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U.S. Route 50 west - Bowie to D.C. line
These flyover ramps in Bowie, Maryland over U.S. Route 50 carry traffic from eastbound US 50 to either northbound Maryland Route 3 (front) or Belair Drive (back). This interchange, exit 13, is also where southbound U.S. Route 301 leaves the US 50 corridor onto Crain Highway, ending an overlap of 33 miles between the two routes which began in Queenstown on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Beside exit 13A to US 301 south, there is one-mile advance signage for exit 11 with Maryland Route 197 (Collington Road). Photo taken 06-04-2025.
A fourth lane soon begins which serves as an HOV lane, where only vehicles with two or more occupants are permitted. Meanwhile, exit 11 is the site of a park and ride. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
At exit 11, the extra space to the left of the US 50 shield on the sign to the left reflects the highway's secret status as Interstate 595. This Interstate designation came about as a result of upgrades of the corridor to Interstate standards in the 1990s. At the last minute, Maryland's State Highway Administration decided against signing I-595 because central Marylanders already knew US 50 as "the way to the ocean" and that another posted designation would not be practical. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
MD 197 passes overhead here. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
About a mile to the west of MD 197, US 50 passes under Church Road beside the Freeway Airport. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
At this point, the HOV lane is separated from the regular lanes by a pair of solid white lines spaced a few inches apart. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Then, the highway crosses Maryland Route 193 (Enterprise Road) without an interchange. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
In two miles, US 50 will intersect Interstate 95/495 at the Capital Beltway at exit 7. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Before exit 7, exit 8, which is a mile from this sign, intersects Maryland Route 704 (Martin Luther King Jr. Highway) and serves the town of Glenarden. These two exits are misnumbered because they are actually located closer to mile markers 6 and 5. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
US 50 crosses Folly Branch before the exit. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
The three easternmost stations of the Orange Line of the Washington Metro, all located along US 50, have their distances displayed here. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Exit 8 sits just ahead. This is also the way to get to MD 704 for drivers coming from the Beltway. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
At the forthcoming interchange, exit 7B leads to Garden City Drive and the New Carrollton Metro, Amtrak and MARC station. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
At exit 7, the outer loop of the Beltway (north) has control cities of Baltimore and Silver Spring, while the inner loop has Richmond, Virginia. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
From US 50 west, exit 7B starts off with two lanes with the ramp to Garden City Drive then branching off midway. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Whitfield Chapel Road passes overhead immediately east of exit 7A. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
The ramp from US 50 east to the outer loop of the Beltway then flies over the highway. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
As it collects traffic entering from the outer loop, US 50 crosses the Beltway. It is here that the I-595 designation ends, leaving US 50 to travel solo into DC. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Exit 6 is another access point to Garden City Drive and also leads to Ardwick Ardmore Road. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
At exit 6, there is half-mile advance signage for exit 5 with Maryland Route 410 (East-West Highway). Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Pennsy Drive, the main road through the industrial section of Landover, crosses US 50 at exit 6. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
The highway then crosses Garden City Drive, which bears the unsigned designation of Maryland Route 950. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
There is then a bridge over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, along which New Carrollton's Amtrak and MARC station is located, as well as the Orange Line. These lines then begin paralleling US 50 directly to the south. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Exit 5 is another that can be used to reach Ardwick Ardmore Road. Meanwhile, in one mile, exit 3 intersects Maryland Route 202 (Landover Road) with a control city of Bladensburg. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
The exit 5 gore. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
The highway passes under MD 410, curves wide left, and then right. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Before exit 3, which also leads to Cheverly and Upper Marlboro, US 50 narrows to two lanes in each direction. Photo taken 06-24-2025.
MD 202 passes overhead here. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Columbia Park Road, which has an eastbound interchange, then crosses the highway. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
The Cheverly Metro station is "next right". Photo taken 06-04-2025.
At its final interchange in Maryland, US 50 will intersect Maryland Route 201 (Kenilworth Avenue) with control cities of Bladensburg and, via Interstate 295, Alexandria, Virginia. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
The ramp to MD 201 north is ¼ prior to MD 201 south. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
At right, traffic coming from MD 201 north enters US 50 west. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
The cloverleaf ramp from US 50 west to MD 201 south is on the other side of this overpass. About a tenth of a mile to the south, MD 201 becomes DC Route 295 when it enters Washington, DC. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
The westbound lanes proceed over the northbound Baltimore-Washington Parkway, which ends at this interchange. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
US 50 curves before receiving southbound Parkway traffic. Photo taken 06-04-2025.
Just before leaving Maryland for DC, US 50 crosses the Anacostia River, where the Parkway's mile marker 0 is posted. Photo taken 06-04-2025.