How to Pronounce Sykesville

Interstate 695 (I-695) is a 51.46-mile-long (82.82 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway that is a full beltway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, United States. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway but is colloquially referred to as either the Baltimore Beltway or 695. The route is an auxiliary route of I-95, intersecting that route southwest of Baltimore near Arbutus and northeast of the city near White Marsh. It also intersects other major roads radiating from the Baltimore area, including I-97 near Glen Burnie, the Baltimore–Washington Parkway (B–W Parkway; Maryland Route 295 [MD 295]) near Linthicum, I-70 near Woodlawn, I-795 near Pikesville, and I-83 in the Timonium area. The 19.37-mile (31.17 km) portion of the Baltimore Beltway between I-95 northeast of Baltimore and I-97 south of Baltimore is officially Maryland Route 695 (MD 695) and is not part of the Interstate Highway System but is signed as I-695. This section of the route includes the Francis Scott Key Bridge that crosses over the Patapsco River. The bridge and its approaches are maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) while the remainder of the Baltimore Beltway is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA). The Baltimore Beltway was first planned in 1949 by Baltimore County; the state eventually took over the project and it became part of the Interstate Highway System planned in 1956. The length of the route from MD 2 south of Baltimore clockwise to U.S. Route 40 (US 40) northeast of the city opened in stages from 1955 to 1962, providing an Interstate bypass of Baltimore. It was the first beltway in the US to be built as part of the Interstate Highway System. Plans were made to finish the remainder of the route, with a diversion to the Windlass and Patapsco freeways, opened in 1973, following the cancelation of a more outer route that was to partly follow what is today MD 702 (Southeast Boulevard). The Outer Harbor Crossing over the Patapsco River, which was dedicated to Francis Scott Key, who wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner", and its approaches were finished in 1977, completing the route around Baltimore. The approaches to the bridge were originally two lanes to accommodate a tunnel that was originally proposed to run under the river; in subsequent years, they were upgraded to a four-lane configuration compliant with Interstate Highway standards, allowing for this portion of route to be signed as I-695 rather than MD 695. There are future plans for I-695 that include high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes to ease traffic. In addition, the northeastern interchange with I-95 has been reconstructed in 2014 to accommodate express toll lanes that were added to I-95, and construction took place in 2016 to remove I-695's carriageway crossovers here.