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 Maryland Route 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Crain Highway | ||||
 Maryland Route 3 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byMDSHA | ||||
| Length | 9.56 mi[1] (15.39 km) | |||
| Existed | 1927–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   US 50 /US 301 inBowie | |||
| Major intersections |
| |||
| North end |   I-97 /MD 32 near Millersville | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Maryland | |||
| Counties | Prince George's,Anne Arundel | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Maryland Route 3 (MD 3), part of theRobert Crain Highway, is the designation given to the former alignment ofU.S. Route 301 (US 301) fromBowie, Maryland, United States, toBaltimore. It is named forRobert Crain of Baltimore. It is unique in Maryland in that it has a business route and a truck route which do not connect to their parent; however, the business route is also a part of the Robert Crain Highway. MD 3's current orientation is vestigial from the construction of Maryland's freeway system.
_at_the_exit_for_Maryland_State_Route_32_WEST_(Odenton%2c_Fort_Meade)_in_Gambrills%2c_Anne_Arundel_County%2c_Maryland.jpg)
MD 3 begins within the modifiedcloverleaf interchange ofUS 50 and unsignedI-595 (John Hanson Highway) andUS 301 (Robert Crain Highway) inBowie,Prince George's County. Within the interchange, US 301 heads south on Crain Highway and east along US 50; meanwhile, MD 3 heads north on Crain Highway, a four-lanedivided highway. A short distance after beginning, the route comes to apartial cloverleaf interchange with Belair Drive, containing continuing connections from the US 50/US 301 interchange. Past here, the road runs north through wooded residential areas before the median widens and it bends to the north-northeast, continuing through forested areas with a few businesses. MD 3 continues northeast and the median narrows, with the road widening to eight lanes as it comes to an intersection withMD 450. At this point, MD 450 heads northeast for aconcurrency with MD 3 along a six-lane divided highway, running through wooded areas and coming to a bridge over thePatuxent River.[1][2]
_at_Maryland_State_Route_175_(Annapolis_Road)_in_Odenton%2c_Anne_Arundel_County%2c_Maryland.jpg)
Upon crossing the Patuxent River, the road entersAnne Arundel County and continues northeast, with MD 450 splitting from MD 3 by turning to the east. MD 3 continues north along Crain Highway intoCrofton, passing between woodland to the west and residential subdivisions to the east. The road heads into a commercial area and comes to an intersection with the northern terminus ofMD 424. At this point, the route turns to the northeast and the median widens to include businesses in the center. MD 3 heads intoGambrills and runs through more commercial areas. The median narrows as the road passes to the southeast of the Waugh Chapel Towne Center shopping center and runs between businesses to the northwest and residential neighborhoods to the southeast. The median widens again and the route narrows to four lanes at the St. Stephen's Church Road intersection, passing through a mix of fields, woods, and businesses. The road comes to an intersection with the eastern terminus ofMD 175 inMillersville before it heads northeast through woodland. MD 3 comes to its northern terminus at a modified cloverleaf interchange withI-97 and the eastern terminus of theMD 32 freeway. I-97 passes under MD 3 and occupies its median for a very short distance, with MD 3 ending at ramps merging into northbound I-97. The roadway of MD 3, however, continues for a minor distance longer, the southbound carriageway turning and crossing underneath I-97 to join with the northbound on the east side of the Interstate, and continuing north as Veterans Highway, running parallel to I-97 and providing access toMD 178.[1][2]
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_from_the_overpass_for_Interstate_595_and_U.S._Route_50_(John_Hanson_Highway)_just_east_of_Bowie_in_Prince_George%2527s_County%2c_Maryland.jpg)
In the past, Crain Highway originally held the designation MD 3, then US 301, and it currently carries both of these designations on different sections.
Started in 1922, Crain Highway was a new road built by the Maryland State Road Commission and ran from Baltimore to Southern Maryland. The original route of MD 3, completed in 1927 on a greenfield alignment, was once designatedMaryland Route 761. With the opening of theHarry W. Nice Bridge in 1940 it was joined withU.S. Route 301. After theChesapeake Bay Bridge was built in 1952, US 301, which at that time ran along the current alignment of MD 3, was rerouted alongUS 50, across the Bay Bridge, and north toWilmington, Delaware, as a bypass around theBaltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The former US 301 north of US 50 was then given back the MD 3 designation. After the construction ofI-97, MD 3 was cut back to the I-97/MD 32 interchange, which led to the oddity of MD 3 Business inGlen Burnie being completely orphaned from its parent route. Despite this, the route is still designated MD 3 Business.
If MD 3 existed as a continuous route between its original southern end nearCobb Island (now signed asMD 254 andMD 257) and its original northern end atUS 1 (Wilkens Avenue) in southwesternBaltimore, running viaUS 301,Interstate 97, short segments of theBaltimore Beltway and theBaltimore-Washington Parkway, and Monroe Street in downtown Baltimore, it would be 74.69 miles long. MD 3 was routed via the Beltway and the Parkway to divert it from city streets; originally it followed what is nowMD 648 (Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard) into Baltimore, meeting Monroe Street within today's interchange between the Parkway andInterstate 95.
The current alignment of the route was upgraded to a divided highway asUS 301 in 1954.
 Interstate 297 | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bowie - Millersville |
| History | Withdrawn from request. |
The route is severely congested; attempts to bypass it with new routings have failed. One such routing would have beenInterstate 297, a direct freeway link betweenInterstate 97 andUS 50/US 301/I-595.
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince George's | Bowie | 0.00 | 0.00 | US 50 (John Hanson Highway) /US 301 (Robert Crain Highway) –Annapolis,Washington,Richmond | Exit 13 (US 50); southern terminus of MD 3; US 50runs concurrently withunsignedI-595 |
| 0.55 | 0.89 | Belair Drive (MD 3E) –Melford,Bowie | Partial cloverleaf interchange; Belair Drive is unsigned MD 3E | ||
| 2.20 | 3.54 |   MD 450 west (Annapolis Road) –Bowie | South end of concurrency with MD 450 | ||
| Anne Arundel | Crofton | 2.70 | 4.35 |  MD 450 east (Defense Highway) –Annapolis | North end of concurrency with MD 450 |
| 4.66 | 7.50 |   MD 424 south (Davidsonville Road) / Conway Road west –Davidsonville | Northern terminus of MD 424 | ||
| Millersville | 8.13 | 13.08 |  MD 175 west (Annapolis Road) / Millersville Road east –Gambrills | Eastern terminus of MD 175 | |
| 8.89 | 14.31 |   MD 32 west (Patuxent Freeway) toI-97 south –Odenton,Fort Meade,Columbia,Annapolis | MD 32 Exit 1; no access from southbound MD 3 to eastbound MD 32 or from westbound MD 32 to northbound MD 3; eastern terminus of MD 32 | ||
| 9.23 | 14.85 |   Veterans Highway toMD 178 south | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 9.59 | 15.43 |  I-97 north –Baltimore | Exit 7 (I-97); northern terminus of MD 3; southbound exit from and northbound entrance to I-97 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
 Maryland Route 3 Business | |
|---|---|
| Location | Glen Burnie |
| Length | 5.08 mi[1] (8.18 km) |
_at_Hospital_Drive_in_Glen_Burnie%2c_Anne_Arundel_County%2c_Maryland.jpg)
Maryland Route 3 Business (MD 3 Bus.) is a 5.08-mile (8.18 km)business route of MD 3 throughGlen Burnie and is the northernmost part of the Robert Crain Highway, connectingI-97 andMD 2. MD 3 Bus. begins on two-lane undivided New Cut Road at an arbitrary point just south of Grover Road inSevern, heading north-northeast through a mix of fields and residential neighborhoods and passing east ofArchbishop Spalding High School. Past the Grover Road intersection, the route becomes a five-lane road with acenter left-turn lane. MD 3 Bus. comes to an interchange with I-97 and becomes a four-lanedivided highway, with the name changing to Crain Highway at the intersection with the northern terminus of Veterans Highway within the interchange. From here, the route widens to six lanes and continues through a largely commercial and residential area in Glen Burnie, curving to the north. The road passes under theMD 100 freeway without an interchange before narrowing to four lanes at the Oak Manor Drive intersection immediately after. MD 3 Bus. continues north through suburban areas, with the median transitioning to a center left-turn lane at the Madison Park Drive intersection. The road bends to the north-northeast and reaches a junction with the eastern terminus ofMD 174. Following this, the route continues as a five lane road with a center left-turn lane that is lined with businesses, narrowing to a two-lane road at the 5th Avenue intersection. The road continues through residential and commercial areas, gaining a center turn lane again. At the Post 40 Road intersection, theBaltimore and Annapolis Trail crosses the route diagonally, forcing trail users to utilize two crosswalks. Immediately after, MD 3 Bus. intersectsMD 648 in the downtown area of Glen Burnie. The route continues north-northeast through developed areas as a two-lane road, with MD 2 now running parallel to the route just one block to the east. Now with shoulders, MD 3 Bus. enters a heavy residential and commercial area for the remainder of its route. The route intersects the northern terminus ofMD 270 before it makes a slight curve to the north. MD 3 Bus. continues north for a short distance before it reaches its northern terminus at an intersection with MD 2.[1][3]
MD 3 Bus. is the only business route in the Maryland state highway system that no longer connects with its parent route. This is due to the construction of a bypass freeway, which took over the MD 3 designation as it was built; MD 3 Bus. was designated for the present business route as it was constructed. However, the freeway was later designated as I-97, and MD 3's mainline was truncated to the point at which the freeway and MD 3 deviated onto different routes, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of MD 3 Bus. Despite this, several locations on I-97 have "TO MD 3" signs posted.
Junction list
The entire route is inGlen Burnie,Anne Arundel County.
| mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00 | New Cut Road south | Southern terminus of MD 3 Bus. | ||
| 0.54 | 0.87 | I-97 –Baltimore,Annapolis | Interchange | ||
| 2.53 | 4.07 |  MD 174 west (Quarterfield Road) –Fort Meade | Eastern terminus of MD 174; no direct access from northbound MD 3 Bus. to westbound MD 174 | ||
| 3.34 | 5.38 |  MD 648 (Baltimore–Annapolis Boulevard) | |||
| 4.67 | 7.52 |  MD 270 south (Furnace Branch Road) | Northern terminus of MD 270 | ||
| 5.08 | 8.18 |  MD 2 (Governor Ritchie Highway) –Baltimore | Northern terminus of MD 3 Bus. | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
 Maryland Route 3 Truck | |
|---|---|
| Location | Baltimore |
Maryland Route 3 Truck is an unsigned designation given toPratt Street eastbound andLombard Street westbound indowntown Baltimore, running fromMD 295 (Greene Street) east to President Street.[4]
The route exists despite not connecting to the current alignment of MD 3. As mentioned before, this is due to the construction of the freeways south of Baltimore taking the MD 3 designation, including MD 295. Before being given the current MD 295 designation, Paca Street and Greene Street were part of MD 3, which was the connection of MD 3 Truck to MD 3's mainline.
