Editing Interstate 370

{{short description|Highway in Maryland}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2022}}
{{about|a current Maryland Interstate numbered 370|the proposed interstate with the same number in Missouri|Missouri Route 370}}
{{Infobox road
| route = 370
| state = MD
| type = I
| map = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=290|frame-lat=39.126|frame-long=-77.186|zoom=13|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Interstate 370}}}}
| map_custom = yes
| map_notes = I-370 highlighted in red
| length_mi = 2.54
| length_round = 2
| length_ref = <ref name=MarylandHLR>{{Maryland HLR|year=2015|county1=Montgomery|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref>
| established = 1988
| direction_a = West
| terminus_a = {{Jct|state=MD|I|270|road|Sam Eig Highway}} in [[Gaithersburg, Maryland|Gaithersburg]]
| junction = {{plainlist|
*{{Jct|state=MD|MD|355}} in Gaithersburg
}}
| direction_b = East
| terminus_b = {{plainlist|*{{Jct|state=MD|MD|200}} in [[Derwood, Maryland|Derwood]]}}
| counties = [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery]]
| previous_type = MD
| previous_route = 368
| next_type = MD
| next_route = 370
| spur_type = I
| spur_of = 70
}}

'''Interstate&nbsp;370''' ('''I-370''') is a {{convert|2.54|mi|km|adj=on}} [[Interstate Highway]] spur route off [[Interstate 270 (Maryland)|I-270]] in [[Gaithersburg, Maryland|Gaithersburg]], [[Maryland]], to the western end of the [[Maryland Route 200]] (MD&nbsp;200, Intercounty Connector) toll road at an interchange that provides access to the [[park and ride]] lot at the [[Shady Grove station]] on the [[Red Line (Washington Metro)|Red Line]] of the [[Washington Metro]]. Despite the number, I-370 does not connect to [[Interstate 70 in Maryland|I-70]] itself. The road continues to the west of I-270 as Sam Eig Highway, a surface road. Along the way, I-370 has interchanges with [[Maryland Route 355|MD&nbsp;355]] and Shady Grove Road. The freeway was completed in the late 1980s to connect I-270 to the Shady Grove station. I-370 was always part of the planned Intercounty Connector but was the only segment to be built at the time. The opening of MD&nbsp;200 east of I-370 resulted in the truncation of I-370 to the interchange with [[Maryland Route 200|MD&nbsp;200]] and the redesignation of the road leading into the Shady Grove station as MD&nbsp;200A.

==Route description==
[[Image:2007 01 23 - 370@355 - NB.JPG|thumb|left|I-370 at MD&nbsp;355, from top-left to center-right]]
I-370 begins a short distance to the west of the [[Interstate 270 (Maryland)|I-270]] interchange in [[Gaithersburg, Maryland|Gaithersburg]], [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]], heading northeast as a six-lane [[freeway]]. Southwest of this interchange, the road continues as '''Sam Eig Highway''' (named after [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] real estate developer [[Sam Eig]])<ref name=JewWash>[http://www.jhsgw.org/exhibitions/online/jewishwashington/exhibition/real-estate-boom Jewish Washington: "Real Estate Boom"] retrieved September 18. 2014</ref> which interchanges with Washingtonian Boulevard before becoming a surface road. The highway passes woods to the northwest and a shopping center to the southeast as it reaches an interchange with I-270. From this point, I-370 turns east and runs between residential neighborhoods to the north and business parks to the south, with trees separating the road from these areas. The freeway curves northeast again and comes to the [[Maryland Route 355|MD&nbsp;355]] interchange. Past this, the highway passes more commercial development before reaching a bridge over [[CSX]]'s [[Metropolitan Subdivision]] railroad line. A short distance later, I-370 comes to a [[trumpet interchange]] with MD&nbsp;200A, a freeway that provides access to Shady Grove Road and the [[Shady Grove station]] of [[Washington Metro]]'s [[Red Line (Washington Metro)|Red Line]]. At this point, I-370 ends and the freeway continues east as [[Maryland Route 200|MD&nbsp;200]] (Intercounty Connector), a toll road.<ref name=MarylandHLR/><ref name="google">{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=fields+road+and+sam+eig+highway&daddr=I-370+E&hl=en&ll=39.1246,-77.188396&spn=0.054134,0.077162&sll=39.12427,-77.18448&sspn=0.054134,0.077162&geocode=FSTdVAId3uRl-ykJDTY5Wi22iTF1PchjonXh9w%3BFbwfVQIdzYBm-w&mra=ls&t=h&z=14|title=overview of Interstate 370|access-date=July 2, 2011}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:2016-10-14 13 07 31 View east at the west end of Interstate 370 in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Maryland.jpg|thumb|right|View east at the west end of I-370 at Sam Eig Highway in Gaithersburg]]
What is now I-370 was originally proposed as part of the Intercounty Connector in the late 1970s. The I-370 freeway opened on December 17, 1988, connecting I-270 to the Shady Grove station.<ref name= opens>{{cite news |title= 2.5-Mile Interstate Opens to Shady Grove: Congestion on Side Roads Expected to Ease |first= Sam |last= Hankin |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= December 22, 1988 |page= Md21 |id= {{ProQuest|139264766}} }}</ref> After three and a half years of construction, the freeway was four lanes wide and {{convert|2.5|mi|km}} long.<ref name= opens/> Its construction cost $169&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|169000000|1988}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}), with federal funds paying for 90&nbsp;percent of the cost.<ref name= opens/> The state of Maryland's portion of the cost was funded with a portion of the proceeds of a {{Convert|0.05|$/USgal|$/impgal $/l|2|adj=on}} gas tax increase in 1987.<ref name= fuels>{{cite news |title= Md. Gas Tax Fuels Washington Area;Pr. George's, Montgomery Gain $284 Million for Transportation |last= Barnes |first= Robert |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= April 29, 1987 |page= B1 |id= {{ProQuest|306862272}} }}</ref> Prior to its opening, driving from I-270 to the Shady Grove station involved exiting at Shady Grove Road and passing six traffic lights to arrive at the station.<ref name= opens/> Upon its opening, the remainder of the Intercounty Connector was planned but not yet built.<ref name=wp>{{cite news| last = Vick| first = Karl| title = Md. Tollway Remains a Road Not Taken| newspaper = The Washington Post| page=A01| date = February 3, 1997| url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/growth/transport/icc.htm| access-date = January 26, 2011}}</ref> At the time, it was the fourth shortest Interstate, after [[Interstate 878|I-878]] in [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Interstate 375 (Michigan)|I-375]] in [[Detroit]], and [[Interstate 395 (Maryland)|I-395]] in [[Baltimore]].<ref name= opens/>

In 2007, construction began on MD&nbsp;200, which was to head east from I-370. At this time, the ramp from Shady Grove Road to westbound I-370 was shifted to a new alignment.<ref name=wp2>{{cite news| title = Intercounty Connector| newspaper =The Washington Post| url =http://projects.washingtonpost.com/transportation/projects/intercounty-connector|year=2011 |access-date = June 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003193841/http://projects.washingtonpost.com/transportation/projects/intercounty-connector|archive-date=October 3, 2012}}</ref> In 2009, the lanes along I-370 were shifted to allow for construction of the MD&nbsp;200 interchange.<ref name=sha>{{cite web|access-date=January 26, 2011|title=SHA to Temporarily Shift Lanes Along I-370 for Intercounty Connector Construction  |publisher=Maryland State Highway Administration|date=June 18, 2009| url=http://connectedcommunities.us/showthread.php?t=28009 }}</ref> Construction on this segment of MD&nbsp;200 was completed in February 2011, with the road opening to traffic on February 23.<ref>{{cite web|title = First phase of ICC to open Feb. 22|work = Baltimore Sun|first = Michael|last = Dresser|date = February 7, 2011|url = http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/2011/02/fiirst_phase_of_icc_to_open_fe.html|access-date = February 7, 2011|archive-date = February 10, 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110210063121/http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/2011/02/fiirst_phase_of_icc_to_open_fe.html|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name=gazette>{{cite news|title=More than 10,000 vehicles travel on first stretch of the ICC Wednesday morning|first=Mimi|last=Liu|url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/02232011/montnew133326_32547.php|work=[[The Gazette (Maryland)|The Gazette]]|date=February 23, 2011|access-date=February 23, 2011|archive-date=February 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227020919/http://www.gazette.net/stories/02232011/montnew133326_32547.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> As a result of the completion of MD&nbsp;200, the eastern terminus of I-370 was truncated to the west end of MD&nbsp;200, with the freeway connection to the Shady Grove station becoming MD&nbsp;200A.<ref name=2010MarylandHLR>{{Maryland HLR|year=2010|county1=Montgomery|access-date=August 10, 2016}}</ref>

==Exit list==
{{jcttop|exit|state=MD|county=Montgomery|length_ref=<ref name=MarylandHLR/>}}
{{MDint|exit
|location=Gaithersburg
|lspan=4
|mile=0.00
|exit=—
|road=Sam Eig Highway
|notes=Continuation west
}}
{{MDint|exit
|mile=0.43
|exit=1
|road={{Jct|state=MD|I|270|city1=Frederick|location2=[[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]}}
|notes=Signed as exits 1A (south) and 1B (north); exit number not signed eastbound; exits 9A-B on I-270
}}
{{MDint|exit
|mile=1.15
|exit=—
|type=incomplete
|road={{jct|state=MD|road|Shady Grove Road|MD|355|dir2=south|to2=yes|city1=Rockville}}
|notes=Eastbound exit only
}}
{{MDint|exit
|mile=1.93
|exit=2
|type=incomplete
|road={{Jct|state=MD|MD|355|name1=Frederick Road|city1=Gaithersburg|city2=Rockville|location3=Town Center}}
|notes=No eastbound access to MD 355 south; former [[U.S. Route 240|US&nbsp;240]]
}}
{{MDint|exit
|location=Derwood
|lspan=2
|mile=2.54
|mspan=2
|exit=3
|road=[[File:WMATA Metro Logo small.svg|20px|link=]] {{jct|state=MD|road|Shady Grove Road|location1=[[Shady Grove station|Metro Station]]}}
|notes=Access via MD 200A; signed as exits 3A (Shady Grove) and 3B (Metro) eastbound; last eastbound exit before toll
}}
{{MDint|exit
|mile=none
|exit=—
|type=etc
|road={{Jct|state=MD|MD|200|dir1=east|to2=to|I|95}}
|notes=Continuation east
}}
{{jctbtm|keys=etc}}

==See also==
*{{Portal-inline|Maryland Roads}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{AttachedKML|display=title,inline}}
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.kurumi.com/roads/3di/i370.html#370md I-370 on Kurumi.com]
*[https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-370-md/ Interstate Guide - I-370]
*[http://www.mdroads.com/routes/is370.html I-370 at MDRoads.com]
*[https://www.aaroads.com/guides/i-370-md/ I-370 at AARoads.com]
*[https://www.alpsroads.net/roads/md/i-370/ Maryland Roads - I-370]

{{3di|70}}

[[Category:Interstate 70|3]]
[[Category:Auxiliary Interstate Highways|70-3]]
[[Category:Interstate Highways in Maryland|70-3]]
[[Category:Roads in Montgomery County, Maryland]]
[[Category:Limited-access roads in Maryland]]