Interstate 81 in Maryland - History

History

The first section of I-81 to be constructed in Maryland was the pre-Interstate Hagerstown Bypass that was planned to provide relief to the existing north–south highway through downtown Hagerstown, US 11. The highway was planned to run from US 40 west of downtown Hagerstown to the Pennsylvania state line, where the Pennsylvania Department of Highways would continue the bypass north to tie into US 11 near Greencastle. Preliminary engineering on the Hagerstown Bypass began in 1954 and construction began in 1956, by which time a southern extension was planned south to US 11 east of Williamsport. The freeway was completed from US 40 (now MD 144) to the Pennsylvania state line in 1958, including an interchange with the present alignment of US 40 west of downtown Hagerstown, a highway that was completed around 1963. Traffic from the Hagerstown Bypass followed Mason Dixon Road to US 11 until the bypass was extended into Pennsylvania and tied into US 11 around modern Exit 3 in 1960. The new freeway was marked as I-81 beginning in 1959.

Construction on the portion of I-81 south of US 40 began in 1962 to fill a gap between the portion of I-81 in Maryland and the portion of the Interstate completed between WV 9 near Martinsburg and US 11 southwest of Williamsport in West Virginia. MD 144's bridge over I-81 was constructed in 1963 once the relocated US 40 opened. The cloverleaf interchange between I-81 and the future I-70 was constructed in 1964, including the collector/distributor lanes. The remainder of the highway south to the Potomac River, including the bridge over the Potomac River, was under construction by 1965. The southern section of I-81 from the West Virginia state line to US 40 opened in 1966.

I-81 remains very similar to when it was completed in 1966. Exit numbers were first marked in 1974; these exit numbers have not changed. The Maugansville Road interchange was originally a full interchange, but was reduced to a partial interchange in 1968. The interchange with MD 68 and MD 63 south of Williamsport originally only had a northbound exit ramp and a southbound entrance ramp; ramps to and from the direction of Hagerstown were added between 1981 and 1989. The junction with Halfway Boulevard was a diamond interchange until it was rebuilt as a partial cloverleaf interchange in 2001.