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Interstate 81 north
As it prepares to cross the Potomac River from West Virginia's eastern panhandle, Interstate 81 enters Maryland, with a welcome sign in the median. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The approximate midpoint of the Potomac bridge. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
At the end of the bridge, exit 1, Maryland routes 63 and 68 toward Williamsport and Boonsboro, is announced as being half a mile away. A separate notation below states the highway has entered Washington County. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The historic Antietam Battlefield and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal's Cushwa Basin are accessible from the exit. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Drivers wishing to reach Interstate 68 at Hancock, perhaps to circumvent the Pennsylvania Turnpike, are to follow I-81 a few miles northward to exit 4, where it meets I-70. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Exit 1 is just ahead, but obscured by traffic. MD 68 goes northwestward to I-70 at Clear Spring, beyond which lies access to ski areas in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
I-81 proceeds to cross over MD 63/68. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Exit 2, U.S. Route 11 serving Williamsport, is a mile ahead. I-81 is the functional replacement of much of US 11 between east Tennessee and far upstate New York. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
After the highway straightens out, exit 2 is half a mile away. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Maryland's portion of I-81 is designated as the Maryland Veterans Memorial Highway. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Exit 2 has been reached, and exit 4, for Interstate 70 east toward Frederick and west toward Hancock, is a mile to the north. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The exit 2 gore sign, with blue service signs lining the offramp. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
US 11's bridge over I-81 is dedicated to Joseph Kroboth Jr., a Halfway firefighter who died in 1998 when he was hit by a car near Hagerstown. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
I-68 west, which begins in Hancock about 25 miles to the west, is accessed via I-70 west just ahead. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Truck services, namely a Pilot and an Exxon, are available off exit 5 just beyond exit 4. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The speed limit is about to drop to 60 miles per hour as I-81 approaches the Hagerstown cluster of interchanges. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The I-70 exit is half a mile away. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
A collector-distributor lane leading to the ramps to each direction of I-70 prepares to split off. In this direction, I-81's control cities are Hagerstown and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, overlooking Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; similarly, I-81's southbound control city as posted on I-70's approaches to the exit is Roanoke, Virginia, disregarding Martinsburg, West Virginia and Winchester and Harrisonburg, Virginia. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The I-70 gore sign at exit 4. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The ramp to I-70 east toward Frederick leaves the C/D lane first, followed by the cloverleaf ramp to I-70 west toward Hancock, with a "TO I-68" notation. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The next exit, 5A-B, is Halfway Boulevard, three-quarters of a mile away. I-81 meanwhile enters a work zone as indicated by the orange signs and cones ahead. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The ramp to I-70 west then branches off, and the C/D lane is marked as returning to I-81 north toward Harrisburg. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Some of the services at exit 5 are shown here. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Exit 5A for Halfway Boulevard east is reached first, followed by exit 5B for Halfway Boulevard west. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The highway then receives one of the onramps from Halfway Boulevard. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Downtown Hagerstown is two miles away, and the Pennsylvania cities of Chambersburg and Harrisburg are respectively 24 and 74 miles ahead. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
An I-81 reassurance shield sits before the next exit. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Exit 6, intersecting U.S. Route 40 and serving downtown Hagerstown and Huyett, is one mile from this sign. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
The hotels at exit 6 are displayed here; meanwhile, trees have filled the highway's median, with a guardrail running alongside. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
A segment of Maryland Route 144, named Washington Street here, crosses over I-81 before the exit. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Exit 6A for U.S. Route 40 east, leading east into downtown Hagerstown, is reached. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
After US 40 crosses over I-81 via a pair of bridges, exit 6B for US 40 west splits off, leading most directly to the Centre at Hagerstown. The next exit, 7, intersecting Maryland Route 58, is a mile away. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Now half a mile ahead, MD 58's control cities at this exit are Hagerstown and Cearfoss. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
When exit 7A is reached, MD 58's street name, Salem Avenue, is mentioned on the overhead sign. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Exit 7B for MD 58 west follows. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
I-81 now pushes north past exit 7. Photo taken 08-05-2016.
Exit 9, Maugans Avenue, north of Hagerstown city limits, is in one mile. Photo taken 08-05-2016.