US-15 Southbound in Maryland (Full Trip)

Traveling southbound on US Route 15 in the state of Maryland from the Pennsylvania line to the Virginia Line. US-15 takes on many different road designs within the state of Maryland. One minute it's a rural expressway, the next it's a dense freeway, the next it's a two-lane road.

US-15 from the Pennsylvania Line to north of Frederick was a two-lane road until 1972 when slow expansion of the highway began. US-15 was not entirely a four-lane highway north of Frederick until 1989. Until this milestone, this portion of US-15 was known for being the deadliest highway in the nation. Signs used to be placed along these two-lane portions warning drivers of such statistics.

The portion of US-15 through Frederick, known today as the Frederick Freeway, was known as the "Frederick Bypass" when it first opened in 1959. The portion north of US-40, originally constructed as a "super two", was expanded to four lanes in 1969, the same year that the US-340 freeway was opened to traffic.

Between the Frederick Freeway and US-15's two-lane section, US-15 runs concurrent with US-340 and its higher speed freeway, which opened in 1969 during the construction of the Interstate Highway System.

The two-lane portion from Jefferson to Point of Rocks wasn't constructed until the '60s when construction of the Interstate Highway System was underway. Prior, US-15 followed what is today Maryland Route 85 in its entirety and Maryland Route 28 from Tuscarora to Point of Rocks. Oral research and studying US-15's infrastructure leads to conclusions that original plans may have intended for this portion of US-15 to be built to interstate standards. It is possible this never happened due to funds drying up or being relocated.

Scene Selection:
0:00 Emmitsburg to Frederick
20:12 Frederick Freeway
26:06 Frederick to Jefferson (US-340 Concurrency)
30:00 Jefferson to Point of Rocks
37:44 Maryland/Virginia Line

Windshield Camera: Vantrue X4
Sideview Camera: Samsung Galaxy J7
Microphone: Vantrue X4 / Vantrue X4-Samsung Galaxy J7 Overlay

Northbound:    • US-15 Northbound in Maryland (Full Trip)