I-795 is the Northwest Expressway and it runs from the I-695 Baltimore Beltway, to west of Reisterstown, Md. It was built as a 10.8 mile bypass of MD-140 Reisterstown Pike.

The 6 mile portion from I-695 to west of Owings Mills Blvd. has six lanes and opened to Owings Mills Blvd. about 1984. It was developed as an Interstate highway. It was built specifically to accommodate the Baltimore Metro rapid rail extension to Owings Mills, in the median. The Metro was built as a separate project and opened in 1987. The remaining 4.8 miles has four lanes, and was opened in 1986. It was developed as a primary road, MD-140. When it opened, it was designated as I-795.

At one time, the Northwest Expressway was planned to extend inside the Beltway and connect to Wabash Avenue in Baltimore. That was cancelled in the mid-to-late 1970s, and the I-795 designation and funding was not planned for that section.

Copyright © 1997-2005 by Scott Kozel. All rights reserved. Reproduction, reuse, or distribution without permission is prohibited.

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