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Interstate 170 (abbreviated '''I-170''') is the former designation for a short freeway in Baltimore, Maryland , that is now designated as part of U.S. Highway 40 . Under the proposed routing of the Interstate Highways through Baltimore, Interstate 70 would have been routed through West Baltimore to join Interstate 95 , and Interstate 170 would have been a spur from Interstate 70 into central Baltimore. However, the spur was left stranded from the rest of the interstate system by the cancellation of Interstate 70 within the city limits of Baltimore. Construction began on I-170 in 1975 and was finished in 1979 . The completed section runs mainly below street level, rising above it at both ends. The wide median space was originally reserved for a once-proposed branch of the Baltimore Metro Subway system; this rail line was never built, but current plans for the Red Line , a proposed Light Rail or Bus Rapid Transit corridor to be built by 2012, make use of the median. In the early 1980s, it was proposed to connect the existing I-170 to Interstate 95 via the southern portion of the original proprosed I-70 expansion, with the entire spur redesignated Interstate 595 ; however, that project was canceled as well, and the designation "Interstate 595" was assigned to a different highway in Maryland (it now exists as a secret route for U.S. Highway 50 between the Capital Beltway and Annapolis ). Although the freeway has never carried any official name (like the Jones Falls Expressway for Interstate 83 and the Baltimore Beltway for Interstate 695 ), some call it the Westside Freeway, since it was intended to run through West Baltimore on its way into downtown. In addition, even a few maps of the city label the freeway as "Pierce Street," which is actually an alley-style street located entirely within the downtown area that runs between Mulberry and Franklin Streets. Officially, since 1989 it has merely been a portion of US 40. Ten streets cross over the former I-170 on either roadway or footpath bridges. In west-to-east order, they are: Monroe Street (US 1 South), Fulton Avenue (US 1 North), Mount Street, Gilmor Street, Stricker Street, Calhoun Street, Carey Street, Carrollton Avenue, Arlington Avenue and Schroeder Street. Only Stricker and Carrollton use the footpath bridges, thus rendering them discontinuous. Where the freeway emerges from below street level, three more streets run discontinuously (i.e. they do not cross the freeway at all, nor do they exist between Mulberry and Franklin): Payson Street at the western end; and Poppleton and Fremont Streets at the eastern end. A notable feature exists at the former I-170's western end facing Pulaski Street. Two Ghost Ramp s would have connected the freeway to U.S. Route 1 (Monroe Street/Fulton Avenue), as well as US 40, which was routed on Mulberry and Franklin Streets at the time of I-170's completion. The freeway itself would have continued westward onto a rather long viaduct and eventually parallelled a series of railroad tracks that are currently used for commuter and Amtrak long-distance rail service. A mural has been painted onto the wall that would have been the eastern end of the unbuilt viaduct. The unused section of I-170 is marked by unlit streetlights and two sign bridges. The westbound sign bridge is empty, but the one on the vacant eastbound exit ramp has signs for Monroe Street and Fulton Avenue (both part of US 1). Near the former I-170's eastern end, signs on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard show a faded imprint of an Interstate shield, where "I-170" was once displayed. Notable nicknames for this stretch of road include the "Highway to Nowhere" and "Interstate 00." [http://www.monumentalcity.net/streets/highways/00.html] The unbuilt I-70 extension has been nicknamed "Interstate 0." [http://www.monumentalcity.net/streets/highways/] Various proposals for the isolated highway stub have been floated: in addition to the proposed use of its public transit Right Of Way , it has also been suggested that the road be dismantled, with land filled for new homes to replace the ones that had been demolished for the freeway's construction. EXTERNAL LINKS
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