Clara Barton Parkway

Route description

The Clara Barton Parkway begins at an intersection with MacArthur Boulevard in Carderock. MacArthur Boulevard heads west toward Great Falls and the community of Potomac. The Clara Barton Parkway heads east as a two-lane surface road that becomes a four-lane freeway ahead of its diamond interchange with an access road to the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center to the north, which features the David Taylor Model Basin, and Carderock Recreation Area of the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal to the south. East of the naval lab, the two roadways split for the parkway's six-ramp interchange with I-495 (Capital Beltway). There is no direct access from the Clara Barton Parkway westbound to I-495 north or from I-495 south to the parkway eastbound. The parkway roadways come together in Cabin John just west of parking areas accessible from the eastbound direction to C&O Canal Lock 10 and C&O Canal Lock 8 and River Center. Access to Cabin John is provided by a diamond interchange to a road connecting the parkway with MacArthur Boulevard in that community.

The Clara Barton Parkway reduces to one lane eastbound as it crosses Cabin John Creek and meets the Cabin John Parkway at a partial interchange featuring ramps from the Clara Barton Parkway westbound to the Cabin John Parkway and from the Cabin John Parkway to the Clara Barton Parkway eastbound, which becomes two lanes again. At this point, the parkway passes in front of the historic Union Arch Bridge which spans the creek and carries the Washington Aqueduct and MacArthur Boulevard. The parkway continues east to its final interchange, which provides access to MacArthur Boulevard in Glen Echo, the location of Glen Echo Park and Clara Barton National Historic Site. The interchange features a U-turn ramp from the eastbound direction to the westbound lanes of the parkway, a tight right-turn ramp from the access road to westbound Clara Barton Parkway, and an unused bridge over the westbound direction. There is no access from MacArthur Boulevard to the eastbound parkway.

Commercial vehicles, including trucks, are prohibited from the Clara Barton Parkway without a permit from the National Park Service, which maintains the highway. Speed limits on the parkway are 30 mph from the western terminus to the Carderock interchange, 50 mph from the Carderock interchange to the Glen Echo interchange, and 35 mph from the Glen Echo interchange to the Chain Bridge. The Clara Barton Parkway operates as a one-way road between the Glen Echo interchange and its eastern terminus at the Chain Bridge Monday to Friday. Traffic flows eastbound only toward Washington from 6:15 a.m. to 10 a.m. and westbound only toward Glen Echo from 2:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. The Clara Barton Parkway is a part of the National Highway System as a principal arterial for its entire length.

History

Congress approved the construction of parkways on both sides of the Potomac River from Great Falls to Fort Washington and Mount Vernon in Maryland and Virginia, respectively, in 1930. Construction on what was originally named the George Washington Memorial Parkway on the Maryland side of the Potomac River was underway by 1961. The parkway was completed from its western end at MacArthur Boulevard to the interchange with Cabin John Parkway, which was not yet completed, in 1964. In 1965, the parkway opened from Cabin John east to the Glen Echo interchange. The Glen Echo interchange design was originally intended to be temporary, pending the construction of a signalized interchange just to the east, including an onramp overpass for west-bound traffic from McArthur Blvd. The concrete overpass bridge was completed but due to local objections, the new interchange was never completed. Extensions of the George Washington Memorial Parkway were proposed in both directions. From the west end, the parkway was to extend to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park site at Great Falls. Going east, the parkway would continue to Georgetown, where it would tie into the western end of the Whitehurst Freeway at its junction with the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The unused bridge at the Glen Echo interchange was constructed and preliminary infrastructure work was done east of the interchange in anticipation of constructing a second carriageway east toward Georgetown. The plans to extend the parkway to Great Falls and Georgetown were abandoned by 1969. The parkway was completed in its present form from the Glen Echo interchange to the Chain Bridge in 1970. Maryland's version of the George Washington Memorial Parkway was renamed for Clara Barton in 1989.

Major intersections

References

References

1. "George Washington Memorial Parkway".
2. "Clara Barton Parkway".
3. (March 31, 2011). "George Washington Memorial Parkway". National Park Service.
4. Federal Highway Administration. (October 1, 2012). "National Highway System: Washington, DC-VA-MD". Federal Highway Administration.
5. Kelly, John. (September 10, 2011). "A Mystery Bridge on Clara Barton Parkway". The Washington Post.
6. {{NBI
7. {{Maryland road map. (1964)
8. {{Maryland road map. (1965)
9. (November 29, 1989). "Bush Signs Bill Naming Parkway For Clara Barton". The Washington Post.