Maryland Route 38 (MD 38) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. Known as Kitzmiller Road, the state highway runs from the

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

state line at the

North Branch Potomac River The North Branch Potomac River flows from Fairfax Stone in West Virginia to its confluence with the South Branch Potomac River near Green Spring, West Virginia, where it turns into the Potomac River proper. Course From the Fairfax Stone, the ...

in Kitzmiller, where the highway continues south as

West Virginia Route 42 West Virginia Route 42 is a north–south state highway connecting Grant County to Mineral County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 28 and West Virginia Route 55 in Petersbur ...

(WV 42), north to MD 135 on top of

Backbone Mountain Backbone Mountain is a ridge of the Allegheny Mountains of the central Appalachian Mountain Range. It is situated in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland and forms a portion of the Eastern Continental Divide. In the state of Maryland, ...

. MD 38 connects Kitzmiller with the rest of

Garrett County Garrett County () is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,806, making it the third-least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Oakland. The county was named for John Work ...

and across the North Branch Potomac River to Blaine and Elk Garden in western Mineral County. The state highway was constructed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. MD 38 originally ran from U.S. Route 219 (US 219) near Thayerville through Deer Park and Altamont to Kitzmiller. The state highway was truncated at Backbone Mountain when MD 135 was extended west to

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

in the mid-1950s.

Route description

MD 38 begins in the town of Kitzmiller at the Kitzmiller Bridge across the North Branch Potomac River. The highway continues on the other side of the river as WV 42 (Blaine Highway) in Blaine. After passing Main Street, MD 38 begins its steep, curvy ascent of Backbone Mountain as a two-lane undivided road. The southbound direction of the state highway features a mandatory truck stop to check brakes at the top of the hill. Beyond the truck pull-off, MD 38 continues uphill at a more gentle gradient all the way to its northern terminus at MD 135 (Maryland Highway) on the ridgeline of Backbone Mountain.

History

MD 38 originally extended north toward

Deep Creek Lake Deep Creek Lake is the largest inland body of water in the U.S. state of Maryland. It covers approximately and has of shoreline. Like all lakes in Maryland, it is man-made. The lake is home to a wide variety of aquatic life, such as freshwate ...

. The state highway descended Backbone Mountain toward Altamont and continued west to Deer Park following what is now MD 135 and Edgewood Drive into the center of the town. In Deer Park, MD 38 turned north along Main Street and followed Sand Flat Road to US 219 near Thayerville. MD 38 was paved from its original northern terminus through Deer Park to Altamont between 1924 and 1926. The highway was extended east to the top of Backbone Mountain by 1930; this construction included the bridge over the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

at Altamont. The present segment of MD 38 south to Kitzmiller was under construction by 1930 and completed in 1933. The present bridge across the North Branch Potomac River and an approach road beginning at State Street on the north were completed in 1955. This bridge replaced the original 1892 bridge that crossed the river just to the east of the present crossing. MD 38 was rolled back to its current northern terminus on top of Backbone Mountain in 1956. MD 135 was relocated onto the portion of MD 38 between MD 38's present terminus and Deer Park and extended west toward Oakland. Sand Flat Road was transferred to county maintenance.

Junction list

Auxiliary routes

MD 38 has two auxiliary routes, both located at the highway's intersection with MD 135 on top of Backbone Mountain. *MD 38A is the designation for the tight ramp from northbound MD 38 to eastbound MD 135. *MD 38B is the designation for the sweeping ramp from eastbound MD 135 to southbound MD 38.

References

External links