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Interstate 895 south
At the Baltimore county/city line, Interstate 895 - the Harbor Tunnel Thruway - begins by parting ways with southbound Interstate 95. This is designated as exit 62 of I-95 and is known locally as the "95/895 split" or just "the split". Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The first exit is numbered 14 and intersects Moravia Road. As the exit approaches, I-95's southbound express lanes are seen at far-left preparing to merge onto southbound I-895. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
I-895 is height-restricted due to the tunnel a few miles ahead, and all vehicles detected as such by a scanner at this spot are directed by flashers at the top of the sign to exit when they activate. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Exit 14 is just ahead as southbound I-895 receives express traffic at left. The lane just left of the exit lane will disappear shortly, with one of the express lanes becoming a through lane for I-895. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Before the exit, Moravia Park Drive, a road mainly serving industrial properties, crosses over I-895. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Exit 14 is at right. I-95 express traffic has separate access to Moravia Road at left. This was originally exit 1 of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (the official name of most of I-95 from Baltimore's eastern city limit to the Delaware line) when it opened in 1963. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
I-895 passes under Moravia Road as the right lane ends. Moravia Road itself begins a short distance east of here at I-95 and has its own interchange with U.S. Route 40; it then runs northwest from this point to Harford Road, where it becomes Cold Spring Lane. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
As the onramp from Moravia Road comes in, drivers are formally welcomed to the Harbor Tunnel Thruway. From this point to U.S. Route 1 in Elkridge a distance outside of the city, it opened in 1957 and was one of Baltimore's original freeways, alongside part of the Jones Falls Expressway (Interstate 83). The Thruway, which did not receive Interstate designation for more than two decades, superseded US 1 and US 40 as a long-distance trafficway through Baltimore well before I-95 did. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The highway proceeds to cross over Herring Run, a tributary of the Back River. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
I-895 will become a toll road in one miles, and will remain that way until it ends. I-895 became cashless in 2020 along with Maryland's other toll facilities. Exit 12, Lombard Street, is the last exit before all traffic is forced to go through the Harbor Tunnel and pay the toll. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Off exit 12 are Johns Hopkins' Bayview hospital and Baltimore's Greektown neighborhood. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
I-895 passes under Pulaski Highway (US 40), which has ramps to and from northbound I-895, followed by Mapleton Avenue, a connector between US 40 and Erdman Avenue. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The highway then crosses over a series of railroad tracks, adjacent to CSX's Bayview Yard. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
I-895 reassurance precedes exit 12. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Exit 12 departs for Lombard Street up ahead, and I-895 is officially a tolled facility. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The exit 12 gore sign. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
I-895 curves to the left before crossing over Lombard. It goes on to receive an onramp from Ponca Street. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Up ahead, the speed limit drops to 50 miles per hour. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The following I-895 reassurance shield has a "TOLL" notation above it, and the highway proceeds under a quick succession of city streets, including Fleet Street seen here. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
It then crosses over O'Donnell Street, which northbound I-895 has an offramp to (exit 11B). Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Afterward, traffic from O'Donnell comes onto I-895 south, at right. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
A variable message sign hangs over I-895 as it prepares to curve right and pass under an I-95 viaduct. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Another overheight vehicle detector sits here. Violators, indicated by the flashers going off, must exit in half a mile. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
On the other side of I-95, lane markers for the Harbor Tunnel begin appearing. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Descending toward the tunnel, I-895 passes over the pair of ramps between I-95 and Keith Avenue, along which MDTA administrative facilities are located. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Southbound traffic begins entering the tunnel at mile marker 10.5. At left are traffic cones designated for blocking off closed bores of the tunnel during periods of two-way traffic patterns. In the distance at right are the north entrance to I-95's Fort McHenry Tunnel and Heidelberg Materials, marked by the Lehigh Cement tower. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel has its grand entrance here. It is the older of Baltimore's two freeway tunnels under the tidal Patapsco River, opening in 1957, with the Fort McHenry Tunnel not becoming a reality until 1985. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
A glance at the interior of the southbound tunnel bore. Both bores have been substantially renovated on multiple occasions. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The tunnel ends up at the Fairfield industrial area of the city's southeast. It reaches its southbound exit here, and the highway begins climbing sharply back upward. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
I-895's tunnel tollbooth is approaching; drivers have the option to go toll-by-plate for a mailed $6 fee, or pay with E-ZPass for a half-price discount of $3 if they have an account and transponder for it. Direct cash payments at all MDTA tollbooths were permanently discontinued in 2020. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
There are seven toll lanes for each direction of the highway. E-ZPass Administration is off-picture to the left. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The Interstate pulls away from the tollbooth and nears exit 8, intersecting Frankfurst Avenue, with exit 8B to Hanover Street just ahead. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Exit 8A to Shell Road follows, with exit 7 to southbound Potee Street (MD 2) in one mile. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The exit 8A gore sign, ahead at right. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The highway is now navigating its so-nicknamed K Bridge (after the style of truss encasing it), over CSX trackage leading into the Curtis Bay shop. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Baltimore's Brooklyn neighborhood (which extends south into Anne Arundel County as Brooklyn Park), is off exit 7. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Exit 7 is half a mile away. Meanwhile, in one mile comes exit 6, leading to southbound Interstate 97 and Maryland Route 2, state capital Annapolis and Glen Burnie. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Before the exit, the highway crosses over Hanover Street, which goes on to form a segment of northbound MD 2. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Exit 7 is here. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
I-895 curves widely to the left, then leaves Baltimore city limits and enters Anne Arundel County. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
Exit 6 sits just in the distance, marking the start of the I-895 B Spur which leads southward to I-97 proper, then MD 2. Photo taken 08-28-2023.
The I-97/MD 2 gore sign was removed sometime between photo sessions. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The southbound carriageway of the spur, curving leftward, passes over mainline I-895, which veers to the right. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Mid-curve, a viaduct over the Patapsco River and surrounding swampland commences, and the Interstate enters southwestern Baltimore County. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The highway straightens out along the viaduct. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Exit 4, a loop ramp leading to southbound Maryland Route 295 (Baltimore/Washington Parkway), is a mile past the end of the viaduct. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
In the meantime, the highway crosses a CSX freight line. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Then, an overhead dynamic message sign displays travel times to I-895's south end at I-95, as well as I-495 (otherwise known as the Capital Beltway around Washington, DC) via I-95 south. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Half a mile prior to exit 4, I-895 crosses over Maryland Route 648 (Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard), here the main drag through the Baltimore Highlands. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Meanwhile, an advance sign appears for exit 3, accessing the inner loop (north) of I-695 toward Towson. Access to the outer loop toward Essex via the Key Bridge, as well as to the Baltimore/Washington International Airport, is by way of exit 4, respectively one and two exits away on MD 295 south. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Exit 4, a southbound exit and northbound entrance, is reached. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The exit 4 gore sign, with MD 295 shield and directional notation. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The remainder of I-895 (next 4 miles) is a SHA-designated deer watch area. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Exit 3 is half a mile away. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The speed limit is now 65 miles per hour. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Prior to the Beltway, I-895 crosses over Hammonds Ferry Road. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Exit 3, which involves a hard-right turn, is just ahead. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The ramp sign for exit 3 sits well behind the ramp gore. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
I-895 then proceeds over I-695. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Then, it crosses over Transway Road, an industrial side street off Hollins Ferry Road to the north. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
I-895 is now flat and straight for several tenths of a mile. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Exit 1 (the final southbound exit), leading to southbound U.S. Route 1 (Washington Boulevard), is a mile away. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Following the advance sign, at mile marker 2.4, the highway passes over an industrial access road. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The next facility crossed is Herbert Run, a Patapsco River tributary. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
There is then a bridge over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, along which MARC's Penn Line also runs between Washington, DC and Perryville in Cecil County. At far-right is part of the defunct Guinness Open Gate Brewery. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The speed limit is still 65, and will remain that way to (and on) I-95. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
At mile marker 1.7 sits a bridge over an apparent trail from the brewery to the Patapsco. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Exit 1 is forthcoming, while the right through lane will end in ¾ mile. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
After the ramp to US 1 begins, Interstate 195 (a link between I-95 and BWI), crosses over I-895 without an interchange. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The exit 1 ramp gore sign. I-895 ended here prior to construction of I-95 through Baltimore. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The right lane is about to end as I-895 crosses over US 1. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
During the US 1 bridge, I-895 enters its final jurisdiction, Howard County. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The highway curves wide right as the southbound carriageway shrinks to one lane. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
Nearing I-95, I-895 passes over Levering Avenue, MARC's Camden Line, and Lawyers Hill Road along this viaduct in the Lawyers Hill area of the Patapsco Valley, just outside of Elkridge. To the north, the Camden Line crosses the Patapsco via the historic Thomas Viaduct. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The end of the viaduct means the end of I-895 is next. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
A sharp-left curve with 45 MPH speed limit highlights the southbound ramp to I-95. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
The crossing of I-95 is here. Photo taken 02-25-2024.
I-895 has now reached its south end at I-95, which proceeds 19 miles southward to I-495, passing east of Columbia and west of Laurel in the process. Photo taken 02-25-2024.