Getting Around Maryland

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My predominant memory of the Woodrow Wilson bridge is that of going to catch a plane at what was in those days National Airport (DCA) to go to my daughter's graduation from the USAFA. We left really early for the airport, but just before we got to the bridge, the draw bridge opened -- and got stuck and wouldn't go down again. By the time they got it fixed, we were late - so late that we had to do an O.J. Simpson sprint through the airport and the plane left the gate before everyone was seated.

The Woodrow Wilson Bridge is the southernmost section of the 64-mile Capital Beltway, but it is in Maryland. It goes from the Washington suburbs in Maryland to Alexandria Virginia, but the bridge is a Maryland bridge because the Potomac belongs to Maryland.

This bridge is the ban of the existence of anyone who commutes from someplace in Maryland east DC to Virginia. There's always a back-up for the bridge, even though it is a free bridge and not a toll bridge. The reconstruction of the bridge is now complete so maybe it is better now than it was.

One thing that is better is the height of the new bridge. The bridge is a drawbridge. Most larger boats or sailboats have to have the draw bridge opened. The new bridge is taller so less boats have to have the draw opened. We could get under the bridge now with our sailboat.

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The Chesapeake Bay cuts Maryland in two - it stretches from Virginia almost up to Pennsylvania.

There is one main east west bridge and that is the Governor Preston Lane Bridge AKA the Chesapeake Bay Bridge which is not to be confused with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia.

Some bright soul figured out that if you took the tolls on Maryland bridges in just one direction, it would take half of the personnel and if you doubled the toll for one way that it would not decrease the revenue appreciably. So the Chesapeake Bay Bridge only collects the toll going east, and the Governor Nice Bridge (the US 301 bridge over the Potomac) only charges going south.

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Maryland has designated certain roads as "Scenic Byways". We almost always take the Lower Patuxent River Route when we go to Baltimore and these pictures were taken in the fall of 2005 on our most recent trip. This byway travels through the farmland lying along the Patuxent River. In 1814, the British landed in Benedict and marched north through this same countryside. The section we travel goes from MD 381 where we turn onto MD 382, or Croom Road. At Croom Station, the road crosses the old Pennsylvania Railroad tracks. We end up on US 301. This is not only a nicer road to travel on which usually has less traffic, but also cuts the corner, so it is shorter.

There are 30 other State Scenic Byways. These are:

Eastern Shore
Chincoteague Bay Route
Beach to Bay Indian Trail
Old Ocean City Road
Chesapeake Country
Old Turkey Point Road
Underground Railroad Trail

Capital Region
Old Main Streets
Atlantic to Appalachians
C & O Canal Route
Historic National Road

Southern Region
Western Shore Beaches
Calvert Maritime Tour
Religious Freedom Tour

Central Region
Susquehanna River Tour
Gunpowder Crossing
Steeple Chase Country
Anne Arundel Colonial Tour
Patapsco Heritage Tour
National Historic Seaport
Charles Street
Falls Road
Historic National Road
Baltimore Washington Parkway
York Pike

Western Region
Catoctin Mountain Loop
Civil War Battlefields
National Freeway
Coal Heritage Tour
Savage River Road
Cunningham Swamp
The Glades
Historic National Road
C & O Canal Route

PDF files with the routes pictured are on the website

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Most Maryland highways are toll-free.

But on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway - a fifty-mile section of I-95, which stretches from the northern Baltimore City line to the Delaware border - a part of I-95, a $5.00 northbound toll is collected.

The toll plaza is located in Cecil County, one mile north of where The Tydings Memorial Bridge crosses the Susquehanna River (photo 5)

On this part of I-95, there are two full-service Welcome Centers with restrooms, travel information, telephones, food, and fuel to motorists.

Chesapeake House Welcome Center (on I-95, Cecil County)
Maryland House Welcome Center (on I-95, Harford County)

Every time I go north from Baltimore or Washington towards Philly on I-95, I always take Exit 77 north on Hiway 24, then US Hiway 1 north towards Philly. You can then take I-476 back to I-95, then continue north to PHL. I have NEVER been stuck on traffic on this detour, and always saved $7 on tolls. If there are no jams, staying on I-95 will save you time. If there ARE jam-ups, it's a no-brainer.

Be sure to fill up before you cross the MD-PA border -- gas becomes scarce and more expensive when you cross into Pennsylvania.

When the bridge over the Susquehanna is jammed, there is no reason to pay $4 to stay in a moving parking lot. Just go around it.

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Driving in Maryland, you will notice that gas stations have varying prices for more or less the same product. Since both of us did quite a lot of driving for work, we kept a note of where gas (or - now- in our case - diesel) is likely to be cheaper. For diesel we also want a station which has a good turnover because we are less likely to get a bad tank. We also like to use Hess or BP (formerly Amaco) because we know they have good quality fuel. (My husband used to inspect oil terminals, and our son worked for Hess.)

The gas stations on the Eastern Shore near Salisbury and Cambridge on Route 50 are usually cheaper. And at our home, Ridgells in Hollywood on US 235 is where we go. Another good place is on Route 3 in the middle of the divided highway. But whenever we are in the Baltimore area, we come here. It may not look like it from this sign, but we saw other diesel on this day that was as high as $2.49/galleon.

Directions to the station which is at Holsum Way and Maryland Route 2 (Ritchie Highway)
# If you are driving up from Washington, DC...
* take 295 or 95 North until it intersects with 97 North
* Take 97 North to Rte. 2 (Ritchie Highway) North to Holsum Way
* Just past the Saturn dealer.

# Coming down from Baltimore...
* take 695 to Glen Burnie. Rte. 2 South to Glen Burnie
* Pass the MVA to Holsum Way

# East from Olney or Rockville...
* take 495 to 95 North to Rte. 2 South to Glen Burnie
* West from Laurel take 32 East
* to 95 North to 100
* East to 97 North
* to 176 East
* to Ritchie Highway
* to Holsum Way

# Approximately 20 miles from Columbia and 20 miles from Severna Park

The MdTA provides a website with access to information about Maryland highways.

You can use the webpages to find current reports on accidents and slow-downs, on construction sites, weather conditions and traffic advisories. There are pages on toll roads and how to get a pass to save money.

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This is the last ferry across the Potomac River. The car ferry Jubal Early crosses just upriver from Leesburg, Virginia in a area of bucolic rurality. The ferry can get busy on the weekends, so don't think of it as a timesaver then. There are small boats you can rent over on the Maryland side along with picnic grounds, if you want to make a day of it here. The C&O towpath is near at hand, too.