How long is Interstate 97?
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Interstate 97 (I-97) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs entirely within Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The intrastate Interstate runs from U.S. Route 50 (US 50) and US 301 in Parole near Annapolis north to I-695 and I-895 in Brooklyn Park near Baltimore. The Interstate is the primary highway between Baltimore and Annapolis. I‑97 connects Annapolis with Baltimore–Washington International Airport and links the northern Anne Arundel County communities of Crownsville, Millersville, Severna Park, Glen Burnie, and Ferndale. It is the shortest primary Interstate Highway.
Interstate 97
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I-97 begins at US 50 and US 301 (John Hanson Highway), which run concurrently with unsigned I-595, on the edge of the community of Parole west of Annapolis. The freeways meet at a semi-directional T interchange; the ramp from I-97 to eastbound US 50 and US 301 merges with a collector-distributor road that extends east to that freeway's interchange with MD 665 (Aris T. Allen Boulevard). I-97 heads northwest as a four-lane freeway with a speed limit of . The freeway crosses over MD 450 (Defense Highway) and passes along the south and west sides of Crownsville, where it crosses several tributaries of the Bacon Ridge Branch of the South River. North of Crownsville, I-97 has a partial interchange that comprises a pair of long ramps to MD 178 (Generals Highway); the interchange allows access from southbound I-97 to MD 178 and from the state highway to the northbound Interstate. I-97 gains an extra lane in each direction from the MD 178 ramps; those extra lanes split off at the freeway's partial interchange with the eastern end of MD 32 just north of Millersville. The Interstate curves northeast and has a complementary partial interchange with the northern end of MD 3 (Robert Crain Highway). The two state highways meet each other at a six-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange immediately to the west of I-97's sweeping curve, which facilitates all movements between the three highways.
I-97 continues north as a six-lane freeway and is closely paralleled on the east by Veterans Highway on the western edge of Severna Park. The highways cross Severn Run within Severn Run Natural Environment Area before they diverge slightly at the Interstate's partial cloverleaf interchange with Benfield Boulevard; access from northbound I-97 to the crossroad is via Veterans Highway. I-97 and Veterans Highway continue to parallel each other to the latter highway's northern end at I-97's partial cloverleaf interchange with the southern end of MD 3 Business (Robert Crain Highway) and New Cut Road. The interchange includes a flyover ramp from northbound I-97 to northbound Veterans Highway just south of its intersection with MD 3 Business. The freeway continues north along the west side of Glen Burnie and meets MD 174 (Quarterfield Road) at a four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange and MD 100 at a cloverstack interchange that has flyover exit ramps from both directions of I-97.
Interstate 97
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I-97 does not have an official name. However, the Interstate is dedicated to John A. Cade, who served the area around Severna Park in the Maryland Senate from 1974 to his 1996 death and who worked to secure funding for the highway. The Maryland General Assembly passed a dedication bill in 1998, and the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) installed a pair of signs noting the dedication in Millersville and near Parole. Like all Interstate Highways, I-97 is a part of the National Highway System for its entire length. I-97 is the shortest 2-digit mainline Interstate and only intracounty 2-digit Interstate in the contiguous United States.
Interstate 97
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I-97 was constructed along the corridor of Maryland Route 3 (MD 3) between Millersville and Ferndale and MD 178 between Parole and Millersville. From Millersville to south of Glen Burnie, the Interstate closely follows the former course of MD 3, which was built in the late 1910s and early 1920s and expanded to a divided highway in the late 1950s. North of there, the highway follows the Glen Burnie Bypass, a freeway built in the mid-1950s. The segment of I-97 from Millersville to Crownsville originated as a two-lane portion of MD 32 in the early 1970s. The Interstate was introduced in 1979 after the state of Maryland successfully obtained Interstate mileage for a Baltimore–Annapolis freeway from the federal government. The state decided to build the highway along I-97's current corridor rather than along the MD 2 corridor, which has partial freeway access via MD 10.
Interstate 97
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I-97 temporarily gains two extra lanes in each direction between MD 100 and its partial cloverleaf interchange with MD 176 (Dorsey Road). Access from the southbound Interstate to MD 176 is via MD 162 (Aviation Boulevard), which forms part of the Airport Loop surrounding Baltimore–Washington International Airport. I-97 continues through Ferndale, where it crosses over the Glen Burnie branch of MTA Maryland's Baltimore Light RailLink immediately before the highway's four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with MD 648 (Baltimore–Annapolis Boulevard), which provides access to the transit line's terminal station, Cromwell / Glen Burnie station. I-97's final interchange is with I-695 (Baltimore Beltway). The Interstate crosses the Cabin Branch of Curtis Creek within the interchange, which includes a flyover ramp from I-97 to westbound I-695; that ramp and the one from eastbound I-695 to I-97 merge on the inside of the two carriageways of the Beltway. The Interstate drops to four lanes and reaches its northern terminus just north of the loop ramp from westbound I-695 to I-97 in Brooklyn Park. The highway continues as I-895A, a pair of ramps that merge with the spur from I-895 (Harbor Tunnel Thruway) to MD 2 (Governor Ritchie Highway). The continuation from I-97 includes a ramp to westbound I-695 that allows access to the Beltway's interchange with MD 648.
Interstate 97
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Construction on I-97 began in the late 1980s with new construction from US 50 and US 301 to Crownsville. The Crownsville–Millersville segment of MD 32 was expanded and incorporated into the Interstate and the MD 3–MD 32 junction was upgraded. The portion of the MD 3 corridor from Millersville to south of Glen Burnie was upgraded on the spot to Interstate Highway standards in the early 1990s, after which MD 3 was truncated at Millersville. I-97's interchange with I-695 was rebuilt in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Glen Burnie Bypass was upgraded and expanded to six lanes in the mid-1990s. The complex process included reconstruction of several interchanges; the last interchange to be reconstructed was upgraded in the mid-2000s.
Interstate 97
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US 97 begins in Weed at an interchange with Interstate 5. It runs on Weed's Business Loop of Interstate 5, which all of the loop used to be U.S. Route 99. At the junction with California State Route 265, U.S. Route 97 ends its concurrency with the Business Loop and turns right, heading to the northeast into the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and later the Klamath National Forest. US 97 passes by Grass Lake as it travels through the mountains before descending into the community of Macdoel. The route continues into the city of Dorris before intersecting with California State Route 161 near Indian Tom Lake before it crosses Oregon state border and leaves California.
US 97 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, and is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. US 97 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System, but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation. As of 2007, it is part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway.
U.S. Route 97 in California
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West Virginia Route 97 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 52 and West Virginia Route 80 in Hanover. The eastern terminus is at exit 42 of the West Virginia Turnpike (Interstate 64 and Interstate 77) in Mabscott. West Virginia Route 16, which runs concurrent with WV 97 between Sophia and Mabscott, continues north into Beckley on Robert C. Byrd Drive, the right-of-way of both WV 16 and WV 97.
West Virginia Route 97
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With Interstate funding assured, MDSHA commissioned the Baltimore–Annapolis Transportation Corridor Study in 1973 to figure out, among other things, the best route for the Baltimore–Annapolis Interstate. The study discovered a western route following the MD 3 and MD 178 corridors would be less disruptive and require fewer acquisitions of homes and businesses compared to an extension of the Arundel Expressway south along the MD 2 corridor. In June 1979, MDSHA announced plans for I-97. The original route numbering plan, which was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) at its November 1975 meeting, was for I-97 to include its current route plus US 50 from Parole west to I-95 (Capital Beltway). That proposal included two auxiliary Interstate highways. I-197 would follow US 50 and US 301 east from I-97 to just west of the Severn River. I-297 would follow MD 3 between a pair of intersections with I-97 in Millersville and Bowie. AASHTO rescinded its approval of the 1975 plan at its June 1981 meeting, then approved what was essentially the original 1975 plan at its June 1982 meeting. The east–west segment of I-97 and I-197 was replaced by I-68. I-297 was withdrawn by request of the state of Maryland in 1983. The 1982 concept of I-68 became unsigned I-595 and I-68 was applied to the National Freeway in Western Maryland in 1991 after AASHTO approved the new designations at its June 1989 meeting.
Interstate 97
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The first portion of I-97 proper to be constructed was the section south of Millersville, which was placed under construction in three sections in March 1985. The first section of the highway, from US 50 and US 301 to Millersville Road west of the MD 178 interchange, opened in December 1987. Construction of I-97 from Millersville Road to the intersection of MD 3 and MD 178 at Dorrs Corner started in July 1987. The Interstate through Millersville opened in April 1989. The interchange at I-97's southern terminus was originally constructed as a partial interchange, with I-97 tying into what are now the collector-distributor lanes of US 50 and US 301. The ramps from eastbound US 50 and US 301 to I-97 and from I-97 to the westbound U.S. Highways were added during the reconstruction of US 50 and US 301 in 1992 and 1993.
Interstate 97