Interstate 895 (Maryland)

Interstate 895 (Maryland)

Interstate 895 (I-895) is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, the highway runs 14.87 miles (23.93 km) between one junction with I-95 in Elkridge and another interchange with I-95 on the east side of Baltimore. I-895 is a toll road that crosses the Patapsco River estuary via the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, connecting U.S. Route 1 (US 1), I-695, and the Baltimore–Washington Parkway in the southwestern suburbs of Baltimore with US 40 on the east side of Baltimore. In conjunction with a pair of spurs, unsigned I-895A and I-895B, I-895 provides access to the tunnel from I-97 and Maryland Route 2 (MD 2) in Glen Burnie. The highway is designed for through traffic by having partial interchanges that require vehicles from almost all starting points to pass through the tunnel and the tunnel toll plaza, where a $3 toll is charged to passenger vehicles, before exiting the facility. I-895 and its spurs are maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) and are a part of the National Highway System for their entire length except for the part of I-895B between MD 2 and I-895A.

The idea of a crossing of the Patapsco River south of downtown Baltimore has been studied since the 1930s. In the early 1950s, the Maryland State Roads Commission chose to construct a four-lane tunnel between the Canton and Fairfield neighborhoods of Baltimore and approach highways to connect the tunnel with major highways to Washington, Annapolis, Richmond, and Philadelphia. The tunnel and approach highways were constructed beginning in 1955 and opened in November 1957, opening a bottleneck for Baltimore through traffic, which formerly had to navigate the city streets. The Harbor Tunnel Thruway was connected with the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway in the early 1960s and the portion of I-95 south to Washington in the early 1970s. With these connections, I-895 was burdened with most of the through traffic passing through Baltimore. The congestion was not resolved until I-95 through Baltimore was completed when the eight-lane Fort McHenry Tunnel opened in November 1985. The transfer of most traffic to the new tunnel allowed the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel to be partially shut down for extensive maintenance in the late 1980s.