NPS segment The parkway begins at a large hybrid
cloverleaf just outside the
Washington, D.C., boundary at
Tuxedo, Maryland, that is maintained by the
Maryland State Highway Administration. The portion of the B–W Parkway between the southern terminus and
MD 175 is maintained by the
National Park Service (NPS). From its southern terminus, the road continues north as a six-lane
freeway with the
unsigned MD 295 designation, containing brown signs featuring the
Clarendon typeface. The parkway heads through wooded surroundings near industrial areas and passes over the
Alexandria Extension of
CSX's
Capital Subdivision railroad line and MD 201, where there is a ramp from southbound MD 201 to the southbound B–W Parkway. It continues northeast, passing near Prince George's Hospital Center, to interchanges with
MD 202 (Landover Road) in
Cheverly and with
MD 450 (Annapolis Road) in
Bladensburg and
Landover Hills and the former
Capital Plaza Mall. It continues north as a four-lane
freeway with a wide, tree-filled median, and passes through woodland, skirting residential neighborhoods hidden by the trees. The road has a junction with
MD 410 (Riverdale Road) west of
New Carrollton. MD 193 provides access to
College Park, which is home to the
College Park Airport, a 1909 airport where the
Wright Brothers taught the
U.S. Army how to fly an airplane, and the
University of Maryland, College Park, a public educational institution established in 1862. At the northern edge of the town, the route has employee-only access to the
Goddard Space Flight Center, the first
NASA space flight center opened in 1958 that has contributed to many space missions; from here, the route then enters the
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the largest agricultural research center in the world, owned by the
United States Department of Agriculture. The parkway's only interchange in the center is at Powder Mill Road, south of
Capitol College. Outside the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the parkway comes to
MD 197 (Laurel–Bowie Road) south of
Laurel. Near this exit of the parkway is the
Montpelier Mansion, a Georgian mansion built by Major Thomas Snowden in 1783. Past MD 197, the road passes through the western edge of the
Patuxent National Wildlife Research Refuge, a wildlife center established in 1936 by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, crossing the
Patuxent River into
Anne Arundel County. Here the parkway continues northeast through dense woodland and comes to the exit for
MD 198 (Fort Meade Road) to the east of Laurel, which itself is a suburb that originated in the 1830s as a mill town that contains many historical sites, such as the
Laurel Railroad Station (still used today by
MARC Train), an 1844 Queen Anne house, and an 1840s millworkers house that is home to the
Laurel Museum. Continuing north, the parkway encounters
MD 32 (Savage Road) near
Fort Meade. MD 32 offers northbound travelers direct access into the fort and to the
National Security Agency, while the next interchange, another employee-only access road into Fort Meade, features only a southbound exit and northbound entrance. Fort Meade itself is a military installation opened in 1917 that trained 3.5 million troops during
World War II and is still a major fort. To the west of the parkway off MD 32 is the
Savage Mill, which was an operating cotton mill from 1822 to 1947 and is currently an antique mall, and the
Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge, an 1869 cast and wrought iron bridge along the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which is now CSX's Capital Subdivision, line between Baltimore and Washington D.C. After this interchange, the road continues to a cloverleaf interchange with MD 175 (Jessup Road), where NPS maintenance of the parkway comes to an end at the south end of the interchange.
MDOT segment Past the MD 175 junction, MD 295 signage begins and the road continues north as a four-lane grade-separated freeway maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration, where the truck ban ends. This permits trucks to serve into Fort Meade from Baltimore and BWI Airport. This section of the road features standard MUTCD green signage. It heads through wooded areas and comes to a
diverging diamond interchange with
MD 713F (Arundel Mills Boulevard), which provides access to the
Arundel Mills shopping mall and the
Live! Casino & Hotel. Past this interchange, MD 295 comes to a cloverleaf interchange with
MD 100. Continuing northeast, the route curves to the northwest of
Baltimore–Washington International Airport (the largest airport in Maryland), passing near an industrial park before reaching
I-195, the main access road to the airport. Within this interchange, before passing under I-195, the road crosses over
Amtrak's
Northeast Corridor. I-195 westbound provides access from the Baltimore–Washington Parkway to the
Thomas Viaduct, which carries the B&O railroad line over the
Patapsco River, and
Patapsco Valley State Park, a state park that preserves the valley of the Patapsco River for recreational purposes. Still on a northeast track, the route widens to six lanes and intersects West Nursery Road near
Linthicum, adjacent to the BWI Hotel District. Past West Nursery Road, the road meets
I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway) at a full cloverleaf interchange. Turning north, the route passes under
MD 168 (Nursery Road) before crossing the Patapsco River into
Baltimore County. Upon crossing into Baltimore County, MD 295 reaches a partial interchange with
I-895 (Harbor Tunnel Thruway), with access from northbound MD 295 to northbound I-895 and from southbound I-895 to southbound MD 295. Past I-895, the road continues through wooded surrounding with residential developments behind the trees, before entering the city of
Baltimore.
Baltimore segment In Baltimore, MD 295 continues as a limited-access freeway maintained by the
Baltimore Department of Transportation, still surrounded by trees with urban residential and industrial neighborhoods nearby, passing under the Curtis Bay Branch of
CSX's
Baltimore Terminal Subdivision railroad line and coming to an interchange with
MD 648 (Annapolis Road) and Waterview Avenue just beyond the city line. Now running due north, the parkway heads over CSX's
Hanover Subdivision railroad line before it reaches its northern terminus at I-95. At the I-95 interchange, there are also ramps connecting to Monroe Street. MD 295 downgrades from a limited-access freeway to a six-lane
divided city street called Russell Street. MD 295 continues northeast on Russell Street, where it is unsigned for the remainder of the route, through a mix of industrial and commercial areas, heading to the northwest of the
Baltimore Greyhound Terminal at Haines Street and the
Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. Farther north, the street passes over CSX's Baltimore Terminal Subdivision railroad line before it heads to the west of
M&T Bank Stadium, where the
Baltimore Ravens of the
National Football League play. Past here, the road features an interchange with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which becomes
I-395 south of Russell Street. After this interchange, MD 295 runs west of
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home to
Major League Baseball's
Baltimore Orioles, as a four-lane divided street. Immediately after Camden Yards, MD 295 splits into a
one-way pair at the intersection with Washington Boulevard with northbound traffic following Eislen Street northeast briefly before heading north on Paca Street and southbound traffic following Greene Street. Along the one-way pair, the route intersects many major streets in
downtown Baltimore, including
Pratt Street,
Lombard Street,
Baltimore Street,
Fayette Street, and
Saratoga Street. Greene Street passes the
University of Maryland Medical Center between Lombard Street and Baltimore Street, the Baltimore VA Medical Center between Baltimore Street and Fayette Street, and
Westminster Hall and Burying Ground at the corner of Fayette Street. Paca Street passes by the
Sonneborn Building north of Pratt Street; the
Heiser, Rosenfeld, and Strauss Buildings north of Lombard Street; the historic
Paca Street Firehouse and
Sanitary Laundry Company Building just north of the intersection with Fayette Street; and
Lexington Market at the intersection with Lexington Street. MD 295 reaches its northern terminus at
US 40, which follows Mulberry Street eastbound and Franklin Street westbound, in downtown Baltimore.
MD 129 continues north from the northern terminus of MD 295, following Paca Street northbound and
Pennsylvania Avenue southbound. == History ==