Maryland Route 97

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MD Route 97
Georgia Avenue Maintained by MDSHA
Length:	55.27 mi[1] (88.95 km)
South end:	US 29/MD 384 at Silver Spring
Major junctions:	MD 390 near Silver Spring I-495 near Silver Spring MD 28 in Norbeck I-70/US 40 near Cooksville MD 26 at Dorsey Crossroads MD 32 in Fenby MD 27 in Westminster
North end:	PA 97 near Littlestown
Highways in Maryland < I-97 MD 98 > State highways - Minor - Former - Turnpikes

Maryland Route 97 (MD 97) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland, and includes the majority of the portion of Georgia Avenue in that state.

[edit] Counties traversed

• Carroll County 28.31 miles (45.56 km) [1]
• Howard County 8.74 miles (14.07 km) [2]
• Montgomery County 18.22 miles (29.32 km) [3]

[edit] Cities and towns

[edit] Route description

Georgia Avenue enters Maryland from the District of Columbia in Silver Spring in Montgomery County. For approximately one mile in Maryland, it is U.S. Route 29 in Maryland, whereupon U.S. 29 turns onto Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue continues as MD 97.

The route begins at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road (U.S. 29) in Silver Spring, Montgomery County. Continuing north, away from Washington D.C., MD 97 is a major north-south artery, intersecting a large number of important state highways such as MD 390, MD 193, MD 182, MD 185, MD 28, and MD 108. Between MD 390 and MD 193, MD 97 interchanges with I-495, the Capital Beltway.

The road follows a northerly path through Montgomery County, finally exiting the extensive northern D.C. suburbs north of Olney and MD 108 and passing into the rural countryside. After intersecting MD 650 and entering Howard County, the route encounters no other state highways for nearly seven miles until it reaches MD 144 at Cooksville. Just beyond, MD 97 interchanges with I-70 at a diamond interchange, passes into Carroll County two miles north of I-70, and encounters no other state routes for another six miles.

Eventually, MD 97 reaches MD 26. After crossing MD 26's old alignment at a traffic circle, the route interchanges with MD 26 at a folded-diamond interchange. Beyond MD 26, MD 97 becomes one of the major north-south arteries through the central part of the county, and is a fast two-lane road all the way into Westminster. South of Westminster, MD 97 and MD 32 intersect one another near Fenby; MD 32 follows MD 97's old route into Westminster, while MD 97 runs northeast into the heart of the Westminster shopping district, encountering MD 140 near the eastern end of the city.

At the intersection, MD 140 and MD 97 join one another to travel through downtown Westminster, interchanging with MD 27 at another folded-diamond interchange, before separating at another interchange northwest of the town, near McDaniel College. MD 97 now follows U.S. Route 140's original route north of Westminster, intersecting MD 496 near Carroll County Regional Airport before running straight north towards the Mason-Dixon Line. MD 97 ends at the Pennsylvania border, where it becomes Pennsylvania Route 97 in Adams County.

[edit] History

In 1948 the route ended just short of the Howard-Carroll county line; later it was extended north to Westminster and eventually to the Maryland/Pennsylvania border where it is continued as PA 97. After U.S. Route 140 was decommissioned in 1979, MD 97 and the new MD 140 swapped northern alignments, making both routes straighter.^{[citation needed]}

Portions of the original route north of the Howard-Carroll county line were once designated Maryland Route 570. Leftover segments of the original route, bypassed between MD 26 and MD 32, are designated Maryland Route 854.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Junction list

County	Location	Mile[citation needed]	Destinations	Notes
Montgomery	Silver Spring	0.0	US 29 / Georgia Ave. - Washington D.C.	southern terminus of
		0.0	Maryland Route 384 south / Colesville Rd. - Washington D.C.	former route of
		0.9	Maryland Route 390 south / 16 St. - Washington D.C.
		1.1	Seminary Rd.-Dale Dr.	former route of
		1.4	I-495 / Capital Beltway - Bethesda, Baltimore (via I-95)	grade-separated interchange between routes
		1.6	Maryland Route 192 / Forest Glen Rd. - Kensington
		3.1	Maryland Route 586 north / Veirs Mill Rd. - Rockville
		3.5	Maryland Route 193 / University Blvd. - Kensington, Kemp Mill
	Wheaton-Glenmont	4.8	Maryland Route 182 north / Layhill Rd. - Northwest Branch Park
	Aspen Hill	6.1	Maryland Route 185 south / Connecticut Ave. - North Kensington
	Norbeck	8.8	Maryland Route 28 / Norbeck Rd. - Rockville, Sandy Spring (to MD 198)
	Olney	11.9	Maryland Route 108 / Olney Sandy Spring Rd. - Laytonsville, Ashton
	Brookeville		Brighton Dam Rd.-Brookeville Rd. - Patuxent River State Park, Brighton Dam	curves sharply twice through Brookeville
		17.0	Maryland Route 650 / New Hampshire Ave.-Damascus Rd. - Damascus, Ashton (to Patuxent River State Park)
Howard		19.1	Old Roxbury Rd. north	former route of
		19.4	Old Roxbury Rd. south/Roxbury Mill Rd. north
		19.9	Roxbury Mill Rd. south
	Glenwood	21.7	Burntwoods Rd. east - to MD 32
	Cooksville	24.6	Maryland Route 144 / Frederick Rd. - Lisbon, West Friendship	former route of
		25.0	I-70/US 40 / Baltimore National Pike - Mount Airy, Ellicott City
		25.7	Old Frederick Rd. east - to Forsythe Rd.
		25.8	Old Frederick Rd. west
Carroll		26.9	Hoods Mill Rd. north	intersection includes B&O Railroad level crossing
		27.5	Hoods Mill Rd. - to Kabik Rd.
		32.4	Maryland Route 850 / Old Liberty Rd.	former route of
		32.7	Maryland Route 26 / Liberty Rd. - Libertytown, Eldersburg	grade-separated crossing between routes
		34.5	Bartholow Rd. - to MD 854
		37.0	Nicodemus Rd. - to MD 854
	Fenby	39.4	Maryland Route 32 / Sykesville Rd.-Old Washington Rd. - Gamber (to MD 91)
	Westminster	40.8	Hook Rd.
		41.7	Mary Ave.
		42.4	E. Main St.-Old Westminster Pike	former route of
		42.6	Maryland Route 140 east / Baltimore Blvd. - Finksburg	joins
		43.9	Maryland Route 27 / Manchester Rd.-Railroad Ave. - Manchester	grade-separated interchange between routes
		44.9	Maryland Route 140 west / Taneytown Rd. - Taneytown	separates from ; west is former original route of before decommissioning of
		47.3	Maryland Route 496 north / Bachmans Valley Rd. - to MD 30
		50.6	Old Hanover Rd. north
	Silver Run	52.4	Mayberry Rd. - to MD 140 and MD 832
		55.3	Pennsylvania Route 97 north / Littlestown Pike - Littlestown PA	northern terminus of

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• MD 97 @ MDRoads.com

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Maryland Route 97