When new during 1953, the first section of Baltimore's Beltway met B&A (ex WB&A)
tracks at grade with, according to readers, gates and signal lights. That's the
nascent Beltway running upper-left to lower-right, intersecting on the left is
the B&A running on the WB&A alignment, and on the right is MD 170, Camp Meade
Road. The ASL does not appear because the B&A had erased it prior to 1953.
At its northwest end the less-than-two-mile stretch of Beltway connected Nursery
Road with Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard at its southeast end, and
between met the B-W Parkway at a full-cloverleaf interchange (left).
The B-W Parkway's second cloverleaf opened later at MD 175. The area's
first full cloverleaf interchange appears to he that for MD 150 and MD 151,
one Wikipedia information dates to circa 1943.
I count three vehicles. Now there are a wee bit more at most hours. The
cloverleaf interchange was patented by Marylander Arthur Hall in 1916;
New Jersey built the first one in the US about 1930.
Those 1950s bridges were still on duty during 1975 when the Movin' On
episode "From Baltimore to Eternity" was filmed on location. In this screen shot
(fair use) the camera is looking southwest on the B-W Parkway, approaching the
Beltway (distance). In 1975 the Baltimore Beltway had not yet been completed
full-circle and the section from here east was not up to Interstate Highway
standards, hence the Maryland 695 sign. Even though the road has since
been upgraded, it officially remains Maryland 695 despite the I-695 shields
posted. I am told a few Maryland 695 signs remain extant during 2018 but
I have not found where.
Link:
1950s and 1960s Beltway photos
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