Marked north-south.

US 29 was a latecomer to Maryland as a US highway, not arriving until 1934. Its original path today seems a circuitous one. From current 29, north on 650 from White Oak to Ashton, then northeast along 108 to Old Columbia Pike, meeting US 40 in Ellicott City. It was then co-signed as 40-29 along MD 144 through Catonsville into Baltimore City, ending at Monroe St. in Southwest Baltimore. Prior to 1934, the entire route south of Ellicott City was MD 27, with the current 27 as MD 29. Routes 27 and 29 swapped numbers to avoid a conflict.

Columbia prior to 1966 was just a small dot on Maryland maps. This was to change when Columbia mushroomed into a planned development of the Rouse Company. US 29 was rerouted east onto Columbia Pike, parallel to the old pike, then Route 196. The old sections of 29 became extensions of Montgomery County's 650 and 108. US 29 was also diverted west out of old Ellicott City as a 4-lane highway for interchanges with US 40 (in 1949) and later I-70, ending at its current terminus, MD 99.

29th Infantry Division Memorial Hwy. sign on southbound US 29, Ellicott City. (photo courtesy Andrew Zitnay)

Construction to upgrade US 29 to six lane freeway standards in Howard County began in the late eighties, and is now complete north of MD 216 in Scaggsville on the northbound side. On the southbound side, there is a single remaining traffic light south of MD 32, at Rivers Edge Rd. US 29 in Maryland is also known as the 29th Infantry Division Memorial Highway, and is marked with the 29th's yin-yang type insignia below the standard US 29 shield. I hope to have a picture of this soon.

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