Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway
Towson, Baltimore County, Maryland
Marker Inscription
Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway This section completed 1954 State Roads Commission
Erected by Maryland State Roads Commission
The Story
This section of the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway was completed in 1954 by the Maryland State Roads Commission. Its construction was part of the mid-century surge of limited-access highway building that reshaped how Americans moved between cities. The plain marker records a small piece of that postwar road-building boom north of Baltimore.
Why it matters
It marks the postwar expressway era, when new high-speed highways rerouted commerce and daily life around the automobile.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Ma & Pa Overpass
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These stone abutments once carried the York Road bridge of the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad—affectionately nicknamed the 'Ma & Pa.' The overpass was rebuilt in 1900 by the Baltimore & Lehigh Railroad, an upgrade from an earlier narrow-gauge crossing on this winding line north of Baltimore.
Ma & Pa Railroad Overpass
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These stone abutments once carried a plate-girder bridge over York Road for the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad—the beloved 'Ma and Pa.' Rebuilt in 1900 from an earlier narrow-gauge line, the railroad wound a circuitous 77-mile course between Baltimore and York, Pennsylvania, before being abandoned in 1958 as traffic dwindled and its bridges decayed. The overpass came down in 1959, leaving only these abutments.
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