page_title: Interstate 97
section_title: Route description
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 97 / Route description
caption_attribution_description: English: View north along Interstate 97 (Patuxent Freeway) just south of Farm Road in Crownsville, Anne Arundel County, Maryland
context_page_description: Interstate 97 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs entirely within Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The Interstate runs 17.62 miles from U.S. Route 50 and US 301 in Parole near Annapolis north to I-695 and I-895 in Brooklyn Park near Baltimore. The Interstate is the primary highway between Baltimore and Annapolis. I‑97 connects Annapolis with Baltimore–Washington International Airport and links the northern Anne Arundel County communities of Crownsville, Millersville, Severna Park, Glen Burnie, and Ferndale. It is the second shortest primary Interstate Highway after I-87 in North Carolina.
  I-97 was constructed along the corridor of Maryland Route 3 between Millersville and Ferndale and MD 178 between Parole and Millersville. From Millersville to south of Glen Burnie, the Interstate closely follows the former course of MD 3, which was built in the late 1910s and early 1920s and expanded to a divided highway in the late 1950s. North of there, the highway follows the Glen Burnie Bypass, a freeway built in the mid-1950s. The segment of I-97 from Millersville to Crownsville originated as a two-lane portion of MD 32 in the early 1970s.
context_section_description: I-97 begins at US 50 and US 301 (John Hanson Highway), which run concurrently with unsigned I-595, on the edge of the community of Parole west of Annapolis. The freeways meet at a semi-directional T interchange; the ramp from I-97 to eastbound US 50 and northbound US 301 merges with a collector-distributor road that extends east to that freeway's interchange with MD 665 (Aris T. Allen Boulevard). I-97 heads northwest as a four-lane freeway with a speed limit of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h). The freeway crosses over MD 450 (Defense Highway) and passes along the south and west sides of Crownsville, where it crosses several tributaries of the Bacon Ridge Branch of the South River. North of Crownsville, I-97 has a partial interchange that comprises a pair of long ramps to MD 178 (Generals Highway); the interchange allows access from southbound I-97 to MD 178 and from the state highway to the northbound Interstate. I-97 gains an extra lane in each direction from the MD 178 ramps; those extra lanes split off at the freeway's partial interchange with the eastern end of MD 32 just north of Millersville. The Interstate curves northeast and has a complementary partial interchange with the northern end of MD 3 (Robert Crain Highway). The two state highways meet each other at a six-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange immediately to the west of I-97's sweeping curve, which facilitates all movements between the three highways.
  I-97 continues north as a six-lane freeway and is closely paralleled on the east by Veterans Highway on the western edge of Severna Park. The highways cross Severn Run within Severn Run Natural Environment Area before they diverge slightly at the Interstate's partial cloverleaf interchange with Benfield Boulevard; access from northbound I-97 to the crossroad is via Veterans Highway. I-97 and Veterans Highway continue to parallel each other to the latter highway's northern end at I-97's partial cloverleaf interchange with the southern end of MD 3 Business (Robert Crain Highway) and New Cut Road. The interchange includes a flyover ramp from northbound I-97 to northbound Veterans Highway just south of its intersection with MD 3 Business. The freeway continues north along the west side of Glen Burnie and meets MD 174 (Quarterfield Road) at a four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange and MD 100 at a cloverstack interchange that has flyover exit ramps from both directions of I-97.
  I-97 temporarily gains two extra lanes in each direction between MD 100 and its partial cloverleaf interchange with MD 176 (Dorsey Road). Access from the southbound Interstate to MD 176 is via MD 162 (Aviation Boulevard), which forms part of the Airport Loop surrounding Baltimore–Washington International Airport. I-97 continues through Ferndale, where it crosses over the Glen Burnie branch of MTA Maryland's Baltimore Light RailLink immediately before the highway's four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with MD 648 (Baltimore–Annapolis Boulevard), which provides access to the transit line's terminal station, Cromwell / Glen Burnie station. I-97's final interchange is with I-695 (Baltimore Beltway). The Interstate crosses the Cabin Branch of Curtis Creek within the interchange, which includes a flyover ramp from I-97 to westbound I-695; that ramp and the one from eastbound I-695 to I-97 merge on the inside of the two carriageways of the Beltway. The Interstate drops to four lanes and reaches its northern terminus just north of the loop ramp from westbound I-695 to I-97 in Brooklyn Park. The highway continues as I-895A, a pair of ramps that merge with the spur from I-895 (Harbor Tunnel Thruway) to MD 2 (Governor Ritchie Highway). The continuation from I-97 includes a ramp to westbound I-695 that allows access to the Beltway's interchange with MD 648.
  I-97 does not have an official name. However, the Interstate is dedicated to John A. Cade, who served the area around Severna Park in the Maryland Senate from 1974 to his 1996 death and who worked to secure funding for the highway. The Maryland General Assembly passed a dedication bill in 1998, an
caption: View north along I-97 in Crownsville between US 50/US 301 and MD 178
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