 Maryland Route 190 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| River Road | ||||
 Maryland Route 190 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byMDSHA | ||||
| Length | 15.88 mi[1] (25.56 km) | |||
| Existed | 1927–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Scenic Byway | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  MD 112 nearSeneca | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| East end | Western Avenue NW at theDistrict of Columbia boundary in Bethesda | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Maryland | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Maryland Route 190 (MD 190) is astate highway in the U.S. state ofMaryland. Known asRiver Road, the highway runs 15.88 miles (25.56 km) fromMD 112 nearSeneca east toWestern Avenue at theDistrict of Columbia boundary inBethesda. MD 190 parallels thePotomac River through the affluent southwesternMontgomery County communities ofPotomac and Bethesda and connects those suburbs withInterstate 495 (I-495). River Road was paved fromWashington, D.C. west through part of Bethesda in the early 1910s. A second section of MD 190 was constructed through Potomac in the mid-1920s. The Bethesda and Potomac portions of the route were unified in the late 1920s. MD 190 was extended west toward Seneca in two steps in 1950 and the early 1970s. The highway was expanded to a four-lanedivided highway through Bethesda in the early 1960s.
The westernmost 8.14 miles (13.10 km) of MD 190 are signed concurrently with theChesapeake and Ohio Canal Scenic Byway, a state tourist route.[2]
_just_east_of_Maryland_State_Route_189_(Falls_Road)_in_Potomac%2c_Montgomery_County%2c_Maryland.jpg)
MD 190 begins at a three-way intersection just east of the hamlet of Seneca near the mouth ofSeneca Creek at the Potomac River. The east leg of the intersection is MD 112 (Seneca Road), which heads towardDarnestown. The west leg of the intersection is county-maintained River Road, which parallels the river through theSeneca Historic District and peters out beyondMcKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area south ofPoolesville. MD 190 heads southeast as a two-lane undivided road that parallels the Potomac River from a distance. The road intersects several county highways that provide access to theChesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The highway crossesMuddy Branch within Blockhouse Point Park and continues through theTravilah area, where the highway intersects Travilah Road. MD 190 crossesWatts Branch west of Piney Meetinghouse Road, where the Potomac River curves south away from the highway. The route crosses Rock Run as it enters the village of Potomac, where the highway temporarily expands to four lanes and intersects Falls Road, which heads north asMD 189 and south towardGreat Falls. MD 190 passes to the north of theTPC Potomac at Avenel Farm golf course and intersects Bradley Boulevard, which carriesMD 191 north of MD 190, west of the entrance toCongressional Country Club.[1][3]
MD 190 crossesCabin John Creek and expands to a four-lane divided highway just west of Seven Locks Road. The state highway has apartial cloverleaf interchange with I-495 (Capital Beltway) that includes access toCabin John Parkway. East of the Capital Beltway, the route becomes apartially controlled access highway, with adjacent properties accessed by service roads or intersecting streets. MD 190 passes to the south of theBurning Tree Club and theHolton-Arms School before crossing Booze Creek. The highway continues through the southern part of Bethesda, where the road intersectsMD 188 (Wilson Lane) andMD 614 (Goldsboro Road); between the two highways, the highway passes south ofWalt Whitman High School. MD 190 loses access of control and becomes an undivided road with acenter left-turn lane west of its underpass of theCapital Crescent Trail. The highway becomes an undivided four-lane road between its intersection with Little Falls Parkway and its crossing ofLittle Falls Branch. MD 190 reaches its eastern terminus at Western Avenue at the District of Columbia boundary. River Road continues into Washington, D.C. as a two-lane unnumbered street that ends atWisconsin Avenue inTenleytown.[1][3]
_from_the_overpass_for_the_Capital_Crescent_Trail_in_Bethesda%2c_Montgomery_County%2c_Maryland.jpg)
MD 190 is a part of theNational Highway System as a principal arterial from MD 189 in Potomac to its eastern terminus.[1][4]
The first section of River Road to be paved was from the District of Columbia boundary west to Wilson Lane at the hamlet of Cohasset. Montgomery County applied for state aid for the road by 1910; it was built as a 10-foot-wide (3.0 m)macadam road by 1915.[5][6] A second section of macadam road was built from Bradley Lane to a point just west of Potomac by 1923.[7] The western section was extended as a concrete road from Potomac to near Piney Meetinghouse Road in 1925 and 1926.[8][9] A third segment of MD 190 was built as a concrete road from Cabin John Creek to Booze Creek in 1928.[10] The original extent of the state highway was finished when the gaps in the highway between Bradley Lane and Wilson Lane were filled with macadam roadway by 1930.[11] MD 190 was extended west from Piney Meetinghouse Road to Travilah Road, which was then MD 421, in 1950.[12] River Road from MD 421 to MD 112 was completely reconstructed as a federal aid project for Montgomery County between 1954 and 1956.[13][14] This improved road was brought into the state system as the westernmost portion of MD 190 in 1974.[15] MD 190 was expanded to a four-lane divided highway from just west of the I-495 interchange east to the Georgetown Branch railroad crossing in 1963, the same year the highway's interchange with I-495 opened.[16] The Capital Crescent Trail's bridge across MD 190 was completed in 1996.[17]
The entire route is inMontgomery County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seneca | 0.00 | 0.00 |  MD 112 east (Seneca Road) –Darnestown | Western terminus; western terminus of MD 112 | |
| Potomac | 8.14 | 13.10 |   MD 189 north (Falls Road) –Rockville,Great Falls | Southern terminus of MD 189 | |
| 10.02 | 16.13 |  MD 191 north (Bradley Boulevard) / Bradley Boulevard west | Southern terminus of MD 191 | ||
| Bethesda | 11.52 | 18.54 |  I-495 /Cabin John Parkway south (I-495X south) –Northern Virginia,Frederick,Baltimore | Exit 39 on I-495 (Capital Beltway); Cabin John Pkwy. not signed | |
| 12.71 | 20.45 |  MD 188 (Wilson Lane) –Glen Echo | |||
| 13.83 | 22.26 |  MD 614 (Goldsboro Road) | |||
| 15.90 | 25.59 | Western Avenue NW | District of Columbia border; eastern terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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MD 190A is the designation for the unnamed 0.01-mile (0.016 km) connector between MD 190 and the River Road Service Drive between Orkney Parkway and Braeburn Parkway in Bethesda.[1]
