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Wikipedia

Interstate 68 (abbreviated I-68) is an Interstate Highway in the United States. It runs from Morgantown, West Virginia, at Interstate 79 to Hancock, Maryland, at Interstate 70. During its construction, the route was designated U.S. Highway 48. Upon its completion as a 4-lane highway around 1989, US 48 was de-commissioned for the second time and was re-designated I-68. Interstate 68 is also known as Corridor E of the Appalachian Development Highway System. It is also known as the National Freeway in Maryland, named after the old National Road (US 40), which parallels I-68 east of exit 14 (Keysers Ridge). I-68 was fully completed in 1991.

The road is promoted by the Maryland State Highway Administration as an alternate to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, with signage on I-70 that informs motorists that I-68 is an alternate route to "Ohio and Points West".

Route description

|- |WV |31 |50 |- |MD |81 |131 |- |Total |112 |181 |}

Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs
Morgantown, West Virginia Cumberland, Maryland Hancock, Maryland

West Virginia

The interstate crosses Preston and Monongalia Counties, in a highly rural route. Just west of the West Virginia/Maryland border, FCI Hazelton can be seen to the north. Between Bruceton Mills and Cheat Lake, the most dramatic mountain on the interstate is crossed, known as Cooper's Rock. This mountain can become impassable in a heavy snow. At the base of the mountain on the west side is the Lakeview Resort.

Maryland

The section through downtown Cumberland, Maryland features a long bridge, known as the "crosstown bridge" that completely spans the city. Immediately west of the bridge, the interstate goes through an area known as "Moose Curve" where it makes an abrupt "S" turn to avoid the Potomac River, which flows immediately to the south of the road at that point. For the next several miles, the interstate proceeds over Haystack Mountain, one of the few remaining syncline fold mountains in the Appalachian Chain (suggesting it was once one of the highest). The interstate climbs past Frostburg, Maryland, crosses into Garrett County, enroute to the West Virginia line.

History

A 340-foot (104 m) deep cut in the top of Sideling Hill was made to allow the highway to pass through six miles (10 km) west of Hancock. This exposed a syncline, a trough-shaped fold in the rock of Sideling Hill. An exhibit center was built at the site, and it opened in 1991.

Initially designated U.S. Route 48, Interstate 68 was built over a period of thirty four years, from 1957 (when the section through Cumberland was built) until 1991, when the final section of the road was built in eastern Allegany County, at which point it was designated Interstate 68.

The Interstate 68 designation was originally intended to be applied to US 50 (the John Hanson Highway) from Interstate 95/Capital Beltway to Annapolis, Maryland. This section now carries the unsigned I-595 designation.

Future

The Mon-Fayette Expressway is a major highway project extending from I-376 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania via Uniontown, Pennsylvania and destined to end at I-68 in West Virginia near the Cheat Lake Interchange (Exit 10). Ground was broken in West Virginia in the 1990s during the tenure of Governor Cecil Underwood. When completed, the WV portion of the highway will be designated as WV 43. The official name of this highway in Pennsylvania is the James J. Manderino Highway.

Interstate 268 has been proposed as a designation for the West Run Expressway, a planned northeast bypass of Morgantown, West Virginia, connecting to I-79 in Pennsylvania.

Ohio and West Virginia have jointly projected the completion of the interstate to Moundsville, West Virginia and on to connect to I-70 in Ohio. This would allow traffic to completely bypass I-70 in Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The two states began this project by building an interstate quality bridge across the Ohio River at Moundsville.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Monongalia				, Washington	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			1
	Morgantown		4
			7
			10
Preston	Coopers Rock State Forest		15
			23
			29
			State line
Garrett			State line
	Friendsville	3.8	4
		13.8	14A		West end of US 219 overlap
		13.8	14B	– Uniontown	West end of US 40 overlap
	Grantsville	19.2	19
		22.2	22	– Meyersdale	East end of US 219 overlap
		24.0	24	Lower New Germany Road
		29.8	29
Allegany	Frostburg	33.3	33	Midlothian Road (MD 736) – Frostburg
	Frostburg	35.0	34
		39.2	39		No eastbound exit
		39.9	40
			41		Westbound exit only
	Cumberland	42.3	42	, Keyser	West end of US 220 overlap
		43.6	43A		No eastbound exit
			43A		Eastbound exit and entrance
		43.9	43B	– Cumberland Airport
			43C	Downtown Cumberland
		44.2	43D	Maryland Avenue
		44.9	44
		45.8	45	Hillcrest Drive (MD 952)
			46	Naves Cross Road (MD 144)	Westbound exit and entrance
		46.5	47	– Bedford	East end of US 220 overlap; signed as exit 46 eastbound
		51.3	50	Pleasant Valley Road (MD 948D)
		52.5	52		Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		55.6	56
		62.9	62
		64.2	64	M.V. Smith Road
		68.7	68	Orleans Road
		71.6	72
Washington		73.6	74		Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			Sideling Hill Cut
		77.2	77
	Hancock	81.1	82A	, Winchester	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Hancock	81.1	82B		Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		81.1	82C	– Breezewood	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance