U.S. Route 40 Scenic - Route Description

Route Description

US 40 Scenic begins as Fifteen Mile Creek Road on the edge of Green Ridge State Forest 0.05 miles (0.080 km) south of the eastbound ramps for Exit 62 of I-68 and US 40 (National Freeway). Fifteen Mile Creek Road continues south as an unimproved road through Green Ridge State Forest. US 40 Scenic passes over I-68 and passes by the westbound Exit 62 ramps before intersecting the eastern end of MD 144 (Old National Pike), which heads west as the local complement to the National Freeway. The scenic route continues as National Pike, crosses Fifteenmile Creek, then makes a sharp curve to the east, intersecting another section of Fifteen Mile Creek Road and beginning the short climb to the top of Green Ridge. After a short descent, the highway begins its curvy ascent of Town Hill, which has no climbing lanes. US 40 Scenic, which passes through the Billmeyer Wildlife Management Area, descends the mountain to the community of Piney Grove, where the highway intersects Orleans Road. At Mann Road, the highway turns south to cross over I-68. The scenic route turns east again at Turkey Farm Road and parallels the eastbound side of I-68 until the highway reaches High Germany Road, which is unsigned MD 948Y, in the hamlet of Bellegrove.

The referenced portion of US 40 Scenic continues east to its official terminus at Sideling Hill Creek at the Washington County line. Signed US 40 Scenic turns north onto High Germany Road and joins I-68 in a concurrency at Exit 72. The scenic route crosses Sideling Hill Creek into Washington County and begins its ascent of Sideling Hill on I-68. US 40 Scenic exits I-68 at Exit 74, a partial interchange (eastbound exit and westbound entrance) on the western slope of the mountain. Eastbound US 40 Scenic exits the freeway on a sweeping curve ramp that ends at the southern end of Mountain Road. Mountain Road is a two-lane road that heads north as a state highway, signed as US 40 Scenic west and unsigned as 0.91-mile (1.46 km) long MD 903. MD 903's northern terminus is at US 40 Scenic's ramp onto westbound I-68.

US 40 Scenic continues south as National Pike from the junction of its two directions as a county-maintained, three-lane road, two lanes eastbound and one lane westbound, ascending Sideling Hill. During the climb, the scenic route intersects McFarland Road, the original alignment of US 40 that heads west to the official eastern terminus of US 40 Scenic. As US 40 Scenic approaches the top of Sideling Hill, the eastbound climbing lane ends. The scenic route makes a hairpin turn to the north and begins to descend the mountain, again a three-lane road but with two lanes westbound. US 40 Scenic curves to the east and then to the southeast, paralleling and gradually approaching I-68. The westbound climbing lane ends just west of the scenic route's eastern terminus at MD 144 (Western Pike) just south of I-68 Exit 77.