Editing Interstate 97 (section)

{{Short description|Short Interstate Highway in Maryland}}
{{about|the interstate|the state highway with the same number|Maryland Route 97}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox road
| route = 97
| state = MD
| type = I
| map = {{MapframeForObjects|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=290|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Interstate 97}}}}
| map_custom = yes
| map_notes = I-97 highlighted in red
| length_mi = 17.62
| length_ref = <ref>{{cite web |last=Starks |first=Edward |date=January 27, 2022 |title=Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table01.cfm |access-date=January 20, 2023 |work=FHWA Route Log and Finder List |publisher=[[Federal Highway Administration]]}}</ref><ref name="Maryland HLR"/>
| established = 1987<ref name="Milestones"/>
| direction_a = South
| terminus_a = {{Jct|state=MD|US|50|US|301}} in [[Parole, Maryland|Parole]]
| junction = {{plainlist|
*{{Jct|state=MD|MD|3|MD|32}} in [[Millersville, Maryland|Millersville]]
*{{Jct|state=MD|MD|100}} in [[Glen Burnie, Maryland|Glen Burnie]]
}}
| direction_b = North
| terminus_b = {{Jct|state=MD|I|695}} / [[I-895A]] in [[Brooklyn Park, Maryland|Brooklyn Park]]
| counties = [[Anne Arundel County, Maryland|Anne Arundel]]
| previous_type = I
| previous_route = 95
| next_type = MD
| next_route = 97
}}
'''Interstate&nbsp;97''' ('''I-97''') is a north-south [[Interstate Highway System|Interstate Highway]] in the [[eastern United States]]. It runs entirely within [[Anne Arundel County, Maryland]], for {{convert|17.62|mi|km}} from [[U.S. Route 50 in Maryland|U.S. Route&nbsp;50]]/[[U.S. Route 301 in Maryland|U.S. Route&nbsp;301]] (US&nbsp;50/US&nbsp;301) in [[Parole, Maryland|Parole]] near [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]] north to [[Interstate 695 (Maryland)|I-695]] and [[I-895B]] in [[Brooklyn Park, Maryland|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, Maryland|Crownsville]], [[Millersville, Maryland|Millersville]], [[Severna Park, Maryland|Severna Park]], [[Glen Burnie, Maryland|Glen Burnie]], and [[Ferndale, Maryland|Ferndale]]. It is currently the second shortest [[List of Interstate Highways|primary Interstate Highway]] in the country after the unfinished [[Interstate 87 (North Carolina)|I-87]] in [[North Carolina]].

I-97 was constructed along the corridor of [[Maryland Route&nbsp;3]] (MD&nbsp;3) between Millersville and Ferndale and [[Maryland Route 178|MD&nbsp;178]] between Parole and Millersville. From Millersville to south of Glen Burnie, the interstate closely follows the former course of MD&nbsp;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 [[Maryland Route 32|MD&nbsp;32]] in the early 1970s. The interstate was introduced in 1979 after the state of Maryland successfully obtained interstate mileage for a Baltimore–Annapolis freeway from the federal government. The state decided to build the highway along I-97's current corridor rather than along the [[Maryland Route 2|MD&nbsp;2]] corridor, which has partial freeway access via [[Maryland Route 10|MD&nbsp;10]].

Construction on I-97 began in the late 1980s with new construction from US&nbsp;50/US&nbsp;301 to Crownsville. The Crownsville–Millersville segment of MD&nbsp;32 was expanded and incorporated into the interstate and the MD&nbsp;3–MD&nbsp;32 junction was upgraded. The portion of the MD&nbsp;3 corridor from Millersville to south of Glen Burnie was upgraded on the spot to [[Interstate Highway standards|interstate highway standards]] in the early 1990s, after which MD&nbsp;3 was truncated at Millersville. I-97's interchange with I-695 was rebuilt in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Glen Burnie Bypass was upgraded and expanded to six lanes in the mid-1990s. The complex process included reconstruction of several interchanges; the last interchange to be reconstructed was upgraded in the mid-2000s.