic intending to use the tunnel would use the approach roads. Any vehicles entering an approach road would not be able to exit until having passed through the tunnel and the tunnel toll facility.
Shortly after work began on the Patapsco Tunnel Project on April 7, 1955, several changes were made to the plans for the approach highways. The northern terminus at US 40 was altered to allow an extension from US 40 to the southern end of the future Northeastern Expressway (now John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway). As a result, additional connections with US 40 were planned for the area around present day Exit 14. In addition, the south approach was to have a tie-in to the Glen Burnie Bypass (now I-97) then under construction. The tunnel and approach highways were completed and opened November 29, 1957 as the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, respectively. The opening of the tunnel and approach roads removed a significant amount of traffic from the streets of Baltimore and eliminated 51 traffic lights from the route of motorists passing through the city.
Improvements and relief
The Harbor Tunnel Thruway was extended north to the city limits of Baltimore to seamlessly connect with the Northeastern Expressway when that highway opened northeast to the Baltimore Beltway in 1961. In 1969, Moravia Road was extended east to US 40 using the connector between US 40 and the thruway and several ramps were added to that road's interchanges with US 40 and the thruway. In addition, flyover ramps were constructed at the city limits for I-95 to diverge from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway onto its own path through east Baltimore in 1970. The Harbor Tunnel Thruway was extended at its south end in 1973 to connect with I-95 shortly after that Interstate was completed between the Capital BeltwayInterstate 495 (Capital Beltway)
Interstate 495 is a Interstate Highway that surrounds the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear...
and the Baltimore Beltway in 1971.
Since I-95 had not yet been completed through Baltimore, the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, which was designated I-895 in 1979, was the main route for traffic passing through Baltimore. As a result, the highway was very congested, and travel through Baltimore had once again become a bottleneck. Relief came with the completion of the eight-lane Fort McHenry Tunnel on I-95 on November 23, 1985. With most traffic diverted to the new tunnel, major reconstruction work began on the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. Traffic was reduced to one lane in each direction through the tunnel as each of the two tubes was renovated between 1987 and 1989. More recent changes include the elimination of the entrance ramp from Ponca Street at Exit 10, the expansion of Exit 12 to a full interchange to provide access to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in both directions, and the reconstruction of the northern interchange with I-95 in 2009 so I-895 enters and exits I-95 on the right side of the roadway.
Tolls and exit numbers
The original toll for the Harbor Tunnel Thruway was 40 cents for passenger vehicles and 85 cents for trucks. By 1985, the toll had risen to $1. Electronic toll collection began at the toll plaza in 1999 for M-TAG customers; the M-TAG system was absorbed by E-ZPassE-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system used on most tolled roads, bridges, and tunnels in the northeastern US, south to Virginia and West Virginia, and west to Illinois. Currently, there are 25 agencies spread across 14 states that make up the . All member agencies use the same technology,...
in 2001. MdTA increased the toll for passenger vehicles to $2 in 2003. In May 2011, the agency announced the toll for the Harbor Tunnel Thruway and the two other harbor crossings would increase to $3 on October 1, 2011 and to $4 on July 1, 2013.
The Harbor Tunnel Thruway has had three different exit number systems throughout its existence. The first numbering scheme was in place by 1963. The northbound exits were numbered between 1 (Holabird Avenue) and 5 (US 40), while the southbound exits were numbered 1 (Hanover Street) to 7 (US 1). The second numbering scheme, which did not change the interchange numbers on the northern approach to the tunnel, was introduced in 1971. The exits on the western approach were renumbered 11 (Hanover Street) to 17 (US 1). Under both schemes, the Childs Street exit did not have a number and the Moravia Road interchange was numbered as Exit 1 of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. The third and present numbering scheme was enacted in 1991.
Exit list
Auxiliary routes
I-895 has two auxiliary routes, I-895A and I-895B. Both highways are portions of the southern approach to the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel that connects with the mainline of the Harbor Tunnel Thruway in Brooklyn Park.I-895A
I-895A is the designation for the 0.71 miles (1.1 km) connector between the northern end of I-97 just north of I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) and I-895B within Glen Burnie. The highway was constructed in 1957 to connect the northern end of the Glen Burnie Bypass with the Harbor Tunnel Thruway. In conjunction with the reconstruction of I-97's interchange with I-695, in which the loop ramp from I-97 north to I-695 west was replaced with a flyover joining I-695 on the left, a loop ramp was added on I-895A in 1995 to allow access to the right side of I-695 west for traffic exiting at MD 648 (Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard).The entire length of I-895A is in Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is named for Anne Arundell , a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England and the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state...
.
{| class=wikitable
!Mile
!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|0.00
|
|Southern terminus; highway continues south as I-97
|-
|0.21
|
|Northbound exit only
|-
|0.71
|
|Northern terminus; officially I-895B
I-895B
I-895B is the designation for the 2.67 mi (4.3 km) southern approach to the mainline of Harbor Tunnel Thruway between MD 2 (Governor Ritchie Highway) in Glen Burnie and I-895 in Brooklyn Park. The highway was completed in 1957 with the remainder of the Harbor Tunnel Thruway. The only change to the southern approach is the addition of ramps from I-895B north to I-695 west and from I-695 east to I-895B south to improve access between MD 2 and the Baltimore Beltway; these ramps, now marked as Exit 3A on I-695 east, were completed in 1968.The entire length of I-895B is in Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is named for Anne Arundell , a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England and the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state...
.
{| class=wikitable
!Location
!Mile
!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=3|Glen Burnie
Glen Burnie, Maryland
Glen Burnie is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, and is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 67,639 at the 2010 census...
|0.00
|
|rowspan=1|Southern terminus; southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|0.80
|
|rowspan=1|I-695 Exit 3B; northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
|1.31
|
|rowspan=1|Officially I-895A; southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|rowspan=1|Brooklyn Park
Brooklyn Park, Maryland
Brooklyn Park is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 10,938 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Brooklyn Park, MD is located at ....
|2.67
|
|rowspan=1|Northern terminus; I-895 Exit 6; northbound exit and southbound entrance