Everything about Interstate 270 Maryland totally explained
Interstate 270 (abbreviated
I-270) is a 34.4-mile
spur Interstate highway that travels between
Interstate 70 in
Frederick, Maryland and
Interstate 495 (the
Capital Beltway) just north of
Bethesda, Maryland. It is known as the
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Highway and a portion of it's known as the
Washington National Pike.
Route description
Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs |
|
I-270 is a direct continuation of the 1950s Frederick Bypass, a four-lane freeway built to carry
US 15 and
US 40 around downtown
Frederick. When driving on U.S. 15 south, staying on the main line freeway through the
US 15/
US 340 interchange and the
I-70/
US 40 interchange provides direct access to I-270.
The route between Frederick and
Maryland Route 121 is a four-lane freeway that twists and turns through undeveloped land; approximately three miles outside Frederick the road crosses the scenic
Monocacy River. Once I-270 reaches MD 121, the route widens to six lanes. This stretch is known as the
Washington National Pike.
I-270 travels through
Germantown,
Gaithersburg, and
Rockville, Maryland. Prior to Exit 4 (
Montrose Road), the northbound carriageway widens into a local-express configuration. The southbound carriageway meets this configuration at Exit 8 (
Shady Grove Road), where it too widens into a local-express configuration. Between Shady Grove Road and Montrose Road, I-270 is 12 lanes; each direction has a four-lane express roadway (including an
HOV lane) and a two-lane
local roadway.
A spur route,
Interstate 370, provides access to a
park and ride lot at the
Shady Grove station of the
Washington Metro.
After Montrose Road, the local-express split ends; Interstate 270 later divides into two six-lane, bidirectional branches about 2 miles north of its junction with the
Capital Beltway. For southbound traffic, the eastern (main) branch merges with the inner loop of the Beltway at exit 35, and the western (
spur) branch merges with the outer loop at exit 38.
History
The segment of I-270 between Frederick and
MD 109 is one of the oldest freeways in Maryland; it was completed as part of
U.S. 240 in 1953.
Under the original Interstate numbering system, I-270 was designated I-70S, and the western spur was designated I-270. When I-70S was redesignated I-270 in 1975, the western spur was known for a short time as Interstate 470, at least on a
1975 Virginia Department of Transportation map. The western spur is now signed and publicly known simply as Interstate 270 Spur, although
Maryland State Highway Administration documents refer to it as Interstate 270Y.
A proposal to extend I-270 inside the Beltway into
Washington, D.C. as the
North Central Freeway, connecting directly to
Interstate 95, was canceled because of community opposition.
Future
According to the "Master Plan", another exit from I-270 will occur less than a mile north of current exit 26 to
Maryland Route 80. The plan calls for an interchange onto Park Mills Road to accommodate the quickly expanding Urbana region.
The proposed
Intercounty Connector would connect I-270 from the
I-370 spur to
I-95 near
Laurel.
Exit list
| County |
Location |
Mile
|
# |
Destinations |
Notes |
| Montgomery |
|
0.0 |
|
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
|
0.0 |
|
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
|
1.5 |
1A |
|
Southbound exit is via exit 1 |
|
|
1B |
Rockledge Drive |
Signed as exit 1 southbound |
|
2.4 |
2 |
– Washington, Northern Virginia |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Rockville |
4.1 |
4 |
Montrose Road (MD 927) |
Signed as exits 4A (east) and 4B (west) |
| 5.5 |
5 |
|
|
| 6.4 |
6 |
|
Signed as exits 6A (east) and 6B (west) |
| 8.4 |
8 |
Shady Grove Road, Redland Road |
|
| 9.3 |
9 |
– Metro Station |
Signed as exits 9A (east) and 9B (west) |
| Gaithersburg |
10.9 |
10 |
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| 11.5 |
11 |
|
Northbound exit to MD 124 west is via exit 10 |
| Germantown |
14.0 |
13 |
Middlebrook Road |
Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 13A (east) and 13B (west) |
| 14.7 |
15 |
|
Signed as exits 15A (north) and 15B (south) |
| 15.8 |
16 |
|
Signed as exits 16A (east) and 16B (west) |
|
18.4 |
18 |
|
|
|
22.3 |
22 |
|
|
| Frederick |
Urbana |
26.0 |
26 |
|
|
| Frederick |
31.2 |
31 |
|
Signed as exits 31A (north) and 31B (south) |
| 32.6 |
32 |
|
No exit number southbound |
|
|
, Gettysburg |
Continuation beyond I-70 |
Interstate 270 Spur
Interstate 270 Spur is a spur off of I-270 that connects I-270 and the Capital Beltway. It carries traffic headed southbound on I-270 to southbound I-495, and vice versa. It intersects with Democracy Boulevard and has an HOV exit onto Fernwood Drive. On I-270, exit 1 is Maryland Route 187 (Old Georgetown Road) and Rockledge Drive; on I-270 spur, exit 1 is Democracy Blvd.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Interstate 270 Maryland'.
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