Georges Creek Road, Mount Savage Road

Route information
Maintained by MDSHA
Length29.43 mi[1] (47.36 km)
Major junctions
South end WV 46 at Westernport
Major intersections MD 135 at Westernport

I-68 / US 40 near Frostburg


US 40 Alt. at Cumberland
North end
US 40 Alt. at Frostburg
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMaryland
Highway system
MD 35 MD 37

Maryland Route 36 (also known as MD 36 or Route 36) is a road in Allegany County, Maryland. It is 29.43-mile (47.36 km) long. The highway goes from its southern end at a bridge in Westernport to its northern end at U.S. Route 40 Alternate near Cumberland. Between Westernport and Frostburg, it is known as Georges Creek Road, and from Frostburg to Cumberland, it is known as Mount Savage Road. Like most Maryland state highways, MD 36 is kept up by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).

MD 36 serves as the main road through the Georges Creek Valley, an area which is historically known for coal mining. Because of this, the road has been called part of the Coal Heritage Scenic Byway.[2] MD 36 is the main road connecting the towns of Westernport, Lonaconing, and Midland in southwestern Allegany County, as well as Frostburg, Mount Savage, and Corriganville in northwestern Allegany County.

Route description change

MD 36 has two main sections: Georges Creek Road, which travels along the Georges Creek Valley, from Westernport to Frostburg in southwestern Allegany County, and Mount Savage Road, which goes eastward from Frostburg to Cumberland in northwestern Allegany County.

Georges Creek Road change

MD 36 begins at a bridge in Westernport and goes toward the northeast across western Allegany County as a two-lane road. Here, it is called Georges Creek Road, named for Georges Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River tributary which is close to the road.[1] The speed limit for most of the length between Westernport and Lonaconing is 50 mph (80 km/h).[1] A short time outside Westernport city limits, MD 36 intersects, or crosses, MD 937. Near Barton, MD 36 intersects MD 935. MD 36 bypasses Barton, climbing the hillside above the Georges Creek Valley before descending back into the valley as it approaches Lonaconing. MD 935 returns to MD 36 south of Lonaconing, with its northern terminus at MD 36.[1]

 
MD 36 approaching Interstate 68 south of Frostburg

As the road enters Lonaconing, it narrows and the speed limit drops to 25 mph (40 km/h), increasing to 35 mph (56 km/h) after it travels through Lonaconing.[1] MD 36 passes through Lonaconing as Main Street, and it intersects MD 657 near the center of Lonaconing.[1] Along Main Street in Lonaconing is the Lonaconing Iron Furnace, a historic blast furnace which operated in the early 1800s.[3]

MD 36 then continues toward Midland. At Midland, there is a sharp curve in the road, and the speed limit drops to 25 mph (40 km/h).[1] Along this curve, MD 36 intersects Church Street, which connects to MD 936, the old alignment of MD 36 between Midland and Frostburg. The new alignment of MD 36 proceeds northeast, passing near Vale Summit, where it intersects MD 55.[1]

North of the MD 55 intersection, MD 36 meets Interstate 68 at a diamond interchange at exit 34.[1] Near this interchange is God's Ark of Safety, a church famous for its attempt to build a replica of Noah's Ark.[4] Between Midland and Frostburg, the speed limit is again 50 mph (80 km/h),[1] and there is a short section near the Interstate 68 interchange where MD 36 expands to four lanes. Upon entering Frostburg, MD 36 joins U.S. Route 40 Alternate as Main Street. MD 36 follows Main Street westward through Frostburg, meeting the northern terminus of MD 936 at Grant Street. At Depot Street, near the center of Frostburg, MD 36 connects to the western depot of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. At the intersection with Water Street, MD 36 leaves U.S. Route 40 Alternate, and upon leaving Frostburg city limits its name changes to Mount Savage Road.[1]

Mount Savage Road change

 
MD 36 approaching Mount Savage, with part of the Mount Savage Castle visible in the background

After leaving Frostburg, MD 36 is known as Mount Savage Road, as it travels eastward, perpendicular to its signed direction, toward Mount Savage. North of Eckhart Mines, MD 36 meets MD 638, which connects MD 36 to U.S. Route 40 Alternate in Eckhart Mines.[1] The road between Frostburg and Mount Savage is particularly curvy, and includes several hairpin turns near Frostburg. The speed limit on this section of the road is 35 mph (56 km/h).[1]

As the road enters Mount Savage, is passes by the Mount Savage Castle, a Scottish-style castle built in 1840, which currently operates as a bed-and-breakfast. In Mount Savage, the route narrows as it follows Main Street,[1] and the road is frequently obstructed by parked cars, making it difficult for two cars to pass by each other. East of Mount Savage, the route widens and its speed limit gradually increases to 50 mph (80 km/h).[1]

In Barrelville, MD 36 intersects MD 47, which connects it with PA 160 in Somerset County.[1] From its intersection with MD 47 to its terminus at Cumberland, MD 36 follows newer alignments, with the old alignments being designated MD 831. At Corriganville, MD 36 intersects MD 35, which connects it with PA 96 in Bedford County.[1] MD 36 ends at U.S. Route 40 Alternate at the Narrows near Cumberland.[1]

History change

 
MD 36 approaching the southern terminus of MD 55 in Vale Summit

MD 36 passes through the Georges Creek Valley, which has a long history of coal mining. In recognition of this, the MDSHA has designated MD 36 as part of the Coal Heritage Scenic Byway.[2] Coal mining was a major industry in western Maryland in the nineteenth century, with railroads being the major route connecting the coal mines to markets outside the Georges Creek Valley.[5] Deep mining, which was the primary mining method used in western Maryland, declined in use after World War II, replaced primarily by surface mining.[6] Although Maryland coal production is now only a small fraction of total U.S. coal production,[6] coal from the Georges Creek Valley is used to power the AES Warrior Run power plant in Cumberland.[7]

MD 36 is among the earliest of the Maryland state highways to be assigned a route number, having been assigned a route number before 1927.[8][9] The original alignment of MD 36 in southern Allegany County closely paralleled the Georges Creek Railroad. Later realignments have shifted MD 36 away from the railroad in several locations, but three crossings remain: one north of Lonaconing, one south of Lonaconing near the MD 935 intersection,[10] and a third crossing near Westernport.[11]

Over the years, multiple new alignments of MD 36 have been built for various reasons, such as to smooth out curves in the road. Several of the old alignments have been assigned route numbers of their own. The southernmost of these is MD 937, which consists of the old alignment through Westernport. Prior to the construction of the bridge connecting MD 36 to WV 46, MD 937 was the alignment of MD 36 through Westernport, ending at MD 135. In Barton, MD 935 carries the old alignment of MD 36. The longest of the old alignment sections is MD 936, which runs from Midland to Frostburg, and was bypassed in the 1970s with a new alignment of MD 36 following part of MD 55 and connecting to Interstate 68. Prior to this change, MD 55 ended in Midland;[12] it has since been truncated to its current terminus at Vale Summit.[13]

North of Frostburg, several old alignments are designated as MD 831, though these segments of road are not signed. Among these segments of road are Kriegbaum Road (designated as MD 831C), and Old Mount Savage Road (designated as MD 831A). Kriegbaum Road splits from MD 36 west of Corriganville and runs through Corriganville, returning to MD 36 east of the town. Old Mount Savage Road intersects MD 36 west of the Cumberland Narrows, and runs southward to intersect U.S. Route 40 Alternate near its current intersection with MD 36.[1]

Junction list change

Location Mile[1] Intersection Notes
Westernport 0.00   WV 46  – Piedmont Potomac River bridge
Southern terminus of Maryland Route 36
0.06   MD 135Keyser, WV, Bloomington
1.44   MD 937 (Creek Side Drive)  – Franklin Former alignment of MD 36
Barton 4.07   MD 935 (Legislative Road) Former alignment of MD 36
Lonaconing 6.85   MD 935 (Legislative Road)
8.03   MD 657 (Douglas Avenue)
Midland 11.06 Church Street, to   MD 936 Former alignment of MD 36
Vale Summit 14.04   MD 55 (Vale Summit Road)  – Clarysville
Frostburg 15.05    I-68 / US 40 (National Freeway) – Cumberland, Morgantown, WV Exit 34
16.44   MD 743 (Old National Pike)  – Eckhart Mines
16.53  
 
US 40 Alt. (National Pike)
MD 36 joins Alt US 40
17.07   MD 936 (Grant Street)
17.60  
 
US 40 Alt. (National Pike)
MD 36 leaves Alt US 40
Zihlman 20.36   MD 638 (Parkersburg Road)  – Eckhart Mines
Barrelville 24.34   MD 47 (Barrelville Road)  – Barrelville Connects MD 36 to PA 160
Corriganville 26.64   MD 831C (Kreigbaum Road) Former alignment of Route 36
27.34   MD 35 (Ellerslie Road)  – Ellerslie Connects MD 36 to PA 96
27.51   MD 831C (Kreigbaum Road)
Cumberland 29.05   MD 831A (Old Mount Savage Road) Former alignment of Route 36
29.43  
 
US 40 Alt. (National Pike)
Northern terminus of Maryland Route 36

References change

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 Maryland State Highway Administration (2005). "Highway Location Reference: Allegany County" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Maryland State Highway Administration (2008). "Coal Heritage Scenic Byway" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  3. Dilts, James (1996). The Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad, 1828-1853. Stanford University Press. p. 287. ISBN 0-8047-2629-9.
  4. Cleary, Caitlin (2006-04-16). "If the flood comes too soon, this ark won't be quite ready". Local News. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2006-04-16.
  5. U.S. National Park Service. "Cumberland History". Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (1997). "Maryland" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  7. Andrew Cannarsa (2008-06-30). "Coal, aggregate industries facing hurdles". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2008-07-25.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. Map of Maryland showing the Highways (Map). Maryland State Highway Administration. 1910. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  9. Map of Maryland showing State Road system (Map). Maryland State Highway Administration. 1927. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  10. Google (2008-06-05). "Map of crossing near Lonaconing, MD" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  11. Google (2008-06-05). "Map of crossing near Westernport, MD" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  12. Map of Maryland (Map). Maryland State Highway Administration. 1960. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  13. State of Maryland State Highway System (Map). Maryland State Highway Administration. 1979. Retrieved 2008-06-30.

External links change

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Category:Roads in Allegany County, Maryland 036