Maryland Route 185

Route description

After crossing Jones Bridge Road, MD 185 continues north through residential areas and intersects Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway) at a partial cloverleaf interchange. Immediately after the interchange, the state highway crosses Rock Creek and intersects Beach Drive within Rock Creek Park. MD 185 leaves the valley of Rock Creek and enters the town of Chevy Chase View. Upon entering Kensington and the Kensington Historic District, the state highway veers to the northwest and back to the north ahead of the intersection with MD 547 (Knowles Avenue), where the highway enters a commercial area. After crossing CSX's Metropolitan Subdivision railroad line and MARC's Brunswick Line on an overpass, MD 185 crosses MD 192 (Plyers Mill Road). As the road turns northeast, the state highway meets MD 193 (University Boulevard). While MD 193 continues northeast toward Wheaton, MD 185 veers left to continue due north. The next intersection, Perry Avenue, is used to complete the movements between MD 185 north and MD 193 east.

After leaving the town limits of Kensington, MD 185 becomes a six-lane divided highway with partial control of access, passing between residential subdivisions. After crossing a tributary of Rock Creek, the state highway intersects MD 586 at an acute intersection. MD 185 then becomes lined with service roads ahead of and after the intersection with Randolph Road. Beyond Weller Road, the state highway crosses Turkey Branch and then a bridge over Matthew Henson State Park. MD 185 then enters Aspen Hill and intersects Aspen Hill Road within a commercial area. The state highway meets its northern terminus at MD 97 (Georgia Avenue). Connecticut Avenue continues as a county-maintained highway north across Bel Pre Road into Rossmoor, home of the Leisure World retirement community.

MD 185 is a part of the National Highway System as a principal arterial for its entire length.

History

The roadway that would become MD 185 was initially laid down in 1890 as an extension of Connecticut Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., by the Chevy Chase Land Company, a developer that had bought up some 1,700 acres in southern Montgomery County and Northwest D.C. with plans to create a streetcar suburb. As part of their plan to create the neighborhoods of Chevy Chase, the company bridged Rock Creek, graded the road, and laid a streetcar line from today's Woodley Park neighborhood in D.C. to Jones Bridge Road.

MD 185 itself was constructed and designated in two segments. The first section to be built was between Chevy Chase and Kensington as an extension of Connecticut Avenue into Montgomery County, which was designated MD 193. The section between Bradley Lane and Kensington was paved by 1927. The segment south of Bradley Lane was paved as a county road by 1930. By 1936, the segment of Connecticut Avenue south of Bradley Lane had come under state control. The grade crossing of the railroad tracks in Kensington was eliminated by the construction of a bypass and bridge in 1936 as well. In December 1937, State Roads Commission chairman Homer Tabler "announced" that the state highway system had added Connecticut Avenue from the District line to Chevy Chase Lake, along with Bradley Lane between Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenue.

The section of MD 193 south of MD 410 was marked as US 240 Alternate by 1946, a designation it retained until the 1960s. The segment from the D.C. line to north of MD 410 in Chevy Chase was expanded to a multi-lane divided highway in 1950. The remainder of the route to Kensington was expanded to a divided highway between 1957 and 1960.

The section of highway between Kensington and Aspen Hill was built on a new alignment as a four-lane divided highway in stages in the 1960s and given the designation of MD 185. The highway was completed from Kensington to MD 586 in 1963. The remaining section north to Aspen Hill was completed in 1969. Immediately north of the crossing of Turkey Branch is a bridge that was to be MD 185's overpass of the Washington Outer Beltway. Ramp stubs exist next to the bridge for the partial cloverleaf interchange with this cancelled freeway. By 1980, the MD 185 designation was extended south from Kensington south to the D.C. line. The state highway was expanded to six lanes to Beach Drive in 1986 and through Kensington in 1991.

Junction list

References

References

1. (2008). "Highway Location Reference: Montgomery County". Maryland State Highway Administration.
2. "Maryland Route 185".
3. (October 1, 2012). "National Highway System: Washington, DC-MD-VA". Federal Highway Administration.
4. French, Roderick S.. (1973). "Chevy Chase Village in the Context of the National Suburban Movement, 1870-1900". Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C..
5. "Duke Ellington Bridge, HAER".
6. "Map of Maryland". Maryland State Roads Commission.
7. "Map of Maryland". [[Maryland State Highway Administration]].
8. "Map of Maryland". Maryland State Roads Commission.
9. "Map of Maryland". Maryland State Roads Commission.
10. Svirsky, Alexander. "National Bridge Inventory Database".
11. (1937-12-16). "Montgomery County roads added to state highway system". The Baltimore Sun.
12. "Map of Maryland". Maryland State Roads Commission.
13. "Map of Maryland". Maryland State Roads Commission.
14. "Map of Maryland". Maryland State Roads Commission.
15. "Map of Maryland". Maryland State Roads Commission.
16. "Map of Maryland". Maryland State Highway Administration.