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Clara Barton Parkway is an automobile
parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...
in the U.S. state of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
. The highway runs from
MacArthur Boulevard MacArthur Boulevard may refer to: *MacArthur Boulevard (Washington, D.C.), a road that parallels the C&O Canal in Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland *MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, California, a major boulevard in Oakland and a histo ...
in
Carderock, Maryland Carderock is a neighborhood located in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, along the Potomac River. It is located in the southern part of the Potomac census-designated place and western part of the Bethesda postal area. Carderock is we ...
, east to Canal Road at the
Chain Bridge A chain bridge is a historic form of suspension bridge for which chains or eyebars were used instead of wire ropes to carry the bridge deck. A famous example is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest. Construction types are, as for other suspens ...
in
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. Clara Barton Parkway is a two- to four-lane parkway that parallels the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
and the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Potomac Canal, wh ...
(C&O) in southwestern
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...
, and the far western corner of Washington. The parkway provides access to the communities of Cabin John and Glen Echo and several units of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is located in the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland. The park was established in 1961 as a National Monument by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to preserve the neglected remains o ...
. The Maryland portion of the
George Washington Memorial Parkway The George Washington Memorial Parkway, colloquially the G.W. Parkway, is a parkway that runs along the south bank of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, Virginia, northwest to McLean, Virginia, and is maintained by the National Park Service ( ...
was constructed from Carderock past Interstate 495 (I-495) to Glen Echo in the early to mid-1960s. The parkway was proposed to continue west to
Great Falls Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...
and east to Georgetown. However, these proposals never came to fruition and the parkway was extended only to the Chain Bridge in the early 1970s. The Maryland portion of the George Washington Memorial Parkway was renamed in 1989 for
Clara Barton Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then very ...
, the founder of the
American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
, and whose original headquarters is located in Glen Echo.


Route description

Clara Barton Parkway begins at an intersection with MacArthur Boulevard in Carderock. MacArthur Boulevard heads west toward Great Falls and the affluent community of Potomac. Clara Barton Parkway heads east as a two-lane highway that expands to a four-lane divided highway ahead of its
diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...
with an access road to the
Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center The Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center is one of eight Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Surface Warfare Centers. The headquarters is located in Carderock, Maryland with the historic David Taylor Model Basin. The division ...
to the north, which features the
David Taylor Model Basin The David Taylor Model Basin (DTMB) is one of the largest ship model basins—test facilities for the development of ship design—in the world. DTMB is a field activity of the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Hist ...
, and Carderock Recreation Area of the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal to the south. East of the naval lab, the two roadways split for the parkway's six-ramp interchange with I-495 (Capital Beltway). There is no direct access from westbound Clara Barton Parkway to northbound I-495 or from southbound I-495 to the eastbound parkway. The parkway roadways come together in Cabin John just west of parking areas accessible from the eastbound direction to C&O Canal Lock 10 and C&O Canal Lock 8 and River Center. Access to Cabin John is provided by a diamond interchange to a road connecting the parkway with MacArthur Boulevard in that community. Clara Barton Parkway reduces to one lane eastbound as it crosses
Cabin John Creek Cabin John Creek is a tributary stream of the Potomac River in Montgomery County, Maryland. The watershed covers an area of . The headwaters of the creek originate in the city of Rockville, and the creek flows southward for U.S. Geological Surve ...
and meets
Cabin John Parkway Cabin John Parkway is an automobile parkway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The parkway runs from Clara Barton Parkway in Cabin John north to Interstate 495 (I-495) in Bethesda in southwestern Montgomery County. Cabin John Parkway is a four-la ...
at a partial interchange featuring ramps from westbound Clara Barton Parkway to northbound Cabin John Parkway and from Cabin John Parkway to eastbound Clara Barton Parkway, which becomes two lanes again. At this point, the parkway passes in front of the historic
Union Arch Bridge The Union Arch Bridge, also called the "Cabin John Bridge", is a historic masonry structure in Cabin John, Maryland. It was designed as part of the Washington Aqueduct. The bridge construction began in 1857 and was completed in 1864. The roadw ...
which spans the creek and carries the
Washington Aqueduct The Washington Aqueduct is an aqueduct that provides the public water supply system serving Washington, D.C., and parts of its suburbs, using water from the Potomac River. One of the first major aqueduct projects in the United States, the Aquedu ...
and
MacArthur Boulevard MacArthur Boulevard may refer to: *MacArthur Boulevard (Washington, D.C.), a road that parallels the C&O Canal in Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland *MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, California, a major boulevard in Oakland and a histo ...
. The parkway continues east to its final interchange, which provides access to MacArthur Boulevard in Glen Echo, the location of Glen Echo Park and Clara Barton National Historic Site. The interchange features a U-turn ramp from the eastbound direction to the westbound lanes of the parkway, a tight right-turn ramp from the access road to westbound Clara Barton Parkway, and an unused bridge over the westbound direction. There is no access from MacArthur Boulevard to the eastbound parkway. East of Glen Echo, Clara Barton Parkway reduces to a two-lane undivided highway that closely parallels MacArthur Boulevard on the hillside to the north. The parkway passes a pair of parking areas for Little Falls before temporarily expanding to a four-lane divided highway while passing a third parking area for C&O Canal Lock 6. This segment of the parkway includes two pedestrian overpasses providing access from MacArthur Boulevard and Ridge Drive respectively, and aligned with pedestrian crossing over the C&O Canal below, offering access to the canal’s towpath. The first pedestrian overpass is approximately half-way between Lock 6 and 7 (also aligning with Sycamore Island) and the second at Lock 5. Clara Barton Parkway crosses Little Falls Branch and enters the District of Columbia before reaching its eastern terminus at an intersection with Canal Road and Chain Bridge Road. Canal Road heads east toward Georgetown while Chain Bridge Road crosses the Chain Bridge into
Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
to connect with Virginia State Routes 120 and 123. Adjacent to the parkway’s terminus is access to the
Capital Crescent Trail The Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) is a , shared-use rail trail that runs from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., to Bethesda, Maryland. An extension of the trail from Bethesda to Silver Spring along a route formerly known as the Georgetown Branch ...
. Commercial vehicles, including trucks, are prohibited from Clara Barton Parkway without a permit from the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, which maintains the highway. Speed limits on the parkway are from the western terminus to the Carderock interchange, from the Carderock interchange to the Glen Echo interchange, and from the Glen Echo interchange to the Chain Bridge. Clara Barton Parkway operates as a one-way road between the Glen Echo interchange and its eastern terminus at the Chain Bridge Monday to Friday. Traffic flows eastbound only toward Washington from 6:15 a.m. to 10 a.m. and westbound only toward Glen Echo from 2:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Clara Barton Parkway is a part of the National Highway System as a principal arterial for its entire length.


History

Congress approved the construction of parkways on both sides of the Potomac River from Great Falls to Fort Washington and
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
in Maryland and
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, respectively, in 1930. Construction on what was originally named the George Washington Memorial Parkway on the Maryland side of the Potomac River was underway by 1961. The parkway was completed from its western end at MacArthur Boulevard to the interchange with Cabin John Parkway, which was not yet completed, in 1964. In 1965, the parkway opened from Cabin John east to the Glen Echo interchange. The Glen Echo interchange design was originally intended to be temporary, pending the construction of a signalized interchange just to the east, including an onramp overpass for west-bound traffic from McArthur Blvd. The concrete overpass bridge was completed but due to local objections, the new interchange was never completed. Extensions of the George Washington Memorial Parkway were proposed in both directions. From the west end, the parkway was to extend to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park site at Great Falls. Going east, the parkway would continue to Georgetown, where it would tie into the western end of the
Whitehurst Freeway Whitehurst may refer to: People: * Albert Whitehurst, English footballer * Andrew Whitehurst, British visual effects artist * Billy Whitehurst, English professional footballer during the 1980s * Charlie Whitehurst, NFL quarterback * David Whitehurs ...
at its junction with the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The unused bridge at the Glen Echo interchange was constructed and preliminary infrastructure work was done east of the interchange in anticipation of constructing a second carriageway east toward Georgetown. The plans to extend the parkway to Great Falls and Georgetown were abandoned by 1969. The parkway was completed in its present form from the Glen Echo interchange to the Chain Bridge in 1973. Maryland's version of the George Washington Memorial Parkway was renamed for Clara Barton in 1989.


Exit list


See also

* *


References


External links

All of the following are filed under Montgomery County, Maryland: * * * * * * * * {{authority control United States federal parkways Roads in Maryland Roads in Washington, D.C. Roads in Montgomery County, Maryland National Park Service areas in Washington, D.C. National Park Service areas in Maryland George Washington Memorial Parkway Historic American Engineering Record in Maryland
Parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...