Interstate 595 Maryland
Overview
I-595 in Maryland is the longest unsigned route within the Interstate Highway System. Aligned entirely along U.S. 50 (John Hanson Highway) and partially along U.S. 301, I-595 follows John Hanson Highway between I-95/495 (Capital Beltway) and MD 70 at Annapolis. U.S. 50/301 extend east from I-595 across the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
History
Maryland applied to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on November 15, 1975 to redesignate the freeway along U.S. 50 between the Capital Beltway and a point west of Annapolis as Interstate 68. AASHTO instead opted to conditionally approve the western portion of the route as an extension of Interstate 97, and the eastern section as Interstate 197. Neither of these routes were signed and construction had yet taken place on I-97 northward when Maryland again applied to AASHTO on October 3, 1981 for the I-68 designation along U.S. 50. This application included renumbering the I-197 leg as Interstate 168 however. Finally on June 7, 1989, AASHTO approved renumbering U.S. 48 and the National Freeway in western Maryland as Interstate 68, and the former I-68 proposal along U.S. 50/301 as Interstate 595.
John Hanson Highway, U.S. 50 from D.C. east to Annapolis was upgraded starting in the mid-1980s. Work focused on modernizing the aging freeway by replacing overpasses, redesigning interchanges and adding lanes. Further widening commenced in May 1992 with expansion to six and eight lanes from Interstate 97 to just west of the Patuxent River. The $93 million project included the replacing the compact cloverleaf interchange with U.S. 301/MD 3.1
Upon completion of the freeway upgrade in 1995, U.S. 50 was to be cosigned as Interstate 595. However since travelers were already familiar with the U.S. 50 and U.S. 301 designations, officials reconsidered signing I-595 and instead opted to designate it a hidden route. However, some signs for U.S. 50 posted in the early 1990s were designed with space reserved for Interstate 595 shields.
Route Information
East End – Annapolis, MD
- West End – New Carrollton, MD
Mileage – 19.97
Cities – New Carrollton, Bowie, Annapolis
- Junctions –
Source: December 31, 2018 Interstate Route Log and Finders List
I-595 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT)
The I-595 portion of John Hanson Highway was open from MD 704 (Exit 8) eastward to MD 2 (Ritchie Highway) by 1957.2 The 1961 Maryland map shows an alignment shielded as Temp U.S. 50 using E Capitol Street, MD 704 and John Hanson Highway east to MD 3 and the merge with U.S. 301.
Highway Guides
East End 
– Annapolis, Maryland
East 
North
U.S. 50 east / U.S. 301 north advance east from the overlap with MD 2 (Exit 23) three quarters of a mile to MD 70 (Rowe Boulevard). Interstate 595 ends at the upcoming exchange (Exit 24). 12/16/16
Spanning Weems Creek with five lanes, U.S. 50/301 continue a half mile to the parclo interchange (Exit 24) with MD 70. MD 70 constitutes a divided arterial southeast to Downtown Annapolis and the Maryland State House. 12/16/16
A lane drop occurs along the freeway eastbound for Exit 24 to MD 70 (Rowe Boulevard). I-595 concludes 7.2 miles from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge toll plaza. MD 2 crosses the Severn River with U.S. 50-301 to Exit 27, where it turns north to Glen Burnie and Baltimore. 12/16/16
West South
MD 2 south combines with U.S. 50-301 ahead of the Severn River, one mile out from MD 70 (Rowe Boulevard) and the unsigned beginning of Interstate 595 west. 12/31/16
U.S. 50-301 meets MD 70 (Rowe Boulevard) just outside the Annapolis city limits at the community of Weems Creek. Rowe Boulevard is apart of MD 70, a 2.32 mile long route from College Avenue (MD 450) by the Maryland State House to Bestgate Road just north of I-595/U.S. 50-301. 12/31/16
Bestgate Road parallels I-595 as it extends west from MD 70 and Rowe Boulevard to Westfield Annapolis Mall and MD 178 (Generals Highway). 12/31/16
Exit 24A loops away from U.S. 50-301 west for MD 70 (Rowe Boulevard) south across Weems Creek. MD 2 splits with the freeway at the ensuing exit with Solomons Island Road. Unsigned I-595 commences west 2.1 miles from the partition with the exit to Interstate 97 north. 12/31/16
West End Capital Beltway – New Carrollton, Maryland
East at 
U.S. 50 (John Hanson Highway) runs alongside the AMTRAK Northeast Corridor and MARC to a diamond interchange (Exit 5) with MD 410. MD 410 (East West Highway) stems north to Woodlawn as U.S. 50 continues east one mile to the Capital Beltway and Interstate 595. 06/02/03
U.S. 50 eastbound expands with two auxiliary lanes from the New Carrollton Station entrance ramp to the turbine interchange (Exits 7A/B) with I-95/495 (Capital Beltway). Exit numbers along Interstate 595 continue the U.S. 50 numbering sequence from the D.C. line. 06/02/03
Guide signs installed during reconstruction of the former cloverleaf interchange between U.S. 50 (Hanson Highway) and the Capital Beltway in the early 1990s included space allocated for I-595. Most of these assemblies were eventually replaced. 06/02/03
Exit 7 parts ways with U.S. 50 (Hanson Highway) east, carrying traffic to both I-95/495 south to Alexandria, Virginia and the Beltway north to Greenbelt and Beltsville. 06/02/03
Sources:
- “Interstate 595: Unfamiliar name, well-known pain.” The Sun (Baltimore, MD), May 31, 1993.
- MDRoads: US 50.
Page updated December 11, 2020.
