page_title: Interstate 68
section_title: Cumberland Thruway
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 68 / History / Cumberland Thruway
caption_attribution_description: Wills Creek as viewed downstream from Baltimore Street in w:Cumberland, Maryland. w:Inerstate 68 and the creek's mouth at the North Branch of the Potomac River are visible in the distance.
context_page_description: Interstate 68 is a 112.9-mile Interstate Highway in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland, connecting I-79 in Morgantown, West Virginia, to I-70 in Hancock, Maryland. I-68 is also Corridor E of the Appalachian Development Highway System. From 1965 until the freeway's construction was completed in 1991, it was designated as U.S. Route 48. In Maryland, the highway is known as the National Freeway, an homage to the historic National Road, which I-68 parallels between Keysers Ridge and Hancock. The freeway mainly spans rural areas and crosses numerous mountain ridges along its route. A road cut at Sideling Hill exposed geological features of the mountain and has become a tourist attraction.
  The construction of I-68 began in 1965 and continued for over 25 years, with completion on August 2, 1991. While the road was under construction, it was predicted that economic conditions would improve along the corridor for the five counties connected by I-68: Allegany, Garrett, and Washington in Maryland, and Preston and Monongalia in West Virginia. The two largest cities connected by the highway are Morgantown, West Virginia, and Cumberland, Maryland.
context_section_description: In the early 1960s, as the Interstate Highway System was being built throughout the United States, east–west travel through western Maryland was difficult, as US 40, the predecessor to I-68, was a two-lane country road with steep grades and hairpin turns. In Cumberland, the traffic situation was particularly problematic, as the usage of US 40 exceeded the capacity of the city's narrow streets. Traffic following US 40 through Cumberland entered through the Cumberland Narrows and followed Henderson Avenue to Baltimore Avenue. After the construction of I-68, this route through Cumberland became US 40 Alternate (US 40 Alt.).
  Construction began on one of the first sections of what would become I-68, the Cumberland Thruway, on June 10, 1965. This portion of the highway, which consists of a mile-long elevated bridge, was completed and opened to the public on December 5, 1966. The elevated highway connected Lee Street in west Cumberland to Maryland Avenue in east Cumberland, providing a quicker path for motorists traveling through the town on US 40 and US 220. The Cumberland Thruway was extended to US 220 and then to Vocke Road (Maryland Route 658, MD 658) by 1970. Problems quickly emerged with the highway, especially near an area called "Moose Curve". At Moose Curve, the road curves sharply at the bottom of Haystack Mountain, and traffic accidents are common.
caption: The Cumberland Thruway bridge, as seen from the Baltimore Street bridge over Wills Creek in Cumberland
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