History
MD 176 was constructed as a concrete road from MD 3 (later US 301 and now MD 648) in Glen Burnie west to the B&O Railroad crossing at Dorsey at the Anne Arundel–Howard county line in 1929. The connection between the railroad crossing and US 1—the highway intersected US 1 just south of the modern US 1–MD 100 interchange—remained a county highway until 1936. Work on MD 176's grade separations of the B&O Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad at Dorsey and Harmans, respectively, were underway by 1936. MD 176's overpass of the Pennsylvania Railroad was finished in 1936 and its underpass of the B&O Railroad was complete by 1938. The old alignment of MD 176 at Harmans became MD 645. MD 176 has also had two other railroad crossings. The highway crossed over the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway on a "weak and narrow wooden bridge" until 1944, when the bridge over the abandoned railroad was removed and the railroad embankment was filled. By 1951, MD 176 had an underpass of the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad immediately to the west of US 301 that has since been removed.
MD 176 was widened and resurfaced over its whole length between 1947 and 1950. The highway was expanded to a width of 22 feet (6.7 m) from Dorsey to Harmans and to 24 feet (7.3 m) from Harmans to Glen Burnie. The MD 295–MD 176 interchange was built as a diamond interchange between 1950 and 1953; a loop ramp from eastbound MD 176 to northbound MD 295 was added in 1956. The highway's interchange with the Glen Burnie Bypass, which started as US 301, became MD 3, and is now I-97, was constructed as a diamond interchange between 1954 and 1956. MD 176 was expanded to a divided highway on either side of its interchange with MD 3 (now I-97) by 1978. The remainder of MD 176 from the west end of the divided highway to just east of MD 295 was expanded to four lanes in the late 1980s, with the bridge of Piney Run between MD 295 and MD 713 rebuilt in 1987 and the railroad overpass at Harmans rebuilt in 1989.
MD 176 was superseded by MD 100 in the early to mid-1990s. MD 176 was expanded to a divided highway on either side of its interchange with MD 295, which was rebuilt as a cloverleaf interchange, in 1992 and 1993. By the latter year, MD 100 was under construction from US 1 to I-97. MD 100 was completed in 1995; the freeway took over as the east–west highway through the MD 295 interchange. MD 176 was temporarily assigned to Wright Road, Race Road, and Faulkner Road to connect the portions of the highway on either side of the interchange. Also in 1995, the highway was relocated to the current double-curve roadway to the US 1–MD 103 intersection. MD 103 was extended over that relocation east to its present eastern terminus and MD 176 was truncated at its present western terminus by 1997. The portion of this detour on Wright Road over MD 295 was retained in the state system and designated MD 176B. The highway's interchange with I-97 was reconstructed to its present form by 1999.
Read more about this topic: Maryland Route 176
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