Maryland Route 80

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MD 80

Fingerboard Rd, Kemptown Rd

Length:

14.78 mi (23.79 km)

Decomd.:

N/A

West end:

MD 85 at Buckeystown, Maryland

Major
junctions:

I-270

MD 355
MD 75

East end:

MD 27 at Kemptown, Maryland

Highways in Maryland
State highways - Minor - Decommissioned

Maryland Route 80 is a 14.78 mile long west-east state highway in southern Frederick County, Maryland. Towards its eastern terminus at MD 27, the highway briefly enters Montgomery County as well.

1 Counties traversed
2 Cities and towns
3 Route description
4 History
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Counties traversed

[edit] Cities and towns

Route 80 passes through the following areas:

[edit] Route description

From its western terminus at MD 85, route 80 begins as a two-lane undivided highway. Route 80 continues in this fashion until approaching Urbana. In Urbana, Route 80 connects with Interstate-270 and MD 355, both of which serve as major highways for the Frederick and Montgomery County area. Massive developement in the Urbana region, first started in 1999, stressed the existing infrastructure of the area. To accommodate this, a traffic circle was added to the highway in between the junctions with Interstate 270 and MD 355. To the east of the current intersection with MD 355, state highway workers have started construction on a new intersection planned with MD 355. This new intersection will replace the old one (the existing section of MD 355 is to be signed as Business MD 355) following a rerouting of MD 355 through Urbana. To accommodate the heavier traffic flow from the rapidly expanding Urbana area, Route 80 has been widened through the town, and several traffic lights have been installed. After leaving Urbana, however, route 80 returns to being a rural two-lane undivided highway for the remainder of its path, stopping at only two more traffic lights (at MD 75 and Lynn Burke Road) beforing ending at MD 27.

[edit] History

The Fingerboard Road designation of Route 80 has a colorful history to it. Today, there are multiple theories that attempt to explain the name. One explanation deals with an old sign that used to exist on the side of the road with a finger pointing to a local area. Other explanations say that it was named for a farmer who lost his finger picking up milk at a milk stand. ^[1]

For years, at the intersection with Lynn Burke Road, Route 80 simply had a flashing yellow light while Lynn Burke Road had a flashing red light. This intersection was often seen as one of the most dangerous ones in the county due to a hill providing limited visability of the traffic heading westbound on Route 80. In the 1990s, a traffic light was installed and has served to greatly reduce the number of accidents at the intersection.