Interstate 83 Maryland

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Interstate 83 Maryland
Interstate 83 begins its northern trek at Fayette St. in downtown Baltimore, east of the central business district. Originally planned to continue south of Fayette St. to Interstate 95 north of the Fort McHenry Tunnel, the route was truncated in late 1982 and now ends at Fayette St., downgrading into President St. south of the intersection.

North of Fayette St., I-83 is an elevated four- and six-lane freeway, known locally as the Jones Falls Expressway or JFX, that parallels Maryland Route 25 Falls Road and its namesake river, the Jones Falls, which flows directly beneath the freeway. Both I-83 and MD 25 follow a circuitous path out of the city centre, passing beneath US 40 Orleans St with no access and interchanging with Maryland Route 2 and US 1 north of the CBD. Beyond US 1, the JFX is also paralleled by the Baltimore Light Rail system.

After exiting Baltimore, the JFX continues north and eventually reaches Interstate 695, the Baltimore Beltway. I-83 separates from the JFX, which runs beyond the Beltway and terminates at MD 25, and joins I-695 for 1.4 miles; recent construction work widened the concurrency between the two Interstates to ten lanes. I-83 and I-695 split off at the southern terminus of the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway, and I-695 continues its eastward trek towards Towson and Parkville.

Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway

After separating from the Beltway, I-83 is now known as the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway. Running due north away from the Beltway, the route parallels Maryland Route 45 York Road, the former route of US 111. Passing to the west of Timonium and Cockeysville, I-83 leaves the suburban belt around Baltimore and enters rural Baltimore County just north of Hunt Valley at Shawan Road. I-83 and MD 45 continue to parallel one another through the northern portion of the county, with both crossing over each other repeatedly. This segment of I-83 has several sections with higher than usual gradients.

The only major settlement encountered by I-83 along this stretch is Monkton, reached via Maryland Route 137. To the west of I-83, MD 137 connects with the northern terminus of MD 25, I-83's former companion to the south.

The Interstate eventually crosses the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania 25 miles north of Baltimore, mere feet from a partial interchange with Freeland Road and parallel with MD 45; the latter route becomes the Susquehanna Trail on the other side of the line.