Interstate 68

Interstate 68
Interstate 68
	I-68 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by WVDOH and MDSHA
Length	113.15 mi (182.10 km)
Existed	1991–present
Tourist; routes	Historic National Road; Mountain Maryland Scenic Byway
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-79 in Morgantown, WV
	US 119 in Morgantown, WV; WV 43 near Morgantown, WV; US 40 / US 219 near Keysers Ridge, MD; US 219 near Grantsville, MD; US 220 near Cumberland, MD;
East end	I-70 / US 40 / US 522 in Hancock, MD
Location
Country	United States
States	West Virginia, Maryland
Counties	WV: Monongalia, Preston; MD: Garrett, Allegany, Washington
Highway system
	Interstate Highway System; Main; Auxiliary; Suffixed; Business; Future;
	West Virginia State Highway System; Interstate; US; State;
	Maryland highway system; Interstate; US; State; Scenic Byways;

Interstate 68 (I-68) is a 113.15-mile (182.10 km) Interstate Highway in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland, connecting I-79 in Morgantown, West Virginia, east to I-70 in Hancock, Maryland. I-68 is also Corridor E of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS). From 1965 until the freeway's construction was completed in 1991, it was designated as U.S. Route 48 (US 48). In Maryland, the highway is known as the National Freeway, an homage to the historic National Road, which I-68 parallels between Keysers Ridge and Hancock. The freeway mainly spans rural areas and crosses numerous mountain ridges along its route. A road cut at Sideling Hill exposed geological features of the mountain and has become a tourist attraction.

US 219 and US 220 overlap I-68 in Garrett County and Cumberland, respectively, and US 40 overlaps with the freeway from Keysers Ridge to the eastern end of the freeway at Hancock.

The construction of I-68 began in 1965 and continued for over 25 years, with completion on August 2, 1991. While the road was under construction, it was predicted that economic conditions would improve along the corridor for the five counties connected by I-68: Allegany, Garrett, and Washington in Maryland and Preston and Monongalia in West Virginia. The two largest cities connected by the highway are Morgantown, West Virginia, and Cumberland, Maryland. Although the freeway serves no major metropolitan areas, it provides a major transportation route in western Maryland and northern West Virginia and also provides an alternative to the Pennsylvania Turnpike for westbound traffic from Washington DC and Baltimore.

Various West Virginia officials have proposed extending the highway westward to the Ohio River valley, ending in either Moundsville, or Wheeling, West Virginia. An extension to Moundsville was approved by federal officials at one point but shelved due to funding problems.

^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.

[fhwa-1] Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.

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