Maryland Route 61 - History

History

Wiley Ford is named for a shallow spot in the Potomac River just east of the present bridge over the river. The first bridge at Wiley Ford was constructed around 1908; a replacement bridge was built in the late 1950s. Traffic heading to Wiley Ford from downtown Cumberland travelled Virginia Avenue south from Oldtown Road, the old alignment of MD 51, then followed River Avenue southwest to its present intersection with Canal Parkway, then south across the river along Ford Avenue, which followed the same alignment as MD 61 today. In addition to the route suffering from the standard problems of travelling through city streets, Virginia Avenue passed under the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad tracks via a low, narrow underpass that was vulnerable to flooding and, due to its location immediately south of Virginia Avenue's intersections with MD 51, was the frequent site of traffic jams. A problem at the underpass isolated South Cumberland south of the tracks from the rest of the city and required a lengthy detour through West Virginia. The same problems also hindered access to Greater Cumberland Regional Airport from the city.

Canal Parkway was constructed as part of a broad group of projects to revitalize the Potomac River waterfront south of downtown Cumberland starting in 1989. These projects included:

• The rehabilitation of the C&O Canal, including its re-watering, through the Cumberland portion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• Restoration of historic Western Maryland Railway properties, which included restoration of the former Western Maryland Railway Station and establishment of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, a heritage railroad.
• The construction of new bridges across the Potomac River and C&O Canal and an automobile parkway along a portion of the canal by the Maryland State Highway Administration to serve as a scenic highway and to improve access to Greater Cumberland Regional Airport.
• The construction of Canal Place by the National Park Service to tie together these and other historical properties, including Fort Cumberland and the Downtown Cumberland Historic District.

The first section of Canal Parkway to be built was the reconstruction of Ford Avenue from the West Virginia state line to River Avenue. A new bridge over the Potomac River was completed in 1992. A new bridge over the C&O Canal was completed in 1997, eliminating an at-grade crossing of the highway and the C&O Canal towpath. Construction of Canal Parkway from River Avenue to MD 51 was underway by 1999 and completed in 2001, at which time the highway received the unsigned MD 61 designation.